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Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde
MGM // PG-13 // November 4, 2003
List Price: $27.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
"You know what I thought when I first saw you?"
"That woman wears a lot of pink?"
The definitive unnecessary sequel, "Legally Blonde 2" will not assist the careers of anyone involved. The first film, which was mindless good fun (I guess), allowed Reese Witherspoon to turn on the charm and get the audience to root for her ditzy character's inexplicable success at Harvard Law.
Once again, Witherspoon plays Elle Woods, whose only interests seem to be fashion and being a lawyer, although she seems considerably more involved with the former than the latter. She's now planning her wedding to Emmett (Luke Wilson, whose deadpan delivery is welcome) and decides to find the parents of her annoying little chihuahua dog, Bruiser. When she finds out they're stuck in an animal testing lab, she tries to break them out, but to no success - she's working for a law firm who counts the company as a client. The firm gives Elle the boot, for the vague reason that she's not "serious".
So, she heads to Washington to try to pass a bill that would ban animal testing. Although she gains support from a former sorority sister who is now Congresswoman Rudd (Sally Field), it's no surprise that the rest of the office staff will come up with a series of one-liners to describe the explosion of pink that now finds itself in their office.
Once again, we get another "stuck up" crowd impressed with the sort of odd way that Elle seems to stumble upon new triumphs in her latest quest, which seems rather similar to the previous quest. Elle's attempts to stop animal testing is noble, indeed, but how has this idea been made into such a remarkably dumb film? The sequel continues the focus of the series on fashion and general materialism (congresswomen are bribed by haircuts), something that I'm surprised doesn't irritate more women, who are consistently told by the media that they need Prada bags and as many accessories as possible and not just to be themselves. The film's jokes occasionally hit, but they're mostly obvious, predictable and just not very funny.
As for Witherspoon, it can certainly be said that she tries her hardest, but the character's naive nature has started to irritate, with lines like, "Isn't bill writing super fun?" and "If we lose our voice, this country is in for a really bad haircut", as well as Elle's general surprise at how Washington works. Jennifer Coolidge tries to lend her comic abilities that've been honed in the Christopher Guest films, to some success. Bob Newhart and Sally Field, on the other hand, look lost (although few play confused for comedy better than Bob Newhart). Technically, I didn't care for the film, either; although I've never liked cinematographer Elliot Davis's work, "Blonde 2" looks dark and plain - odd in a movie that places so much emphasis on looks. Rolfe Kent's score loudly announces every emotional moment.
Once again, "Legally Blonde" ranked in the dollars at the box office, leading the way to what will obviously be a third film. Hopefully, some thought and creativity will go into Elle's third adventure, as this one's a much less interesting redo of the original.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Blonde 2" is presented by MGM in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Previously discussed irritation with the movie's look aside, MGM's transfer presents the film fairly well. Sharpness and detail are standard and consistent, not appearing remarkable, but not appearing soft or hazy, either.
Some moderate amounts of edge enhancement appear at times and become somewhat distracting. No compression artifacts were seen, though. The print appeared about as crisp as one would expect from recent fare, but I did notice a speck or two in a couple of scenes. Colors - aside from Elle's pink - seemed a little flat, but otherwise decently presented here.
SOUND: The film's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack isn't too much more exciting. Surrounds aren't called into play much at all, with only a couple of scenes putting the rear speakers to use for music. Audio quality is perfectly fine - dialogue is clear and easily understood - that's about all there is to it.
EXTRAS: Extras include a commentary with actresses Jennifer Coolidge, Alana Ulbach and Jessica Caulfiel, "making of" documentary "Blonde Ambition", 6 deleted scenes, a gag reel that's actually quite funny, trailers, Leann Rhimes music video, ad for "The Sims" video game,
Final Thoughts: The first movie certainly had its moments, but "Legally Blonde 2" is an awfully bland and uninspired sequel, with little in the way of humor. MGM's DVD offers decent audio/video quality and a satisfactory amount of supplements. Recommended for fans - others should skip it.
"You know what I thought when I first saw you?"
"That woman wears a lot of pink?"
The definitive unnecessary sequel, "Legally Blonde 2" will not assist the careers of anyone involved. The first film, which was mindless good fun (I guess), allowed Reese Witherspoon to turn on the charm and get the audience to root for her ditzy character's inexplicable success at Harvard Law.
Once again, Witherspoon plays Elle Woods, whose only interests seem to be fashion and being a lawyer, although she seems considerably more involved with the former than the latter. She's now planning her wedding to Emmett (Luke Wilson, whose deadpan delivery is welcome) and decides to find the parents of her annoying little chihuahua dog, Bruiser. When she finds out they're stuck in an animal testing lab, she tries to break them out, but to no success - she's working for a law firm who counts the company as a client. The firm gives Elle the boot, for the vague reason that she's not "serious".
So, she heads to Washington to try to pass a bill that would ban animal testing. Although she gains support from a former sorority sister who is now Congresswoman Rudd (Sally Field), it's no surprise that the rest of the office staff will come up with a series of one-liners to describe the explosion of pink that now finds itself in their office.
Once again, we get another "stuck up" crowd impressed with the sort of odd way that Elle seems to stumble upon new triumphs in her latest quest, which seems rather similar to the previous quest. Elle's attempts to stop animal testing is noble, indeed, but how has this idea been made into such a remarkably dumb film? The sequel continues the focus of the series on fashion and general materialism (congresswomen are bribed by haircuts), something that I'm surprised doesn't irritate more women, who are consistently told by the media that they need Prada bags and as many accessories as possible and not just to be themselves. The film's jokes occasionally hit, but they're mostly obvious, predictable and just not very funny.
As for Witherspoon, it can certainly be said that she tries her hardest, but the character's naive nature has started to irritate, with lines like, "Isn't bill writing super fun?" and "If we lose our voice, this country is in for a really bad haircut", as well as Elle's general surprise at how Washington works. Jennifer Coolidge tries to lend her comic abilities that've been honed in the Christopher Guest films, to some success. Bob Newhart and Sally Field, on the other hand, look lost (although few play confused for comedy better than Bob Newhart). Technically, I didn't care for the film, either; although I've never liked cinematographer Elliot Davis's work, "Blonde 2" looks dark and plain - odd in a movie that places so much emphasis on looks. Rolfe Kent's score loudly announces every emotional moment.
Once again, "Legally Blonde" ranked in the dollars at the box office, leading the way to what will obviously be a third film. Hopefully, some thought and creativity will go into Elle's third adventure, as this one's a much less interesting redo of the original.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Blonde 2" is presented by MGM in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Previously discussed irritation with the movie's look aside, MGM's transfer presents the film fairly well. Sharpness and detail are standard and consistent, not appearing remarkable, but not appearing soft or hazy, either.
Some moderate amounts of edge enhancement appear at times and become somewhat distracting. No compression artifacts were seen, though. The print appeared about as crisp as one would expect from recent fare, but I did notice a speck or two in a couple of scenes. Colors - aside from Elle's pink - seemed a little flat, but otherwise decently presented here.
SOUND: The film's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack isn't too much more exciting. Surrounds aren't called into play much at all, with only a couple of scenes putting the rear speakers to use for music. Audio quality is perfectly fine - dialogue is clear and easily understood - that's about all there is to it.
EXTRAS: Extras include a commentary with actresses Jennifer Coolidge, Alana Ulbach and Jessica Caulfiel, "making of" documentary "Blonde Ambition", 6 deleted scenes, a gag reel that's actually quite funny, trailers, Leann Rhimes music video, ad for "The Sims" video game,
Final Thoughts: The first movie certainly had its moments, but "Legally Blonde 2" is an awfully bland and uninspired sequel, with little in the way of humor. MGM's DVD offers decent audio/video quality and a satisfactory amount of supplements. Recommended for fans - others should skip it.
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