Critic Doctor (Herb Kane) - Review by Peter Sobczynski: Legally Blonde 2 (PG-13) - Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, Bob Newhart, Luke Wilson, Regina King

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FILM REVIEW

LEGALLY BLONDE 2
by Peter Sobczynski

July 2, 2003

(Out of 4 stars)

FILM CREDITS: Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, Bob Newhart, Luke Wilson, Regina King. Directed by: Charles Herman-Wurmfeld. Produced by: David Nicksay, Marc E. Platt. Written by: Eve Ahlert, Dennis Drake, Kate Kondell, Amanda Brown. Distributor: MGM. PG-13 (for some sex-related humor).

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Even though this summer has already given us such unnecessary sequels as "2 Fast 2 Furious" and "Dumb and Dumberer", the award for the most pointless and mercenary continuation of the summer hands-down goes to "Legally Blonde 2." I liked the first one a lot but there was nothing about the story of smart dumb blonde Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) overcoming adversity at Harvard Law School that suggested that a follow-up was needed. However, MGM, the brain trust behind such modern classics as "Rollerball" and "A Guy Thing", can’t live on Bond films alone and since the original was their only hit in recent memory that didn’t also feature Pierce Brosnan in a tux, it was quickly forced into production. The result is a grisly disappointment-the kind of sequel that is so shrill and unpleasant that you begin to wonder what you ever saw in the original film in the first place.

Through incredibly forced circumstances, Elle ventures to Washington to work as an aide to a powerful Congresswoman (Sally Field) in order to get a bill passed halting the use of animals in cosmetics testing. Although she doesn’t seem to notice it, she winds up going through the exact chain of events that she went through in the original. Her fellow workers think she is a dope but eventually turn to her side. Her mentor winds up stabbing her in the back, leading to a brief moment of depression. She becomes pals with a mope who blossoms into a hottie under her wing. And yes, she manages to triumph at the end by apply her knowledge of beauty products in order to help score important legal points. To make things even more familiar, many of the minor supporting characters from the first film pop up here for no particularly good reason.

While this film repeats many of the story points and jokes from the original, what is missing is the charm that Witherspoon brought to the character of Elle Woods. You couldn’t help but like her in that first film but here, the character is simply unbearable. She isn’t charming or funny and comes off like a run-of-the-mill dumb blonde this time around; when the nasty people make fun of her this time around, you can’t help but find yourself agreeing with them. In fact, the only time she is ever convincing during the film is at a point when she says "You don’t realize how horrible something is until you experience it"-a sentiment that anyone unlucky enough to watch "Legally Blonde 2" will quickly second.

-- PETER SOBCZYNSKI

CRITIC DOCTOR DISCLAIMER

While the views expressed by Peter Sobczynski do not necessarily reflect the views of Criticdoctor.com, the Critic Doctor will occasionally examine Mr. Sobczynski's film reviews to bring forth an honest examination of those views expressed.

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