The burden of carrying "Legally Blonde" falls upon the shoulders of Reese Witherspoon and, with confidence and capability, she pulls it off. There is little beneath the surface of the story as we watch Elle prove herself smart time and time again. She is not just pretty and soon proves herself equal to any intellectual task presented her.. She is, of course, selected by one of her professors (Victor Garber) to be a law clerk on a high profile murder case. Her ex-boyfriend, Warner, and his new, serious (i.e. not blonde) girlfriend Vivian (Selma Blair) are also part of the team and Elle has to prove, repeatedly, that her blonde roots have not dumbed her down. Eventually, everyone gets the point.
There is little going on with the supporting cast, mainly due to the shallow script that develops no one besides Elle. Luke Wilson is an obvious romantic interest, but that whole development is left as a footnote at the end of the film. Selma Blair, who made such a funny, charming splash in "Cruel Intentions," is left out in the cold as non-blonde Vivian. Matthew Davis is clueless as Warner and it makes one wonder just what Elle would see in such a narrow-minded and not that bright a guy. The rest of the cast members are more symbolic than real.
Overall, production values are on the cheap side and, like the screenplay, shallow. Photography, by Anthony B. Richmond, looks murky and, except for some nice shots of Boston and Cambridge, is not notable. Kudos to Sophie de Rakoff Carbonell for her costuming of Witherspoon and her pet Chihuahua, Bruiser.
There is more than just a passing similarity to the comedy hit, "Clueless," as Elle goes about improving the quality of life for those around her, including making a dorky law student a babe magnet. We've been here before and seen it done better. But, Witherspoon holds her own and makes "Legally Blonde" watchable, at least. I give it a C.
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