LEGALLY BLONDE --------------
Elle Wood (Reese Witherspoon, "Election") is blonde, beautiful and about to graduate from her junior fashion retailing college. She's also preparing to receive an heirloom engagement ring from her East Coast boyfriend Warner (Matthew Davis, "Pearl Harbor"). She's shaken to her core when she discovers that instead, he's breaking up with her, as she's just not 'serious' enough for a future senator. Elle's mettle is up, so she gets a Copolla to direct a video essay and gets accepted to Warner's school. Harvard Law has never seen the likes of Elle Wood, but they turn out to be a surprisingly compatible combination in "Legally Blonde."
"Legally Blonde" is essentially "Private Benjamin" goes to law school, with liberal dashes of "Clueless" thrown in. Although Reese Witherspoon has charm to spare, first time feature director Robert Luketic, armed with an adapted screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith ("10 Things I Hate About You"), serves up a film that lacks focus.
Elle, with her California couture, pink pumps and color-coordinated chihuahua Bruiser, is out to dispel the dumb blonde stereotype without toning down her wardrobe. But she receives a double shock her first day at school, which is a lot tougher than she had expected (surrounded by black lap tops, Elle brings out a heart-shaped notepad and pink feather pen). She's ejected from her class by preppie Vivian Kensington (Selma Blair, "Cruel Intentions") and then discovers that Vivian's wearing Warner's family rock. An emergency manicure at the Beauty Oasis, where she meets pathetic Paulette (Jennifer Coolidge, "Best in Show"), gives her a boost, though, and she decides to stick it out.
After some advice from third year student Emmet (Luke Wilson, "Charlie's Angels"), Elle counters Warner's thoughts on the parental rights of sperm donors by comparing masturbation to reckless abandonment and captures the attention of Professor Callahan (Victor Garber, "Titanic"). Soon she, along with Warner and Vivian, are interning on a murder case. It's here that "Legally Blonde" begins to go seriously astray.
The young fitness wife of a wealthy older man accused of murdering him turns out to be an alumnus of Elle's California college. The creaky plot mechanics don't hold a lot of laughs and take the focus away from Elle's plan to win back Warner. The romantic possibilities of pairing Elle and Emmett aren't explored and Vivian's scheme to show up Elle at a party is a visual joke done months ago in "Bridget Jones's Diary."
Still, Reese Witherspoon shines as the perky, pampered blonde, injecting the film with so much good will it's hard to dislike it. Moonie the chihuahua is a great find as Bruiser, a natural extension of Elle Woods' persona. No one else in the cast, with the exception of Brooke Taylor as tough as nails Professor Stromwell and Oz Perkins as Dorky David, really offers much. Raquel Welch has a flamboyant cameo as the murder victim's first wife.
Production design by Melissa Stewart ("To Die For") and costume design by Sophie de Rakoff Carbonell ("Crime + Punishment in Suburbia") mix elements of "Clueless" with those of "The Paper Chase."
C+
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