Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde on DVD

Here’s a flick that proves there are exceptions to the rule that sequels suck.

Okay, it isn’t as good as the original, and it has some downright awful scenes, but there’s more than enough good stuff to make up for its lapses in logic - and you also get Reese Witherspoon in all her glory.

Witherspoon again stars as Elle Woods who, at first glance, may seem to be a real bimbo but who has plenty of substance beneath her airy form. She’s working at a Boston law firm with half her brain and using the other half to plan her wedding to the Harvard law professor who’s the man of her dreams (Luke Wilson).

But while putting together the guest list for her wedding, she discovers that one of the guests she wants - the mother of her prized Chihuahua Bruiser - is being held prisoner by a cosmetics company that’s using her as a test beast for its latest products.

This launches her on the crusade that propels us through the rest of the movie: banning the use of animals for testing. Alas, the first casualty in her war is herself, and she’s sacked unceremoniously from her job.

There are no flies on Elle, though, and she lands on her feet in Washington, working in the office of a Massachusetts politician played (with typical grace and skill) by Sally Field.

Thus begins both the “fish out of water” aspect of Elle’s existence that’s so necessary to the story’s success and a bit of a “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” redux at the same time as Elle begins her assault on Capitol Hill to have “Bruiser’s Bill,” the test ban, passed.

She runs into inertia, deal making, deal breaking, hypocrisy, corruption, and - fortunately - enough idealism to ensure a happy ending. The chief obstacle to her success turns out to be the one person she thought she could most depend on - while her chief ally is a supposedly tight-assed conservative Republican who (in typical conservative Republican tradition) puts the good of the nation (as far as is affected by this bill) ahead of his personal reputation and ambition.

As an aside, we’ve noticed in a couple of Reese Witherspoon movies that they manage to reverse the typical Hollywood political stereotypes that have Democrats and/or liberals presented as all that’s good and Republicans/conservatives as something not too far short of the Antichrist. This is refreshing and very welcome, since the typical view is 180 degrees removed from reality. These Witherspoon movies do a little to restore the truth and balance, even though they're fictional stories. Could Ms Witherspoon be a closet conservative? If so, we urge her to come out of the closet, though of course it could be dangerous for her career in a business that's so heavily prejudiced.

Anyway, through her own ingenuity and hard work, and with the help of her friends, co-workers and other acquaintances, Elle manages to get her bill passed while reminding some political types of why they’re supposed to be in Washington in the first place, and showing movie-goers that people can, indeed make a difference if they only get off their backsides and get involved.

Yet there are a few really, really lame scenes that completely destroy your suspension of disbelief. Fortunately, shortly after each one happens Elle and the movie manage to pick themselves up again and barrel along as if nothing had gone wrong.

In all, it’s an enjoyable, entertaining romp, with Witherspoon turning in another endearing performance and her supporting cast backing her up very well. Besides Field and Wilson, Regina King, Jennifer Coolidge, Bruce McGill and Bob Newhart are along for the ride.

The movie is presented in anamorphic widescreen (16x9 TV compatible) and while we found the video quality a tad soft the picture is overall very easy on the eyes, featuring lovely rich colors (and doesn’t that come in handy in a movie that really likes to use pink?) that shine through the film’s overall yellowish color scheme.

Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and though we didn’t notice the surround part the overall sound quality is fine.

You also get plenty of extras with this Special Edition DVD.

First up is a running commentary by the cast, along with some deleted scenes and a gag reel. There’s also a LeAnn Rimes music video (We Can), and a “Welcome to Delta Nu” quiz game, a photo gallery, a 22 minute “Blonde Ambition” featurette about the film and theatrical trailers.

Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde, from MGM Home Video
95 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1, 16x9 TV compatible), Dolby Digital 5.1
Starring Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, Regina King, Luke Wilson
Produced by Marc Platt, David Nicksay
Written by Kate Kondell, Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld

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