Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) starring Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, Regina King, Jennifer Coolidge, Bruce McGill, Dana Ivey, Bob Newhart, Luke Wilson directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld Movie Review

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

Miss Woods Goes to Washington

Whilst "Legally Blonde" was sort of amusing in a pink and fluffy way it was by no means a movie which would you expect to churn out a sequel, but it made money and so in 2003 we got another dose of Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde". Sadly, and I do mean sadly, "Legally Blonde 2" is a movie so terrible that it is amazing it didn't cut short Reese Witherspoon's career. Being daft, repetitive and utterly pointless there is very little which makes it even mildly entertaining.

With her wedding to Emmett (Luke Wilson) coming soon Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line) sets about making it perfect by trying to find the biological mother of her pet Chiwawa. But when she discovers that the biological mother is subject to animal testing at a company called V.E.R.S.A.C.E. she decides to head off to Washington and campaign for the rights of animals. But being Elle her pink ways don't fit into the dull world of politics and finds herself up against a whole host of barriers as she tries to get her Bill put through congress.

Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

It doesn't take long before you realise that "Legally Blonde 2" is going to not only be daft but also mirror much of what went on in the first movie. When Elle tries to find the mother of her pet Chiwawa it's so outrageously stupid that it borders on the headache inducing. It doesn't get much better with her heading off to Washington to campaign for the rights of animals who are subject to animal testing, delivering a sense of deja vu as several scenes mirror the first movie. The trouble is that it is all too daft this time around that it becomes painfully stupid and the attempt to throw in a message about animal cruelty whilst notable makes it almost cringe worthy.

Being so daft many of the jokes, those girlie pink moments where Elle gets inspiration, just fall flat on their face. I'm still trying to work out what happened because the comedy the first time around sort of worked or at least was amusing but this time around the jokes are forced, dealt with in a very heavy handed manner and ultimately obvious. Regina King who tries her best to spark life into her obstinate chief of staff character ends up just going through the motions as she churns out one cliche after another. And King is not alone because not a single star, and there are a few including Bruce McGill, Bob Newhart and Sally Field, that delivers anything more than dull dialogue with cliche characters. Even the returning Jennifer Coolidge and Luke Wilson fail to be anything more than background noise as Elle is planning her wedding.

What all this means is that "Legally Blonde 2" relies heavily on Reese Witherspoon to bring it all together and make it work. Well Witherspoon delivers every ounce of the Elle Woods which we loved from the first movie but then has to go completely over the top to make up for the lacking of clever comedy or a worthwhile storyline. I like Witherspoon but watching her try to make all this daftness work ends up becoming uncomfortable and cringe worthy. In a movie which struggles from start to finish Witherspoon is the only thing which saves it from being completely unwatchable even if she does end up grating on your nerves.

What this all boils down to is that "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde" is not only one of the worst sequels I have watched but also one of the worst movies. It's a movie that's been made purely because "Legally Blonde" made money and as such struggles as it tries to work through one of the daftest storylines going. The jokes are lame and the repetitive nature is painful and although Reese Witherspoon does her best to bring it all together it's just too big a job even for Elle Woods.


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