Starring Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Ali Larter, Victor Garber, Jennifer Coolidge, Holland Taylor. Directed by Robert Luketic. Elle Woods (Witherspoon) is the president of her sorority at California University Los Angeles, Miss Hawaiian tropic runner-up and an honour student. She is also popular and always nice. She is also diligently seeking her MRS degree. Her boyfriend is cute and Harvard Law School bound Warner (Davis), whose family has produced five generations of senators. Elle is going on a date with Warner and expects a ring. Instead he dumps her because she's not "serious enough" - he "wants Jackie, not Marilyn". Devastated, she locks herself in her room and gorges on bonbons and TV for a week. But then she has a brain wave - she will go to Harvard Law School and win back her boyfriend. She studies hard, aces her LSAT and gets into Harvard. But things don't go well at first. Her first professor, Stromwell (Taylor) tosses her out of class for not being prepared. And Elle discovers Warner has just got engaged to an old highschool sweetheart of his Vivian Kensington (Blair), an uptight bookworm who takes it upon herself to rub it in Elle's face. But it's when Warner tells her he doesn't think she's smart enough that Elle starts to hit the books and go after one of four prestigious articling positions in the firm of Professor Callahan (Garber). Which she of course gets, as does Vivian and Warner. She also discovers a third-year intern who has been supportive of her abilities from the start named Emmett (Wilson) is also part of the firm. The case they are to work on involves a California fitness guru Brooke Taylor (Larter) accused of murdering her much older husband. Elle and Brooke hit it off, and she alone believes in her innocence over her more jaded superiors and classmates. The film has two dominating messages. Firstly, don't label people or think the worst of them by judging their hair colour, sexual preference, line of work or major in school. Unless it is to note gay men have superior fashion knowledge. Secondly, don't do things just to snag or please a man. Or as Professor Stromwell colourfully suggests, don't let some jerk stop you from becoming the person you could and should be. The film is light and charming - it is meant to be fun and not terribly serious. Elle regularly confides in the only person in Boston who treats her nicely - her manicurist Paulette (Coolidge). Don't expect the courtroom proceedings or the lawyer interaction to be anything close to realistic - the film is simplistic and naive about clients, lawyers and people in general. But then I believe it is done that way on purpose, to present a positive vision of humanity. Witherspoon's company produced the movie, and she dominates the film. Fortunately, like her excellent work in several fine films like Pleasantville and Election, she is wonderful. She's exactly what the character is supposed to be - charming, perky, lovable, but Witherspoon consistenly pulls back before Elle ever becomes cloying or too sugar-sweet. An actress who has mostly avoided teen and slasher flicks and instead concentrated on thoughtful projects, she consistently exudes intelligence and a sense of right and wrong in Elle. One of the flaws of the film is the unnecessarily weak characterization of many of the supporting cast. Too often characters are cardboard props, presented as black or white, over-simplified in their motivations. Professor Callahan is the bad guy - supposed to be the top defence lawyer in the state (what about Bobby Donnell?) but believes the client guilty before he has even spoken to her, and is often unprepared and dismissive of his underlings when we know they are so obviously correct. Warner is an airhead, and yet he's worried that Elle is not smart enough for him. Vivian is a frigid bitch we immediately dislike, although she does warm up a bit and actually makes a character transition. Emmett is the right hand confidant of Callahan, yet he is entirely good - supportive of and always believing in Elle without fail, never thinking of taking advantage of her. I know the film is meant to be a farce, but the best farces have characters who are a lot smarter and more complex than they appear. Despite the limitations, Garber is good in support, as is Blair. Witherspoon is great, and the movie should have been better. But overall, Legally Blonde is enjoyable, light summer fare. If you would like to respond, please click the E-Mail Press Here To Go To The Review List Page