neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
	Charles Herman-Wurmfeld Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, Bob Newhart, Luke Wilson, Jennifer Coolidge, Regina King, Jessica Cauffiel, Alanna Ubach 2003		Reese Witherspoon may have won hearts with her portrayal of materialistic sorority girl-turned-Harvard law student Elle Woods in the financially successful comedy "Legally Blonde," but the film itself was tissue-thin and splattered with false sentiment. As blatant or simple-minded as the gags were in "Legally Blonde," they're more so in the sequel "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde" — a would-be "Ms. Woods Goes to Washington" that has Elle quitting her good job at a Boston law firm and going to D.C., accompanied by her chihuahua, Bruiser, to lobby against animal testing in the cosmetics industry. (The dippy heroine is actually shown watching Jimmy Stewart in the timeless "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" on her TV. Sacrilege!) Of course, no one in the Capitol treats this pink-garbed Barbie doll with respect, even though she's an aide to an esteemed senator (Sally Field, of all people). Still, sunshiny Elle won't give up. She calls on her beau (Luke Wilson, barely there), her trashy beautician pal (Jennifer Coolidge), her sorority sisters and a D.C.-wise doorman (Bob Newhart, sadly) to aid her cause. "Legally Blonde 2" — programmed, not funny nor inspiring — is a Washington monument to mediocrity.