Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, & Blonde

PLOT:

Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) wants her Chihuahua, Bruiser, to reunite with his mother, because she would like Bruiser’s mother to attend her wedding. Elle hires a detective to find Bruiser’s mother, only to discover that the company that has her dog’s mother is a cosmetics company that uses Bruiser’s mother for cosmetic testing. She finds out that her law firm represents the C’est Magnifique Corporation, and at her annual review proposes to law firm management that the firm encourage C’est Magnifique to stop animal testing. Elle argues that the animal testing is unjust, and as a result, she is fired from her law firm.

Elle decides to leave Boston, where she had settled with her fiancé, and move to Washington, DC. Elle is so upset that her dog’s mother is in a make-up testing laboratory, that she decides to take it upon herself to have a “voice for those who can’t speak”, and to outlaw animal testing.

While working for Congresswoman Victoria Rudd (Sally Field), Elle is met with skepticism and other barriers common to Washington politics. One of her new co-workers remarks that she is “Capitol Barbie!”, (there has even been a Barbie doll based on Elle Woods). After a variety of ups and downs including a failed attempt to improve her work environment by having her co-workers write compliments about one another and place them in the “snap cup”, Elle starts to lose her faith in Washington politics.

As the story moves along, Elle discovers that Bruiser is actually gay, after she is paged by “The Paws that Refreshes: A Doggy Day Spa.” Bruiser has been affectionate with Leslie, a Rottweiller owned by Representative Stan Marks (Bruce McGill). Elle also finds that Congresswoman Libby Hauser (Dana Ivey) was a member of Delta Nu (the sorority from the first film). As a result, Hauser warms to Elle and eventually comes to support Bruiser’s Bill.

Elle also discovers that Congresswoman Rudd has been working against her. Rudd has been doing so in an effort to satisfy the interests of a major campaign donor named “Bob” (who is never seen, but with whom Rudd has several telephone conversations). However, Rudd is eventually blackmailed into supporting Elle’s discharge petition, because Rudd’s Chief of Staff, Grace Rossiter (Regina King) eavesdrops on a recorded conversation during which Rudd admits to Elle that she has been working against Bruiser’s Bill in order to help Rudd’s sponsors who want to continue with tests on animals. Grace and Elle eventually reach a place of mutual respect, even though Grace openly dislikes Elle.

Elle’s discharge petition is successful, and Bruiser’s Bill is brought to the floor of the House. Elle gets married in a park in D.C., albeit not at Fenway Park as she had planned, but standing on the home plate which has been delivered to D.C. by the UPS Guy (Bruce Thomas). In the final scene of the movie, when Emmett asks where to live, Elle says, “Oh, I think I know just the place,” as they are driving by the White House.

REVIEW:

As good as the first Legally Blonde was, you would think a studio would know better than to attempt to recapture the magic with a sequel, but that was not the case with this film.

Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, and Jennifer Coolidge reprise their roles from the first film and are the heart and soul of the film.

Sally Field is a great actress without question, but this is a role that is beneath her. My guess is that she took it as a favor to someone, or just wanted to have fun being a Congresswoman. Whatever the case, her talent is wasted in this role.

Regina King can’t seem to play anything but tough roles. Even Huey and Riley, the characters she voices on The Boondocks, seem to be tough. I’m not sitting here saying she’s bad in this type of role, just a bit predictable, and it takes away from the enjoyment.

I don’t want anyone to think that this is a bad film, because it isn’t, but it doesn’t stack up to the original. That’s really sad when you consider this film has such potential, but sequels are a crap shoot. They either end up being really good, or really bad. This one leans more towards the latter.

Still, it isn’t a film to avoid like the plague. It is quite enjoyable, even if you haven’t seen the first film. There are plenty of funny moments to keep everyone entertained, and if you can get around the holes in the plot, you should really enjoy it.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars