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Review by Harvey Karten
1½ stars out of 4
The small percentage of movie-goers who do the right thing
and stay in their seats until the final credits roll may notice the
disclaimer: "Monitored by the American Humane Society. No
animal was harmed during the production of this film." This
regulation puts the U.S. in the minority of nations refusing to
allow dogs, cats and other mammals displayed on the screen to
suffer in any way. Yet when it comes to the use of four-legged
creatures to test products, America is not yet there. What many
in the audience of "Legally Blonde 2: Red White & Blonde" will
realize at the close of the thankfully brief film is that dogs, like
bunnies, are used by science not simply to research for cures
for disease but for the trivial purpose of testing whether they will
suffer when covered with mascara or lipstick. Kate Kondell,
who wrote this sequel to "Legally Blonde," has her heart in the
right place, but as we know, the road to hell is paved with good
intentions. While "Legally Blonde 2" isn't exactly cinematic
Hades, the broadly drawn characterizations, the virtually
complete absence of wit and nuance, and the message driven
home that the only thing our sheep in Congress need is a
heartfelt speech to make them join hands and vote unanimously
for apple pie and motherhood, is close enough.
The problem is not with Reese Witherspoon, whose capacity
for both comedic turns and dramatic flourishes was highlighted
by Alexander Payne's entertaining yet spot-on satire, "Election."
In that 1999 movie, filled with audacity and wickedness, a
Nebraska teacher tries to stymie the election of a compulsively
ambitious overachiever (played by Ms. Witherspoon), the latter
gaining her revenge by exposing the instructor's extra-curricular
sexual activities. This time around, her character settles for the
predictable victory but in doing so, director Charles Herman-
Wumfeld takes a step down in his career-making "Kissing
Jessica Stein," which was a bold and unpredictable turn about
the unexpected emotional consequences that befall a woman
who answers a personal ad.
"Legally Blonde 2" finds Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon),
favoring pink and thereby standing out from the army of
organization-man politicians decked out in the more appropriate
colors of gray and black. When Elle goes to Washington to fight
for a bill that would make illegal the use of animals to test
cosmetics, she runs into several roadblocks. Congresswoman
Victoria Rudd (Sally Field), who is sponsoring the bill and who
has enlisted Elle to help her get it passed, betrays the young
and pert Ms. Woods. The congresswoman's staff, headed by
the straight-laced Grace (Regina King), are both repelled by
Elle's audacity and envious of her preliminary successes. Her
efforts to get the bill passed are blocked in turn by a no-
nonsense member of the House, appropriately named Libby
Hauser (Dana Ivey) and a conservative southerner, Stan (Bruce
McGill). True to the nature of the sitcom, all the protagonist
needs to do is to find the weaknesses in the opposition, exploit
them, and move on to the glorious, crowd-pleasing finale.
If this film is meant to show how venal our legislators are (by
opposing bills that they like if their principal donors to
campaigns are opposed), it does so, but only superficially. Only
Rip Van Winkle would lack the cynicism needed to explode the
myths of fairness. If the movie indicates that the common guy,
in this case doorman Sid Post (played by Bob Newhart whose
years have not cured his irritating, Hugh-Grant-like stutter),
knows what's good for America, yes, of course. If "Legally
Blonde 2" is designed as a believable fable, a Ms. Woods Goes
to Washington, then, no nor is that important. What is
significant is the absence of any but the broadest, most sit-
comish jokes, the sort of movie that will appeal to an audience
that roars when it finds out Elle Woods's Chihuahua, Bruiser
(Moondoggie), is gay.
Copyright © 2003 Harvey Karten
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