'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enou...
'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enough to wish to continue to read my ramblings, you can find me on Dooyoo under the user name plipplop. See you around! :P
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Legally Blonde is the story of Elle Woods, a beautiful blonde fashion student from Los Angeles. Elle has an enviable lifestyle. She is adored by her room mates, spoilt rotten by her wealthy parents and has a handsome boyfriend who is the talk of the town. For Elle, life has got just about as good as it can get, and the film opens with her busily preparing for her forthcoming date – when she expects her boyfriend to pop the big question.
But Elle’s world is about to come crashing down around her ears. Her boyfriend Warner does have something he wants to talk about – but he sees their future in a very different way to she does – and Elle is devastated when he finishes with her for not being intelligent enough to match his forthcoming Harvard education. Nonetheless, Elle doesn’t give up that easily, and she decides that if she wants to keep her man then she needs to become more like the sort of girl he wants. She decides to take the relevant exams for a place in Harvard – and to the surprise of everyone involved, she passes and is enrolled. However – the worst is yet to come, and Elle has to put all her feminine guile to work in her quest to get back the man she wants -–and prove that she is more than just a big pair of boobs.
This
was not a film that I was expecting to enjoy, but in an otherwise quiet week for new DVD releases, Legally Blonde still seemed better than watching terrestrial television for the afternoon, so I duly hired a copy. Against all expectations – and probably against my better judgement – I have to confess that I really enjoyed this movie and would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending it to others.
Legally Blonde is genuinely funny – not in a crude teenager kind of way, or in a subtle way, but just through its portrayal of the blonde bimbo image that we are all familiar with. We’ve all read blonde jokes – this film is a walking screenplay of many of those cutting puns, but in such an amicable, harmless way that you just can’t help but like the characters. In true Hollywood style, reality, and probability – and to be quite frank sanity – all go out the window, but this is a feel-good movie and it does make you feel good. I loved Elle’s fluffy, feminine world, where everything she owned carried a designer label and a pink girlie aura. In real life, she is the sort of person that would probably drive you up the wall, but in Legally Blonde she was the hero from start to finish.
There are a number of funny moments in the film, but my favourite parts were all in the earlier half of the film. Elle’s videotaped application for enrolment in Harvard is brilliant – I really can’t understand why the professors were keen for her to join up (not). I really liked the way that the film satirised the way in which we pluck achievements from the past, and when applying for jobs or courses try to dress them up as something fantastic. In Elle’s case, her claims to fame are that she once appeared in a Ricky Martin video and that she successfully campaigned against non-branded toilet tissue in her sorority house – brilliant!
I sometimes felt that Legally Blonde was trying to be an ironically sincere piece of filmmaking. Whereas other directors spend their time trying to tell us that beauty is only skin deep, this film tells us that the world would be a boring place if there were no passion - indeed, Elle’s legal career is a testament to the power of glamour, in more ways than one. Legally Blonde may sell itself as a simple comedy, but I rather felt that it was the intention of the makers to challenge the “blonde” idea through irony. Elle may initially come across as an airhead, but she ends up being the smartest one of them all. I guess the lesson to be learned here is simple – don’t judge a book by its cover.
But, before we get too carried away with morals and messages, it’s worth remembering that this is an American film through and through. Its sincerity is therefore ultimately questionable, and in true American style, this is a film about selling the American ideal worldwide. If only all teenagers could go to the same school as Elle and her friends and if only they could all drive Porsches and have lunch with Cameron Diaz. Any important messages that this film may try to convey are ultimately lost in the deluge of expensive clothes and sugary dialogue. It is just as well, therefore, to treat this film as a bit of fun, and not to start questioning anything you see.
Reese Witherspoon is effortlessly convincing as Elle – almost worryingly so – and puts in a fine performance. Witherspoon seems to have forged a career from playing bimbos, but she always does it well, and let’s face it, she certainly looks the part. The supporting cast also work well – there were some slightly familiar faces in the crowd, but nobody that was instantly memorable. Favourite supporting characters for me were Paulette (Jennifer Coolidge), the hapless (or should that be hopeless?) beauty parlour assistant and Vivian (played by Selma Blair), Elle’s arch rival in love who looks suitably icy at all the right moments. Matthew Davis is convincingly cheesy as the love interest Warner, but then I’m not sure it was something he had to work at particularly hard.
Legally Blonde carries a 12 certificate, apparently for swear words and mild sexual references, but I doubt anyone would be offended by anything in this. If you enjoyed “Clueless” you will probably like this film too – if you’re looking for another slice of American Pie, you will be disappointed.
Recommended
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This was a fun film to watch and I think I've fallen in love with Luke Wilson! LOL
Glorificus1 23.03.2002 17:21
Thank you for reading my first Ciao op :) Jo, Pink Pricess
Pelenya 23.03.2002 13:21
Very informative opinion. I, too, have watched this movie with my daughter and found it to be quite entertaining. One point to remember, however, is that not all of America is Hollywood. Most of us here are intelligent enough to realize that we will never be able to live in Hollywood style. Most of us are just average working-class people and, although we may wish we could live "BIG," we cannot. I think this is a bit of an unfair assumption about Americans and a rather unfair comment about American films. Nonetheless, a very good opinion. I'm glad you enjoyed the movie, as did I.
An extraordinary comic performance from Reese Witherspoon makesLegally Blondea winner. ... more
Witherspoons Elle is a ditzy blonde forced by circumstances to metamorphose into a strong-minded and academic lawyer, without losing her strong sense of self in the ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
An extraordinary comic performance from Reese Witherspoon makesLegally Blondea winner. ... more
Witherspoons Elle is a ditzy blonde forced by circumstances to metamorphose into a strong-minded and academic lawyer, without losing her strong sense of self in the ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
She's a Beverly Hills beauty who'll do anything to keep her man. Even if it means going ... more
all the way... to law school! Reese Witherspoon (Election) stars with Luke Wilson (Charlie's Angels), Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions), Matthew Davis (Pearl Harbour) ...
Reese Witherspoon gives a glittering performance as Elle Woods the natural blonde ... more
sorority queen who enrolls at Harvard Law School. Expecting her boyfriend Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis) to propose Elle is mortified when instead he says he nee...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Legally Blonde [DVD] [2001]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78531096.jpg "Legally Blonde [DVD] [2001]")
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