Well, hooray. Finally, summer has brought us a movie that allows you to leave the theater with something resembling a smile on your face. When the temp is 90 degrees, I want to go to the movies to sit in the air conditioning and not think, and not cry, and not be moved in any possible way. Leave the thought-provokers for Christmas releases, please. If that sounds like you, Legally Blonde is a worth your $6.50. If you are ready to strangle me for even suggesting a movie should not be profound, then I advise you to run screaming in the other direction of this film.

Legally Blonde is witty, cute, light and an all around good time. Reese Witherspoon is Elle Woods, a rich California girl, president of her sorority, and madly in love with her horrible East Coast boyfriend, Warner Huntington III. When Warner tells her she's just not serious enough for him and heads off to Harvard Law, Elle decides the only way to get him back is to go after him. After arriving in Cambridge dressed in Beverly Hills' finest, and a few initial mishaps with classes, Elle rides the wave of her own surprising success to a happy ending.

By far the greatest thing about this film is the cast. Reese Witherspoon is one of the most talented young actresses around right now. (I have a personal vendetta about the fact that she is Mrs. Ryan Phillippe, but that's not the point...) Reese is refreshing and adorable, and she has a good time with this part. Elle is not the snobby rich b*tch you would expect. She is in fact tremendously sweet, compassionate, and sincere. Even if you hated the smart, pretty girl when you were in school, you will love this one.

The supporting cast is nothing to spit at either. The truly awesome Selma Blair plays the East Coast snob, Luke Wilson is Elle's Prince Charming, and Holland Taylor, a legend in her own right, has fun with her brief role as a difficult law professor who saves the day. Perhaps my favorite casting turn was Victor Garber as the lawyer Elle works for. (You may remember Garber as the man who built the Titanic. Every time I see him in another film, I wait for him to whip around, look into the camera, and drawl, "She's made of iron, sir, she certainly can!" But I digress...)

Legally Blonde is pretty thoroughly unbelievable. A sorority president with a degree in Fashion Merchandising gets into Harvard Law? She gets to keep her chihuahua in the dorm room? She apprentices with a major lawyer and works on a murder case as a first-year grad student? Probably not. But who cares. The dialogue is suprisingly witty and the characters are enjoyable. So what if the plot is a little saccharine? By the final court room scene, you'll be cheering for Elle to pull through. And you'll leave smiling.






Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older