Greetings,
Sometimes I wonder to myself when it is that a sequel is necessary. It's obvious with some movies, every now and then, due to cliffhanger endings or being part of a book series or whatever. I'm kind of on the fence about this one about which I'll writing today, and I'll get to why in a moment. Maybe I'll figure it out, for sure, as I review Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde.
In 2001, the movie Legally Blonde became a massive hit, kind of out of nowhere, as I recall, and it turned Reese Witherspoon into a huge star. And rightfully so, because she was just a delight in the film as Elle Woods, a young woman who decided to go to law school because of a boy and ended up excelling. In case you didn't already know that. Well, here's a spoiler if you haven't seen that movie. We find out in the end that Elle's new boyfriend, Emmett, is going to propose to her. We could have all guessed that she'd say yes, and lived happily ever after. But apparently, we needed another movie to follow through with that. A movie that pretty much has almost nothing to do with said nuptials, which may have been a better plot, but what do I know?
Anyway, two years later, we got this sequel, starting with Elle making plans for her wedding, which includes trying to find her dog Bruiser's mother. Yeah, I'm a dog person as well, but come now. This leads her to finding out about a certain makeup brand doing animal testing, which, in turn, leads her to trying to fight it by way of her law firm, and when that doesn't work out, it leads her inevitably to Washington, D.C. so she can use the system to change the laws. And then, came the unicorns and leprechauns, because what happens in this thing is a tad fairy tale-ish. At least, it seems that way to me, because I can be a bit of a cynic, every now and then. Plus, I don't always trust Hollywood. Although, I think many people classify it as "feel-good". Whatever. Moving on.
What happens when she gets to D.C. is going to seem quite familiar to anyone who has seen the first film. It kind of follows the same tropes, as sequels are often wont to do. You know what I mean? She goes to some new place full of powerful people who don't take her seriously. Friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and apparently knowing plenty of fashion and beauty tips are the answer to everything. This means that writing this review is pretty easy as for plot I can basically just say "See First Film". However, despite those similarities, it has enough changes that make it different. I suppose that's the most we can hope for from a lot of sequels. Also, we get the introduction of the "Snap Cup". Which might be the awesome-est movie prop since the DeLorean. Anywho...
Another thing I like about this movie is the cast. We get a lot of old favorites coming back, like Jennifer Coolidge, Alanna Ubach, Jessica Caulfiel and of course, Luke Wilson. No Selma Blair, though. What the deuce? I thought they became best friends. Did those two have a tiff? Anyway, we also get some new faces, including legends like Sally Field and Bob Newhart, great character actors like Bruce McGill and Dane Ivey, and also the wonderful Regina King. Although, now that I think about it, she got her start on 227, which took place in...Washington, D.C., which must mean...Oh, my gosh. OH, MY GOSH! It all makes sense now! But moving on.
I suppose the question with this, as with all sequels, is whether or not it was necessary. To be honest, not exactly. We could have predicted that Elle and Emmett would marry and she would become successful at something. I don't think we needed another movie to tell us that, especially since the former was barely more than a subplot. But is this a bad movie? No, I certainly wouldn't say that. It's enjoyable enough, particularly if you like the feel of the first one. It's nowhere near as good as the first one, of course, as the newness and charm were what really made it become a hit, I think. It obviously doesn't have the newness, and also, a bit less of the charm, but it does have its moments. I say that it's worth at least one watch. And who knows? That one watch may lead to more.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
