Hey folks, Harry here with BarristerFrog to give you a look at the situation comedy flick, LEGALLY BLONDE starring Reese Witherspoon. Personally I adore Reese like I used to adore Winona Ryder... It's just that Reese has begun to get the better roles and Winona... starring with Richard Gere.... PLEAAAASSSSSEEEEEE NOOOOOOO!!!! Anyways... Movies like the following can be a flaming splinter in the eye for the audience if they are made wrong... but the BarristerFrog assures us that this one works.... Read and see.... he has a fairly spoiler free review....
Hi Harry:
I live in Southern California and check your site daily... and I have been to test screenings in the past of "Anna Karenina", "Armageddon", and "Supernova", but never really submitted reviews.
Tonight is different -- tonight I was invited to see a test screening of "Legally Blonde". I was told that the test audience was from 18 to 30, but I lied and told them I was 30 to get in (I'm 32). I am a lawyer, so maybe I just enjoyed the subject matter more. The normal admonitions were given, regarding the fact that it's a test, so the music, titles, color, were temporary. Looked like a finished product to me.
Legally Blonde stars Reese Witherspoon as a sorority girl that has a perfect little life... a porsche, manicures, hairstyles, pink everywhere, and the perfect boyfriend, that is until he decides, on the night he is supposed to propose, that he has to dump her since he is moving to Cambridge to attend Harvard Law School, and she isn't "high status" enough for him.
While crying, she decides she is going to follow him to law school, and show him she is worthy of his desires. Some slow moments of her both convincing her friends, parents (the only scene her parents are in, which was strange), and those at her college, where she is majoring in fashion merchandising, intercut with her studying for the LSAT. Oh, and shots of her little dog with a matching sweater each day. And this girl LOVES pink -- pink sweaters, shoes, purses, which really stands out from the drab Harvard student body colors (burgundy and navy and gray) shown in the movie.
Finally, she makes it, through a clever video essay, to Harvard. From there, the movie picks up. Her first day at school, when her classmates call her Malibu Barbie, She meets bitchy class rivals, harsh professors (taking me back to my law school days), the sexist, the anti-blonde, and still manages to keep a cheery outlook while helping out the downtrodden (like the class geek who can't get women, or the hairdresser (played by "Stifler's Mom" in American Pie) who has low self esteem and aspires to check out the UPS man's package, or the female fitness instructor from her sorority accused of murder that she is assigned to help as part of a law clerk assignment.
The moments during the trial where Reese's character strategizes to find out the whole truth and nothing but the truth about this woman accused of murder, the persons near her at the time of her husband's death, and the proper use of haircare products and designer shoe knowledge, were hilarious, to be honest. The courthouse near where I practice in Santa Ana was also used, which is nowhere near Boston, but oh well... who would know?
Overall, the women in the audience seemed to really like this movie. It probably is slightly more female oriented, but I am secure enough in my manhood to state that I enjoyed it also. There is actually a great case, with Luke Wilson playing her love interest (you didn't think she was going to end up with the ex boyfriend jerk, did you?), and some very high profile cameos, including a great short performance by none other than Raquel Welch.
My girlfriend, who came to the screening in a foul mood due to some very "monday" type happenings, left this movie in a GREATLY improved mood. I was really prepared for this movie to suck... the opening, with obnoxious fashion conscious sorority blondes everywhere, using "like" three times per sentence, looked like it would get old fast.
Somewhere in this movie, though, it became more "Clueless meets My Cousin Vinnie", and really was enjoyable. Won't win any awards, but you know what you expect out of a movie like this, and it meet the entertainment/happy/fun quotient.
Thanks, and I hope you use this. I kept this as spoiler free as possible (believe me there are actually some plot surprises you don't see coming), and I look forward to employing my sneaky legal skills to get into future showings.
If you use this, call me "BarristerFrog" Ciao for now!
