Youhavetoappreciateamoviewhosetitleessentiallysumsupthewholething.InLegallyBlonde,ReeseWitherspoonplaysablondewhoendsupatHarvardlawschool.Ifyouthinkyou’vegotthewholemoviefiguredoutfromthisscenario,youmaybesurprisedtofindoutyourpreconceptionsareonlyhalf-right.Thisisn’tadumbcomedy;ithasacertainamountofintelligencetoit.It’satleastsmartenoughnottomakeElleWoods,theWitherspooncharacter,stupid—justditzy.ItalsohastheadvantageofhavingWitherspoonintheleadrole.Nomatterwhathercharactersaysordoes,sheisalwayscharming.

　　ElleisastudentandsororitysisteratCULA.ShehasbeendatingWarrenHuntigntonIII(MatthewDavis),andthebeginningofthemoviehasherpreparingforabignight.She’ssureWarrenwillproposetohertonight.However,atdinner,WarrenstateshisdesiretobecomeaSenatoranddumpsElle("IneedaJackie,notaMarilyn.").Witherspoon’sreactionisgreat.Shetriestohideheremotionsinfearofembarrassingthem,butshe’lloccasionallyletoutaloudsobthatgainseveryone’sattention.WarrenisonhiswaytoHarvardforlawschool,andduringtheirsplit,Ellerealizeswhatsheneedstodotogethimback.ShealsoneedstogotoHarvard.Aftersomemajorstudyingandpreparation,sheactuallygetsaccepted.Warrenis,ofcourse,shockedtodiscoverherappearance,andafterabadfirstclass,ElleisevenmoreshockedtodiscoverthatWarrenisengagedtoanoldgirlfriend,VivianKensington(SelmaBlair).

　　WillEllestarttotakelawschoolseriously?WillshetrytogetWarrenback?Willtheopportunityforhertoshinearise?Ofcoursethesethingswillhappen,butthereareactuallyafewsurprisesalongtheway.ElleandVivian’srelationshiptakesanunexpectedturn.Thegirlsfromhomedon’tarrivetoshakethingsup(atleastforawhile).Andmostimportantly,Elleisactuallysmart.Well,atleastwhenitcomestohairtreatmentandfashion.Butstill,Elleisneverdumbeddown,andsheneveroncecomesacrossasfakeorannoying.

　　Someofthematerialhereisthrow-away.There’sanentiresubplotinvolvingamanicuristandadeliverymanthatseemsthrownintoextendtherunningtime.Thescenesinvolvingthesubplotrangefromgenericandpredictable(acustodybattleoveradogandanoseinjuryfromflirting)toconfusingandunnecessary(particularlythe"bendandsnap"dancesequence).Thecourtroomscenesarefunny,andtheystaytruetoElle’scharacter.Ilikedhowsheoutsawitnessfromhisobservationaboutdesignershoes(promptingthebiggestlaughinthemovie).Essentially,thisisWitherspoon’smovie.She’scharmingandfunnyandstaysconsistentwithhercharacterwhilenevergoingoverthetopwithhershortcomings.Theycouldhavebeenplayedforeasylaughs,andIappreciatethemovie’srestraint.

　　I’msurprisedhowmuchthemoviegrewonme.ItstartsofflikeaCluelessrehash,butthenonceEllegetstoHarvard,itactuallygetsfunnyinitsownway.It’sharmless,amusing,andsemi-smartentertainment,andthat’sfarbetterthanmostofthecomediesaround.