Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, is the 2003 sequel to 2001's Legally Blonde. It was once again produced by MGM, and again starred Reese Witherspoon as Elle, as well as Luke Wilson, Sally Field, Regina King, Bruce McGill, and Bob Newhart. In the UK, the film is titled Legally Blonde 2: Bigger, Bolder and Blonder, and the Japanese release was entitled Cutie Blonde 2: Happy Max.
Even though the movie took place in Washington, D.C., the movie was filmed in the offices at EnergySolutions Arena (then the Delta Center) and the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. The supposed "aerial views" in the movie on Washington buildings were scale models built by the crew.
Plot
Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) wants her Chihuahua, Bruiser, to reunite with his mother, because she would like Bruiser's mother to attend her wedding. Elle hires a detective to find Bruiser's mother, only to discover that the company that has her dog's mother is a cosmetics company that uses Bruiser's mother for cosmetic testing. She finds out that her law firm represents the C'est Magnifique Corporation.
Elle decides to leave Boston, where she had settled with her fiancé, and go to Washington, D.C. to work on Bruiser's Bill. Elle is so upset that her dog's mother is in a make-up testing laboratory, that she decides to take it upon herself to have a "voice for those who can't speak" and to outlaw animal testing.
While working for Congresswoman Victoria Rudd (Sally Field), Elle is met with skepticism and other barriers common to Washington politics. One of her new co-workers remarks that she is "Capitol Barbie!", (there has even been a Barbie doll based on Elle Woods). After a variety of ups and downs including a failed attempt to improve her work environment by having her co-workers write compliments about one another and place them in the "snap cup", Elle starts to lose her faith in Washington politics.
As the story moves along, Elle discovers that Bruiser is actually gay, after she is paged by "The Paws that Refreshes: A Doggy Day Spa." Bruiser has been affectionate with Leslie, a Rottweiller owned by Representative Stan Marks (Bruce McGill). Elle also finds that Congresswoman Libby Hauser (Dana Ivey) was a member of Delta Nu (the sorority from the first film). As a result, Hauser warms to Elle and eventually comes to support Bruiser's Bill.
Elle also discovers that Congresswoman Rudd has been working against her. Rudd has been doing so in an effort to satisfy the interests of a major campaign donor named "Bob" (who is never seen, but with whom Rudd has several telephone conversations). However, Rudd is eventually blackmailed into supporting Elle's discharge petition, because Rudd's Chief of Staff, Grace Rossiter (Regina King) eavesdrops on a recorded conversation during which Rudd admits to Elle that she has been working against Bruiser's Bill in order to help Rudd's sponsors who want to continue with tests on animals. Grace and Elle eventually reach a place of mutual respect, even though Grace openly dislikes Elle.
Elle's discharge petition is successful, and Bruiser's Bill is brought to the floor of the House. Elle gets married in a park in D.C., albeit not at Fenway Park as she had planned, but standing on the home plate which has been delivered to D.C. by the UPS Guy (Bruce Thomas). In the final scene of the movie, when Emmett asks where to live, Elle says, "Oh, I think I know just the place," as they are driving by the White House.
Cast
Cameos: Producer David Nicksay is one of the Congressmen that Elle talks to while trying to round up signatures for the discharge petition.
Reaction
Although Witherspoon's performance was highly praised, the film overall received mostly negative reviews, and came in at #21 on Entertainment Weekly's Top 25 Worst Sequels Ever Made[1](2006). It currently holds a meagre 37% on Rotten Tomatoes, the critical consensus being that "this blonde joke is less funny the second time around"[2].
Box office
The movie hit theaters on the Wednesday before the Fourth of July in 2003 and grossed nearly $40 million by Monday. However, the following weekend the movie saw sales are sliced in half and LB2 quickly left theaters in the coming weeks. Grossing about $90 million in the U.S., the film was a success for the studio, though many expected it to perform just as well as Witherspoon's last big movie, Sweet Home Alabama.
See also
References
External links
|
Legally Blonde |
|
| Films |
|
|
| Musical |
|
|
