Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

After using her coincidentally convenient knowledge of hair care products to acquit a murder suspect in Legally Blonde, one-dimensionally ditzy Harvard Law grad Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) has become a naively sanguine congressional aide for this insipid sequel--and once again her dumb luck masquerades as unsuspected smarts. With Elle in Washington to lobby against animal testing by cosmetics companies, the plot turns on her ability to win over two bitterly conservative senators--not with reason, facts, or even charm, but simply because one of them happens to be a sorority sister (they have a secret dance instead of a secret handshake) and another has a big male Rottweiler who just happens to fall in love with Bruiser, her little male Chihuahua, during a walk in the park. Yes, that's right--this feebly scripted, Barbie-brained, Gucci-accessorized so-called comedy actually climbs up on a designer-pink soapbox of social consciousness to preach in platitudes about both animal rights and gay rights. Advocates in both camps should feel insulted. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by costars Jennifer Coolidge, Jessica Cauffiel, and Alanna Ubach, a 22-minute 'Blonde Ambition' making-of featurette, seven deleted scenes (including an original opening), a three-minute gag reel, the music video 'We Can' by LeAnn Rimes, a 'Welcome to Delta Nu' interactive sorority quiz, a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, a soundtrack spot, an Easter egg (with 'Bruiser's Outtakes'), and trailers. Bottom line: not as fully accessorized as the jacket copy might lead you to believe (where's Witherspoon in the lackluster 'audio commentary by cast'?), this is still a pretty solid extras package for a pretty insubstantial flick.] (R. Blackwelder) [Blu-ray Review—Mar. 12, 2019—Shout! Factory, 2 discs, 191 min., R, Blu-ray: $34.99—Making their latest appearance on Blu-ray, 2001’s Legally Blonde and 2003’s Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde both feature decent transfers with DTS-HD 5.1 audio. Extras on Legally Blonde include a new interview with costar Jessica Cauffiel (13 min.), with previous extras including two audio commentaries (one by director Robert Luketic, star Reese Witherspoon, and producer Marc Platt; the other by costume designer Sophie de Rakoff Carbonell, production designer Melissa Stewart, cinematographer Anthony B. Richmond, screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and animal trainer Sue Chipperton), deleted scenes (10 min.), a behind-the-scenes featurette (22 min.), 'The Hair That Ate Hollywood' segment (9 min.), and the 'Perfect Day' music video by Hoku. Extras on Legally Blonde 2: Red White & Blonde include a new interview with costar Jessica Cauffiel (9 min.), with previous extras including audio commentary with costars Jennifer Coolidge, Cauffiel, and Alanna Ubach, a 'Blonde Ambition' behind-the-scenes featurette (22 min.), the production segments 'Stars and Stripes, Never!' (8 min.), 'Elle's Anthem' (7 min.), 'Hair Apparent' (7 min.), 'Pretty in Pink' (7 min.), and 'Puppy Love' (3 min.), as well as deleted scenes (9 min.), a gag reel (3 min.), and the music video for 'We Can' by LeAnn Rimes. Bottom line: a pair of popular if also unremarkable films with only two new extras added to the previous Blu-ray releases.]