METRO GOLDWYN MAYER

Gal with a clue
stays true to roots

Reese Witherspoon an appealing
heroine in a modern fairy tale

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By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com

Never underestimate a blonde! That's the message of the day as Reese Witherspoon stars as California goddess Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde."

Elle, a fashion merchandising student at sunny California University, has just about everything a modern California queen could ask for. She's president of her sorority, a Hawaiian Tropic Girl, and Miss June on the campus calendar. Oh yes, and Aaron Spelling lives just across the street from her family home.

She is anticipating a huge engagement ring from her handsome boyfriend, Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis) when he takes her out to a special dinner. What she gets is the shock of her life: Warner is breaking up with her and returning home to the East Coast to attend Harvard Law School.

METRO GOLDWYN MAYER
Matthew Davis plays Warner Huntington III, the
boyfriend who breaks up with Elle Woods
before moving on to Harvard.

"I love you, but I can't marry you," he says, explaining that he intends to be a senator by the time he's 30 and that she just isn't the type of girl a future senator could marry.

What's a California girl to do? For Elle, the answer in simple. She'll go to Harvard too!

Blonde, but certainly not another dumb one, Elle approaches almost every obstacle and snub with unquenchable optimism and dauntless determination. She aces the LSATs, sends the screening committee at Harvard a video of herself in a Jacuzzi, and is accepted. She arrives on campus woefully unprepared for the brutal law school grind, but survives everything that's thrown her way.

An influential professor chooses Elle to be one of his clerks as he leads the defense in a high-profile murder case. Elle's knowledge of fashion, footwear and the proper care of newly permed hair, proves crucial to the case. (Think Marisa Tomei in "My Cousin Vinny.")

OK, so any similarities between the exploits of Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde" and the real-life experiences of first-year law students and/or real-life courtroom procedure are strictly coincidental. Anyone in search of a fast, funny and thoroughly entertaining modern American comedy will find it here.

The detail work in the writing and production isn't as intricate as in the "Hot Shots" and "Naked Gun" franchises, but the story shifts smoothly from farce to comedy and the characters evolve apace. (One of the early pre-breakup scenes establishes the possibility that Elle may not be the oblivious little rich girl she appears to be.) The result is the rare "teen movie" written with enough sophistication to entertain young-at-heart adults of all ages.

Witherspoon makes Elle an engaging and appealing heroine. She plays Elle as a blend of Alicia Silverstone in "Clueless," Melanie Griffith in every role Griffith plays, and perhaps some bits and pieces of other blonde comediennes and comic actresses as well. Witherspoon is a winner in the role.

"Legally Blonde" Rated PG-13 Consolidated Kapolei, Koko Marina, Ko'olau, Mililani, Pearlridge & Ward; Signature Dole Cannery, Pearl Highlands & Windward; Wallace Keolu & Restaurant Row 3 stars

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