Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

Legally Blonde 2:
Red, White & Blonde

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
Produced by
Screenplay by Kate Kondell
Based on Characters
by Amanda Brown
Starring
Music by Rolfe Kent
Cinematography Elliott Davis
Edited by Peter Teschner
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
  • July 2, 2003 (2003-07-02)
Running time
 95 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $45 million[2]
Box office $124.9 million[2]

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (also referred to as just Legally Blonde 2) is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld and written by Kate Kondell. The sequel to the 2001 film, Legally Blonde, the film stars Reese Witherspoon alongside an ensemble cast featuring Sally Field, Regina King, Jennifer Coolidge, Bruce McGill, Dana Ivey, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Bob Newhart, and Luke Wilson, with Coolidge and Wilson reprising their roles from the first film.

Even though the story was set in Washington, D.C., the film was shot in the offices at Vivint Smart Home Arena (then the Delta Center), the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. The supposed "aerial views" on Washington buildings were scale models built by the crew.

The film opened on July 2, 2003 to generally mixed reviews from critics. However, it was a box office success, grossing $90 million in North America and $125 million worldwide.[3]

Plot

Elle Woods wants her Chihuahua, Bruiser, to reunite with his mother, because she would like Bruiser's mom to attend Elle and Emmett's wedding. Elle hires a detective to find Bruiser's mother, only to discover that the owner of her dog's mother is a cosmetics company that uses Bruiser's mother for "testing". She finds out that her law firm represents the C'est Magnifique Corporation.

Elle decides to leave Boston, where she and Bruiser have settled with her fiancé Emmett, and go to Washington, D.C., to work on Bruiser's Bill. Elle is upset that her dog's mother is in a make-up testing laboratory, and decides to take it upon herself to be the "voice for those who can't speak" and to outlaw animal testing.

While working for Congresswoman Victoria Rudd, Elle is met with skepticism and other barriers common to Washington politics. Rudd's member of staff, Timothy, sarcastically calls her "Capitol Barbie". (There has even been a Barbie doll based on Elle Woods.[4]) 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 Congressman Stan Marks, the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce which has jurisdiction over Bruiser's Bill. Elle also finds that Congresswoman Libby Hauser, the Ranking Member of the same committee, was a member of Elle's sorority Delta Nu. As a result, both Marks and Hauser warm to Elle and eventually come to support Bruiser's Bill.

Elle also discovers that Congresswoman Rudd has actually 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 petition, because Rudd's Chief of Staff, Grace Rossiter, 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. As Grace is appalled that Rudd lied to Elle and blamed it on her, Grace and Elle eventually reach a place of mutual respect, especially after Grace admits she came to Washington D.C. with an enthusiasm not unlike Elle's, but later lost that idealism when she discovered how dirty politics could really be.

With the help of her friends, Elle's discharge petition is successful, and Bruiser's Bill is brought to the floor of the House. Bruiser's mother and the rest of the dogs are released by C'est Magnifique Corporation. Elle and Emmett get married in a park in D.C., albeit not at Fenway Park as they had planned, but standing on the home plate which has been delivered to D.C. by the UPS Guy.

In the final scene, Emmett asks Elle whether they want to live in Beverly Hills, Washington D.C., or Boston. As Elle has many legal and political job offers after the successful discharge hearing, she responds, "Oh, I think I know just the place," and winks as they drive by the White House.

Cast

Reception

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" (2006).[5] It currently holds 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, the critical consensus being that "this blonde joke is less funny the second time around".[6]

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 film could only boast sales half of that 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.

Soundtrack

Legally Blonde 2: Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released July 1, 2003
Genre Pop, pop rock, R&B, alternative rock
Label Curb Records
Producer Anita Camarata, Antonina Armato, Dann Huff, Kaylin Frank, Michael Patterson, Nic Jodoin, Timothy James[7]
Singles from Legally Blonde 2
  1. "We Can"
    Released: October 28, 2003
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]

A soundtrack for the film was released on July 1, 2003, by Curb Records.[9] "We Can" was released as a single for the soundtrack by American country music recording artist LeAnn Rimes on October 28, 2003, by Curb Records.[10]

Track listing

No. TitleRecording artist(s) Length
1. "We Can"  LeAnn Rimes 3:40
2. "Breakthrough"  Hope 7 2:45
3. "Atomic Dog" (Dogs of the World Unite Remix) (featuring Coolio)George Clinton 4:23
4. "Me Against the World"  Superchic(K) 2:58
5. "I'm Just a Bill"  Deluxx Folk Implosion 3:26
6. "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (featuring Aretha Franklin)Eurythmics 4:53
7. "More Bounce (In California)"  Soul Kid #1 3:59
8. "For What It's Worth"  Candyskins 4:00
9. "Power To the People"  John Lennon 3:21
10. "America"  Lou Reed 2:49
11. "We Can" (American Mix)LeAnn Rimes 3:36

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Legally Blonde 2 - Red White & Blonde (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. June 27, 2003. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Legally Blonde 2:Red, White and Blonde". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde (2003) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  4. ↑ "Elle Wood as Barbie".
  5. ↑ Nashawaty, Chris (2007-12-22). "The 25 Worst Sequels Ever Made". Entertainment Weekly.
  6. ↑ "Legally Blonde 2 - Red, White & Blonde - Rotten Tomatoes". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
  7. ↑ Legally Blonde 2: Motion Picture Soundtrack (CD). Various Artists. Curb Records. 2003. D2-78822.
  8. ↑ "Legally Blonde 2 - Original Soundtrack". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  9. ↑ "Legally Blonde 2 - Motion Picture Soundtrack: Various Artists: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
  10. ↑ "iTunes - Music - We Can (Remixes) by LeAnn Rimes". Itunes.apple.com. 2003-10-28. Retrieved 2011-11-03.

External links

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