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Parents' Guide to

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Cute but not as fun as the first; sexual references.

Movie PG-13 2003 95 minutes
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 10+

Based on 3 parent reviews

lcfranks
lcfranks Adult
March 16, 2019
age 8+

good movie, bad sequel

I was a bit disappointed after watching the first one i was really looking forward to this but it was basically the same story as the first. I had a couple of laughs but it did not come close to being better than the first one. It was a good movie though.

This title has:

Great role models
cerens
cerens Adult
February 4, 2018
age 11+

ok but lacks compared to the first

legally blonde 2 is a decent flick even though it lacks in comparison to the first movie. Most of the cast's acting is underwhelming but Reese Wither spoon still remains as the charming Elle who is obsessed with pink. There is mild language but not as much as the first. The jokes are hit or miss. When i first heard the plot to this movie i did not expect a lot but for a sequel it didn't fail as badly as i expected.
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Elle (Reese Witherspoon) hires a detective to find the biological mother of her dog, Bruiser, so she can invite Bruiser's family to her wedding. She finds out that his mother is in a lab for testing cosmetics on animals. When she urges her law firm to oppose the use of animal-testing in cosmetics (the movie is careful to stay away from the issue of animal testing for medication), she is fired. So, Elle heads to Washington determined to get legislation passed ("Bruiser's Law"), freeing Bruiser's mother and all of the other lab animals.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (17 ):

Witherspoon is still enchanting, but LEGALLY BLONDE 2 suffers from sequel-itis. That happens when the movie studio wants badly to repeat the success of an original, but the happily-ever-after ending of the first one leaves very little room for further developments, so they just repeat it. In this case, that even means repeating some of the same jokes. In the first movie, sorority president Elle Woods discovered that she had a brain. The fun of the movie for the audience was having our cupcake and respecting her, too, which was possible because we got to enjoy her adorable bubble-headed (but sweet-natured) reaction to very serious Harvard Law School and then see her triumph by being both nicer and smarter than anyone else. That triumph included professional and romantic happy endings. Now what?

Well, this movie starts by taking some of that happiness away from her, which is okay, but it also takes away some of the character development, too, leaving Elle an inconsistent and ultimately uncomfortable combination of silly and smart. It's really more of a series of skits than a story, but as long as you don't care whether it goes anywhere, some of the skits are cute enough, thanks to Witherspoon's precision timing and ravishing smile. The movie makes the most of Witherspoon's talents, but wastes the considerable potential of Sally Field, Bob Newhart, Dana Ivey, and Regina King.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what makes Elle change her mind about her final speech and how a bill becomes a law (the movie has the details right on the hopper and the discharge petition).

  • Why are movie sequels almost always worse than the original movie? Why do movie studios make sequels anyway?

  • What are the ways in which the movie addresses issues like materialism, animal testing, homosexuality, stereotyping, and the political process?

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