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Harvard law graduate, now working in a law firm, Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is planning her
wedding to Emmet (Luke Wilson). Realizing that once married, she would have less time for her constant companion chihuahua Bruiser, she decides to search for his mother.
Elle finds her in an animal testing laboratory of a cosmetic company, a client of her firm. Being an animal rights advocate, she talks to her boss of her discovery. She
wants, not only Bruiser's mother, but also an end of animal testing on dogs by the cosmetic industry. Instead, her boss fires her. Undaunted, she brings her cause to
WashingtonD.C. Sponsored by interested house representative Victoria Rudd (Sally Fields), Elle tries to convince Congress to stop such a practice, even pass a law for it.
The original Legally Blonde's focus is on woman empowerment, where Elle shows that she is
as capable as the men in HarvardLawSchool, to become an attorney at law. In Legally Blonde2 Elle the lawyer takes up the cudgels for man's best friend, starting with
saving Bruiser's mother. It is a simple light story with funny sequences for entertainment. As in the first movie, Reese Witherspoon adeptly sustains her outlandish
character, even now that she is already a lawyer. Her supporting cast, like Sally Fields, Regina King and Bruce Mcgill manage to get some of the limelight.
The better production however, is the first movie, where the story and incidents portrayed are believable. It is not possible to imagine, however that a character like Elle
Woods—blond and flamboyant—would find her way to Congress, get through to the honorable members, both houses sitting down to listen to what she has to say as it happens in
Legally Blonde 2.
Elle has retained her essential character in this story. She faces challenges with
determination and persistence, and uses her creative mind to come up with options when her strategies do not work. However, like a normal person she also has moments of
discouragement, but with supportive people who believe in her, like Emmet, her fighting spirit is soon revived. Legally Blonde 2
shows that despite a person's determination to uphold her principles, she can still benefit from the faith in her of the people who love and care for her. No matter how frivolous her cause may seem to others, she can with conviction and a loved one's confidence pursue what she sees to be right.
The movie's theme, however, may not be that relevant for Filipinos especially in this time of
crisis: it would be something of a crime to waste good money watching a frivolous lawyer in pink storming the congress to fight for animal rights when in our very backyard
innumerable human beings barely know their human rights!
(Date Reviewed: September 5, 2003)
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