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Legally Blonde
MGM


7.9

based on 31 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 46 votes
Read user comments
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for language and sexual references

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Matthew Davis, Selma Blair, Luke Wilson, and Holland Taylor

Elle Woods (Witherspoon) has it all. She's the president of her sorority, a Hawaiian Tropic girl, Miss June in her campus calendar, and, above all, a natural blonde. She dates the cutest fraternity boy on campus and wants nothing more than to be Mrs. Warner Huntington III. But, there's just one thing stopping Warner (Davis) from popping the question: Elle is TOO blonde. So, when Warner packs up for Harvard Law and reunites with an old sweetheart from prep school, Elle rallies all her resources and gets into Harvard, determined to win him back. (MGM)

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Karen McCullah Lutz Kirsten Smith Amanda Brown (novel)
DIRECTED BY:	Robert Luketic
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 6, 2001 Video: November 6, 2001 Theatrical: July 13, 2001
RUNNING TIME:	94 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Newsweek David Ansen

If this Popsicle of a movie melts long before it's over, the first half has more good laughs than all of “Sweethearts.”

Wall Street Journal Ed Epstein

Thanks to Ms. Witherspoon's artful portrayal of a winning, if beachless, Gidget, I found Legally Blonde very enjoyable.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

In a perfect marriage of player and part, Reese Witherspoon is Elle Woods.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Blondes may or may not have more fun, but in this one case, they certainly provide more fun.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A featherweight comedy balanced between silliness and charm.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Smart screwball comedy that upends the stereotype of the airhead towhead.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Imagine the sequel to "Clueless" reconceived as a peroxide "Paper Chase" and punched up with a valley girl version of "My Cousin Vinny" for the climax.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

Guilty of inciting a near-laugh riot thanks to an irresistible leading lady whose comic instincts are as impeccable as her manicure.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Witherspoon goes further, pouring so much humor and pizzazz into Elle that she lifts up the whole movie.

TV Guide Stephen Miller

Witherspoon turns in yet another stellar, nuanced comic performance.

LA Weekly Manohla Dargis

With her ductile physicality and undeniable charm, Witherspoon remains acutely present even when everyone else -- director, writers and cast -- has checked out.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Somewhere in that chirpy half-pint frame dwell some meaty comic chops. Goldie Hawn may have found her successor.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

Alas, the movie just isn't bouncy, fresh or funny enough. It's just not blonde enough.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

She may be follically blond, but as an actor of distinction who's all of 25, Reese Witherspoon reveals interesting dark roots even as she plays golden girls.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Unashamedly sticks with its light comedy roots.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Like all blond jokes, Legally Blonde is basically meanspirited, and that's when it's funniest.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

There's always Witherspoon, swimming upstream and never letting it slow her down. Blindingly purposeful, she's a perky blond tornado. Marilyn Monroe would not only have cheered her on. She'd have learned something.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

A smart comedy about a smart blonde -- that would be a sensation. But a dumb comedy about a smart blonde turns out to be not bad.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Witherspoon's sophisticated-pixie brilliance practically makes the movie, and her easy, confident, curvaceous carriage doesn't hurt, either -- she's the thinking guy's cupcake, maybe because her mind is just as supple as her curves.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Witherspoon -- though miles from the keen satire of "Election" -- stays one sharp cookie even as her film crumbles.

Slate David Edelstein

I half-admire its exquisite balancing act, squeezing laughs out of its leading lady's wardrobe, vocabulary, gestures, and cretinously oblivious Beverly Hills sense of entitlement, while simultaneously demonstrating her brilliance, sturdy ethics, and unflappable egalitarianism.

Variety Todd McCarthy

The mildly engaging silliness of its premise is never transformed into something more substantial, and the attempt at a fine-tuned "Clueless"-like tone is only sputteringly achieved.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Benefits enormously from smart casting across the board.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Witherspoon fills the screen with bright-eyed bounce. The rest of the cast is as forgettable as the flimsy story.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

A junk-food movie striving to be nutritious -- it's one of your racier Be Yourself after-school specials crossed with 'Who Moved My Cheese?" for Cosmo girls.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Guilty of squandering resources. Amusing as it goes about setting up its premise, in Witherspoon, the gifted veteran of "Election" and "Pleasantville," it has an actress willing to throw herself completely into the part to excellent effect.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Merely a watery, poorly directed update of "Clueless."

The New York Times Dana Stevens

The character as written is incoherent, but Ms. Witherspoon has the reflexes to make Elle both appealing and ridiculous. It's funny -- in that slightly queasy, un-P.C. Doris Day kind of way.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

That's just not enough to recommend it, though it does have one moment of real justice: The person sentenced to jail has truly bad hair.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Really nothing more than "Clueless" redux but without the edgy, knowing wit.

New Times (L.A.) Andy Klein

The muddiness of the basic concept and the thinness of its execution eventually defeat even Witherspoon's talents.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 46 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Crystal L. gave it a10:
I love this movie. It's a great feel good about yourself film.

Jared B. gave it a10:
This is one of the smartest, funniest comedies I have ever seen. Reese Witherspoon was absolutely hilarious. Even as a straight male, I found myself wanting to kill Victor Garber's character near the end. This movie rocked.

Kirstie R. gave it a10:
Awesome movie, blew my mind away.

Angie G. gave it a3:
The most predictable movie EVER! Believe me, even if you haven't seen it, you have.

Liz S. gave it a 9:
I think Witherspoon really acted her heart out in this smart comedy about a blonde, who isn't so dumb after all. This movie has pure spice, originality, and a great sense of humor. This is a definite family movie, and I recommend it for everyone. Even those who despise preps...

Yoon Min C. gave it a 7:
A smart dumb blonde comedy it panders to both the elitist and populist in each of us. With its fish out of tank scenario, Witherspoon plays an elitist by West Coast standards who's a plebian by haughty East Coast Ivy League standards. Never rising to the level of satire it's happy to refashion what's really tired material. It only deviates from most airhead comedies of its kind due to its heady political incorrectness, most often at the expense of gays(though no harm done). However, what really brings the movie to life and maintains its generally cheerful spirit is Reese Witherspoon who plays her character both conceited and conscientious, carefree and caring. A bubbly movie with lots of sparkle.

Jen S. gave it an 8:
First of all, I have seen "Clueless", and "Legally Blonde" is DEFINITELY not a copy of it. And I hope you know, it was a NOVEL before it became a movie (see who wrote it) and the person who wrote it went through the same things Elle did in the movie, so how can that be copying "Clueless"?

Legally Blonde MGM

Legally Blonde
MGM