Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson March 3, 2019

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) is being released as part of Shout Select's Legally Blonde Collection.

After Legally Blonde netted over $96 million at the domestic box office, it was only a matter of time before MGM would roll out a sequel. Surely, the studio could have received a better script with a much better premise than the pile of fluff that is Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. It's a classic case in which writers Eve Ahlert, Dennis Drake, and Kate Kondell went to the well once too often. The movie basically leaves off where the first film ended, with Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) beginning her new job at a top Massachusetts law firm and her fiancé, Emmett (Luke Wilson), teaching at Harvard Law School. When Elle learns that the mother of her Chihuahua, Bruiser, has been used as Guinea pig for animal testing, she hires a detective to investigate. She discovers that the C'est Magnifique corporation has been applying makeup to Bruiser's mom so she decides to file a suit using her firm's office. A conflict of interest arises because Elle's law firm represents C'est Magnifique and are unwilling to jettison the cosmetics company as a client. The firm's president refuses to give in to Elle's request and fires her. (I kept waiting for Elle to file a wrongful termination suit but this was many years before "Me Too."

Motivated to stop the animal testing and find Bruiser's mom a proper home, Elle takes her Louis Vuitton handbags to Washington DC where she becomes a lobbyist to Rep. Victoria Rudd (Sally Field), whose also a Harvard alum. Elle wants Victoria to sponsor "Bruiser's Bill," which proposes to end all testing, but the congresswoman only agrees halfheartedly because she's also committed to another bill and Elle's proposal stands in the way. Elle also seeks backing from Republican congressman Stanford Marks (Bruce McGill), an NRA donor and fellow dog owner. Bob Newhart plays a doorman at the hotel Elle resides at and tries to school her about "the ways of Washington."

Ms. Woods is going to Washington!

Director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld (Kissing Jessica Stein) attempts to amp up the energy through inserts, split screens, and montages but all efforts prove futile. The writers try to stretch the paper-thin plot across 95 minutes but the problem is there's really nothing much there. Legally Blonde 2 doesn't give audiences any inside insights into how politics and Washington operatives really work. Sally Field is both underused and wasted in a subordinate role that I thought would contain more screen time. Regina King plays her chief of staff, Grace Rossiter, who spins internal games with Elle and her boss. It's remarkable how far King has come since 2003. At that time, a majority of critics knew her best as Kim Hinton in Daddy Day Care. A week ago, she was crowned as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in If Beale Street Could Talk. Also look for fellow Oscar winner Octavia Spencer in a cameo. (She also was up on stage last weekend as an executive producer of Best Picture winner Green Book.)

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Legally Blonde 2 appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1:85:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50. Unfortunately for fans, this is the same inconsistent, filtered transfer that MGM used in 2011. During the first two reels, white speckles pop up fairly often and I noticed a hairline or light scratch over the camera lens. At times, the transfer looks like a DVD upconvert with colors lacking sharpness and detail not as pronounced as it should. As Casey noted in his review, "[T]he main culprit seems to be the use of some light digital noise reduction to smooth out some of the picture's rougher, grainier patches. Grain is still partially visible...but it doesn't look as rich or natural as it should. Overall, the level of clarity is not what you'd expect from the Blu-ray release of a film from the early-to-mid 2000s." The main feature boasts an average video bitrate of 35000 kbps while the whole disc clocks in with a total bitrate of 42.13 Mbps.

The default twelve chapters accompany the 95-minute feature.

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout supplies a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (2908 kbps, 24-bit) and a downcoverted DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (1645 kbps, 24-bit). The uncompressed 5.1 mix has a pretty warm feel to it. The f/x and ambience shows some nice separation on the satellite speakers. The crowd chants during "The Million Dog March on Washington" demonstrate very good range as do the song numbers on the non-diegetic sound track.

Optional English SHD are available through the menu or via remote activation.

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Shout has recycled all the extra features found on the prior MGM DVDs/BDs. They are presented in English without subtitles. The studio has added a new interview with Jessica Cauffiel, who talks about getting sunburned for her role in the film as well as the sunny prospects for Legally Blonde 3.

• Audio Commentary with Actors Jennifer Coolidge, Jessica Cauffiel, and Alanna Ubach

• NEW Interview with Actor Jessica Cauffiel (8:37, 1080p)

• Blonde Ambition (22:26, 480i)

• Stars and Stripes, Never! (7:35, 480i)

• Elle's Anthem (7:13, 480i)

• Deleted Scenes (9:31, 480i)

• Gag Reel (2:39, 480i)

• We Can Leann Rimes Music Video (3:41, 480i)

• Hair Apparent (6:55, 480i)

• Puppy Love (2:23, 480i)

• Pretty in Pink (6:36, 480i)

• Theatrical Trailer (2:08, 1080p)

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Legally Blonde 2 suffers from a dumb concept and has no reason to exist except as a cash cow for MGM. It's all style and no substance. I would have rather watched a live feed of Elle and Emmett's pre-planned wedding at Fenway Park than Elle's frivolous journey to Washington. (Why did the screenwriters have to postpone the wedding?) Shout delivers the same mediocre video and above-average audio as the MGM release. I'd reckon this is only for completists of Reese's work but you'll get it as filler if you purchase the Legally Blonde Collection.