Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM) | Release Date: July 2, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
15
Negative:
11
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
PremiereSusannah Gora
In this sequel, as Elle uses her good-hearted pluck to work toward her goal, Witherspoon is a sheer delight, all charm and light and loveliness; you just want her to win. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Elle fans will likely ignore the narrative shortcomings in favor of a well-loved character. Read full review
80
Film ThreatKevin Carr
Has an underlying charm that drags its audience, kicking and screaming to have a good time. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
Elle dresses in shades of sorbet and dolls up her Chihuahua like a bantamweight drag queen, but by fighting the good fight she's also giving alpha girls and women their due, rescuing them from the magazine horror stories and the taint of Hillary. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Schickel
We're talking fables, not reality, here, and this is a fine and merry one--"Ms. Woods Goes to Washington"--played to airy perfection by Reese Witherspoon and a light-on-its-feet cast. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Takes the financially successful formula of "Legally Blonde," the Reese Witherspoon hit from two years ago, and does something unexpected. It fiddles with it, changes it and actually fixes it. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Witherspoon is a professional, demanding we give ourselves over to her carbonated pluck. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
airily works not only because of Witherspoon and a game supporting cast...but because, with its bark-and-bite agenda wrapped in a blanket of laughs, has the sense to remember that, first and foremost, it's entertainment. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
An even sweeter and lighter whipped confection than "Legally Blonde," this hugely enjoyable sequel serves up a generous second helping of the ingredient that made the original such an irresistible hit. Read full review
70
VarietyDavid Rooney
The script here just doesn't have sufficient smarts to pull off Elle's political triumph. But Witherspoon again makes a valiant show of selling it. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
At once brasher and more frivolous, she's a lot less compelling fighting for the welfare of lab-test animals than she was crusading for her own dignity. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Unlike other current D.C. types, Elle would never misplace or misidentify her own weapons of mass destruction. They're all in her wardrobe closet and makeup kit. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Call it a victory for sincerity and style: Despite its familiarity, Blonde 2 doesn't make you want to pull out your hair by its (touched-up) roots. Read full review
60
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
A movie of many stupid pet tricks and one basic joke: As in the original, Elle's intelligence is consistently -- if understandably -- underestimated. Read full review
60
Film ThreatRick Kisonak
Perkiness Alert! Much of the banter and many of the gags are amusing but Witherspoon cranks the perkiness to off-the-dial levels here and anyone with low tolerance for superpeppy movie do-gooders should consult a physician before viewing. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Both more and less of the same -- more of that hot-pink couture, a whole lot more of that diminutive doggie, less reason to laugh even if you're a tank-topped 16-year-old. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
In the real world, Elle Woods would be chewed up faster than one of little Bruiser's Milk-Bones. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
There's not enough here to sustain a half-hour sitcom, but Reese Witherspoon shoulders the burden with star shine to spare. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
If her adoring public doesn't mind paying for the same movie twice, Legally Blonde 2 stands to leave her star power unquestioned. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Just as a fistful of drooping stalks does not a bouquet make, director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld's random collection of think-pink gags, canine couture and smart/dumb blonde jokes does not a comedy make. Read full review
50
SalonCharles Taylor
Legally Blonde was content to tickle you. The new one is something akin to a band that has a surprisingly successful debut deciding to rerecord all their originals and release a "Greatest Hits" collection for their second CD. It's both familiar and off. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld ("Kissing Jessica Stein") misses several opportunities to go all out and be, as Elle would say, "superfun." Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
I realize Legally Blonde 2 was not intended as scathing political satire, but I wish someone out there in movieland did indeed have just such an intention these days. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Though there are some funny moments, little in "Red, White and Blonde" is enjoyable. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Midway through, there’s a truly riotous set-piece involving Bruiser’s gay love affair with a Great Dane, but not even a Chihuahua in leather bondage gear can zest up a franchise that has degraded from sleeper to snoozer. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Legally bland. Read full review
40
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
A movie for people who somehow managed to miss the point of the first picture. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Like the first movie, this has some cute gags but collapses like a soggy paper plate because it can't decide whether to mock or celebrate the heroine's shallow materialism. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
When Elle Woods watches "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" for inspiration in the middle of Legally Blonde 2, you have to admire the nerve of the people who made this comedy: "Smith" is to LB2 what jumbo jets are to ultralight gliders. But nerve is all they've got. Read full review
38
New York PostMegan Lehmann
It's so gosh-darned darling it almost turns your stomach. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The first one was silly fun, amusing and oddly inventive; the second is plodding, unfunny and almost cringe-worthy. Read full review
30
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
No one is more blameworthy than Witherspoon...With her newfound clout and charm, she could make better films; instead, she strolls up to the audience standing in line at the ATM and demands we fork it over or else. Read full review
30
NewsweekDavid Ansen
As adroit and charming as Witherspoon is--and she gives it her all--she cannot rise above the embarrassingly broad, witless material. Read full review
30
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
"Legally Blonde" was a splashy, wide-screen near musical, a movie made in the spirit of Elle Woods herself. Legally Blonde 2 is Elle Woods' eulogy. Read full review
30
Washington PostTeresa Wiltz
Flops where it should zing, trotting out cringe-worthy cliches and hoary plot contrivances and depicting femininity through a drag queen's funhouse mirror. Read full review
25
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Not since Rocky II has there been a more blatant attempt to recapitulate a box-office hit without adding any new attraction or appeal. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
A perfectly funny idea -- call it "Ms. Ditz Goes to Washington" -- that's never allowed to take on real comic life. I laughed exactly once. Read full review
25
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
It is a cinematic abomination -- a source of embarrassment for everyone involved. Read full review
0
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
One of the strongest arguments yet for making sequels illegal.
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