Legally Blonde
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM) | Release Date: July 13, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
14
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Wall Street JournalEd Epstein
Thanks to Ms. Witherspoon's artful portrayal of a winning, if beachless, Gidget, I found Legally Blonde very enjoyable.
80
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
In a perfect marriage of player and part, Reese Witherspoon is Elle Woods. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Blondes may or may not have more fun, but in this one case, they certainly provide more fun. Read full review
80
NewsweekDavid Ansen
If this Popsicle of a movie melts long before it's over, the first half has more good laughs than all of “Sweethearts.” Read full review
75
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
Guilty of inciting a near-laugh riot thanks to an irresistible leading lady whose comic instincts are as impeccable as her manicure. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Witherspoon goes further, pouring so much humor and pizzazz into Elle that she lifts up the whole movie. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A featherweight comedy balanced between silliness and charm. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Smart screwball comedy that upends the stereotype of the airhead towhead. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean 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. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
With her ductile physicality and undeniable charm, Witherspoon remains acutely present even when everyone else -- director, writers and cast -- has checked out. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineStephen Miller
Witherspoon turns in yet another stellar, nuanced comic performance. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa 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. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Alas, the movie just isn't bouncy, fresh or funny enough. It's just not blonde enough. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Somewhere in that chirpy half-pint frame dwell some meaty comic chops. Goldie Hawn may have found her successor. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Unashamedly sticks with its light comedy roots.
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Like all blond jokes, Legally Blonde is basically meanspirited, and that's when it's funniest. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunMichael 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. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay 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. Read full review
60
SalonStephanie 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. Read full review
60
SlateDavid 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. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Witherspoon -- though miles from the keen satire of "Election" -- stays one sharp cookie even as her film crumbles. Read full review
60
VarietyTodd 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. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Predictable, cutesy and surprisingly short on genuine humor, Legally Blonde gets by thanks to the magnetic presence of Witherspoon. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJessica 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. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Witherspoon fills the screen with bright-eyed bounce. The rest of the cast is as forgettable as the flimsy story. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Benefits enormously from smart casting across the board. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth 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. Read full review
50
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Merely a watery, poorly directed update of "Clueless." Read full review
50
The New York TimesDana 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. Read full review
40
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Really nothing more than "Clueless" redux but without the edgy, knowing wit. Read full review
40
New Times (L.A.)Andy Klein
The muddiness of the basic concept and the thinness of its execution eventually defeat even Witherspoon's talents. Read full review
40
Mr. ShowbizKevin 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.
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