This movie surprised me. I went in not expecting too much, and came out uplifted and feeling I spent the 100 minutes in the theater with my fiance wisely. The film wasn't something to write home about, but was certainly an enjoyable viewing. Reese Witherspoon brilliantly plays the ditzy blonde Elle Woods chasing after her stuck up law-studying boyfriend who dumps her for a more "serious" mate. The characters are likable and you certainly end up caring about Elle, how she feels, and what she does. There are a lot of funny and cute moments and the cast is well-rounded.

But not all good comedies these days rated PG-13 can get away scott-free. Legally Blonde is tainted here and there by unnecessary innuendo or crude sexually-related humor. While another court/law-centered comedy, Liar Liar was a lot more blatantly and bluntly crude, Legally Blonde thankfully doesn't cross the line as often as one might expect it to. In fact at times it's so out of left field, you wonder why they even had to include that. The major court case in the film involves a woman accused of murder and the subject of why she would do it brought up many references to a possible affair she was having. This created several jokes and conversation that is unsuitable for a younger crowd, and did nothing but hurt the film rather than help in any way.

Luke Wilson's character was another plus to the film. Although I admit I'm a fan of his brother Owen Wilson and Luke reminds me of him, Luke does have his own subdued personality that I find to be pretty cool. He did an excellent job as one of Elle's teachers' assistants. The rest of the cast is great even Elle's pet chihuahua, "Bruiser." The movie is funny, cute, and has a lot of heart, but fails to keep the bedroom humor out of the film. With that excluded, we could have one of the best comedies of the year here.

Overall, I thought the movie was good. It should have and could have been a lot cleaner, but it also could have been worse (that's not justification for the objectionable material that is present). Regardless, I found the movie enjoyable (with those objectionable moments disappointing). But I must grant Legally Blonde 3.5 stars. Please read all the content details carefully.

- John DiBiase, (reviewed: 7/20/01)