Red, White and Blonde

I enjoyed the first movie very much. This one was somewhat more blah. And, you must, far more than in the first film, engage in a little Willing Suspension of Disbelief for it to make much sense.

Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon), now graduated from Harvard Law and working for a prestigious Boston law firm, discovers that the mother of her chihuahua Bruiser is being used for “scientific research” in the bowels of a major cosmetics firm. When she tries to convince her law firm to take a stand on animal research, she is fired. Fiance Emmett Richmond (Luke Wilson) convinces her to go the source of such laws, and so she arranges to be taken on as a legislative assistant in the office of Victoria Rudd (Sally Field) to draft a new bill, “Bruiser’s Law”, which would outlaw the use of animals in cosmetic research. Unfortunately, she quickly comes up against the problems of Washington give-and-take — and, of course, will find ways to overcome them (as only a Delta Nu, well versed in the knowledge of fashion design and beauty treatments, could).

The behavior of most of the Congresscritters in the film was simply unbelievable; a good example was that of Congressman Marks (Bruce McGill), a right-wing NRA type from Alabama who suddenly converts to Good Thought upon discovering that his dog is a flaming gay (one wonders how he would have reacted had this been his son rather than his dog). The one exception is Congresswoman Rudd, who behaves just as we have come to expect our honest and fearless elected leaders to behave.

When you see the last scene in the film — in which Elle is looking at possible homes for herself and now-husband Emmett — remember that Elle is still in her mid twenties, go back and look at the Constitution … and don’t panic.