| Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Charles Herman-Wurmfeld |
| Screenplay by | Kate Kondell |
| Based on | Characters byAmanda Brown |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Elliot Davis |
| Edited by | Peter Teschner |
| Music by | Rolfe Kent |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | MGM Distribution Co. (United States and Canada) 20th Century Fox (International)[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25-45 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $125.3 million[3][2] |
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (also referred to simply asLegally Blonde 2) is a 2003 Americancomedy film directed byCharles Herman-Wurmfeld and written by Kate Kondell. It is a sequel to the 2001 filmLegally Blonde and the second installment in theLegally Blonde franchise. It starsReese Witherspoon, who reprises her role from the first film, alongside anensemble cast featuringSally Field,Regina King,Jennifer Coolidge,Bruce McGill,Dana Ivey,Mary Lynn Rajskub,Bob Newhart,Luke Wilson, andBruce Thomas, with Coolidge, Wilson, and Thomas also reprising their roles.
Although the story is set inWashington, D.C., the film was shot in the offices at theDelta Center and theUtah State Capitol inSalt Lake City,Utah, and theIllinois State Capitol inSpringfield, Illinois. The aerial views of Washington buildings werescale models built by the crew.
The film opened on July 2, 2003, to generally negative reviews from critics, though it was a box office success, grossing $125 million worldwide. It was followed by adirect-to-video spin-off,Legally Blondes, released in 2009, while a direct sequel is in development.
After graduating fromHarvard Law School,[a]Elle Woods wants herChihuahua, Bruiser, to reunite with his mother, hoping both dogs will attend her wedding to her fiancé Emmett. Elle hires a detective to find Bruiser's mother, only to discover that her owner isC'est Magnifique, acosmetics company thatuses Bruiser's mother for testing. Discovering that her law firm represents the corporation, she urges the firm to drop them as a client, but is dismissed.
Elle decides to leaveBoston forWashington, D.C., to work onBruiser's Bill. She takes it upon herself to be the "voice for those who can't speak" and to outlaw animal testing. While working for Congresswoman Victoria Rudd, Elle is met with skepticism and other barriers common to Washington politics.
Rudd's member of staff Timothy sarcastically calls her "CapitolBarbie". After various ups and downs, including a failed attempt to improve her work environment by having her co-workers write compliments about one another and place them in the "snap cup", Elle starts to lose faith in Washington politics.
Elle discovers that Bruiser isgay, after she is paged by "The Paws That Refreshes: A Doggy Day Spa". He has been affectionate with Leslie, aRottweiller owned by Congressman Stan Marks, the chairman of theCommittee on Energy and Commerce which has jurisdiction over Bruiser's Bill. Elle also finds that Congresswoman Libby Hauser, theRanking Member of the same committee, was a member of Elle'ssorority Delta Nu. As a result, both Marks and Hauser warm to Elle and eventually come to supportBruiser's Bill.
Elle also discovers that Rudd has been working against her. She has been trying to satisfy the interests of a significant campaign donor named "Bob" (with whom Rudd has several telephone conversations).
However, Rudd is eventually blackmailed into supporting Elle's petition thanks to her chief of staff Grace Rossiter. She has a recorded conversation during which Rudd admits to Elle that she has been working againstBruiser's Bill to help her sponsors who want to continue testing on animals.
As Grace is appalled that Rudd lied to Elle and blamed it on her, she and Elle eventually reach a place of mutual respect. This is especially after Grace admits she came to Washington, D.C., with an enthusiasm not unlike Elle's, but later lost that idealism when she discovered how dirty politics could be.
With the help of her friends, Elle'sdischarge petition is booming, and Bruiser's Bill is brought to the floor of the House.C'est Magnifique Corporation releases Bruiser's mother and the rest of the dogs.
Elle and Emmett are married in a park in D.C., albeit not atFenway Park as planned, but standing on Fenway's home plate delivered to D.C. by Paulette's husband. Emmett asks Elle where she wants to live since they are now a married couple, and he suggests the cities of Boston, Beverly Hills, and Washington, DC. As they pass theWhite House, Elle winks at the audience, hinting at a possible presidential run.
Although the story is set inWashington, D.C., the film was shot in the offices at theDelta Center and theUtah State Capitol inSalt Lake City,Utah, and theIllinois State Capitol inSpringfield, Illinois. The aerial views of Washington buildings werescale models built by the crew.[4]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 35% based on 158 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The site's critical consensus states: "This blonde joke is less funny the second time around."[5] OnMetacritic, it has a weighted average score of 47 based on 39 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[6] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B" on scale of A+ to F.[7]Entertainment Weekly ranked it at number 21 on their list of "Top 25 Worst Sequels Ever Made" (2006).[8]
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The film grossed a total of $125 million worldwide.[3][2]Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde hit theaters on Wednesday July 2,[9] before theFourth of July in 2003 and grossed nearly $40 million by Monday. The following weekend ticket sales were half of that, and the film quickly left theaters in the coming weeks. Grossing about $90 million in the U.S., the film was a success for the studio, though many expected it to perform just as well as Witherspoon's last big film,Sweet Home Alabama.
The film was released on DVD and VHS on November 4, 2003. The video sold 2 million copies earning a profit of over 35.4 million dollars.[10] The film was released on Blu-Ray on March 29, 2011.[2]
| Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde – Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) |
| Genre | |
| Label | Curb |
| Producer |
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| Singles from Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde – Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic[12] |   |
A soundtrack for the film was released on July 1, 2003, byCurb Records.[13] "We Can" was released as a single for the soundtrack by Americancountry music recording artistLeAnn Rimes on June 16, 2003, by Curb Records.[14]
| No. | Title | Recording artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We Can" | LeAnn Rimes | 3:40 |
| 2. | "Breakthrough" | Hope 7 | 2:45 |
| 3. | "Atomic Dog" (Dogs of the World Unite Remix) | George Clinton (featuringCoolio) | 4:23 |
| 4. | "Me Against the World" | Superchick | 2:58 |
| 5. | "I'm Just a Bill" | Deluxx Folk Implosion | 3:26 |
| 6. | "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" | Eurythmics andAretha Franklin | 4:53 |
| 7. | "More Bounce (In California)" | Soul Kid #1 | 3:59 |
| 8. | "For What It's Worth" | Candyskins | 4:00 |
| 9. | "Power to the People" | John Lennon | 3:21 |
| 10. | "America" | Lou Reed | 2:49 |
| 11. | "We Can" (American Mix) | LeAnn Rimes | 3:36 |
In June 2018, Reese Witherspoon entered negotiations with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to produce and star in a third installment in theLegally Blonde film series.Karen McCullah Lutz andKirsten Smith were hired as co-screenwriters.[15] MGM later confirmed thatLegally Blonde 3 was set to be released on May 8, 2020,[16] though it did not meet this date. In May 2020, it was announced thatMindy Kaling andDan Goor would write an entirely new script for the film.[17]
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