Premise - A blonde sorority queen (Reese Witherspoon) is dumped by her boyfriend (Mathew Davis) for not being smart enough. She ups sticks and gets into Harvard Law to try and win him back. What I expected from Legally Blonde was a nice little comedy that wouldn't stretch my brain too much. That's exactly what I got. The plot is completely ludicrous. There is no way in hell that a character like Elle Woods would get into Harvard Law, let alone become a successful lawyer. But, the filmmakers almost make it out to be a believable scenario and that is quite an achievement. It's a nice little film, nothing too stunning. A sleeper as they call them. The film mainly succeeds through the charm of the lead, Reese Witherspoon. She is a little hottie and although early in the film I wanted to slap her, by the end I was rooting for her. Which I guess was the purpose of the film, to show her transition from airhead sorority girl to lawyer. It's not a complete change as she retains many of her shallow qualities, but manages to combine them well with the abilities required to become a good lawyer. The support is fine, it was nice to see Victor (Jack Bristow from Alias) Garber in a movie. I like his work on the Alias TV show and I think he's a fine actor. Luke Wilson is also good, although the Wilson clan seems intent on taking over the movie world. There's a nice subplot involving Jennifer (Stiffler's mom) Coolidge as a downtrodden beautician, although the dance routine was a bit much in my opinion. Selma Blair seemed to be wheeling out her performance form Cruel Intentions, but turns it round in the final third to show a nice little change of character. Ali Larter has a reasonable time and has arguably the funniest line in the movie. That said the film isn't incredibly funny. Only on a few occasions did I laugh out loud. The film is more gentle funny than bust a gut funny. Certainly the film offers no surprises following the cliched Hollywood rule book to the letter. From the fish out of water themes to the ball busting professor coming good to the court room climax all clichés are accounted for. As formulaic as it is, it's still a fine, entertaining way to spend your afternoon. Mindless popcorn fodder.

6/10 for Legally Blonde. Poster Quote - Clueless goes to Harvard.