Slant Magazine

When I first watched this, a friend of mine dropped by during the last 5 minutes. When she saw what was watching, she rolled her eyes. She asked me as "Perfect Day" started blaring if I liked the movie / what I thought of it. I said it wasn't bad. She did the normal thing most people do when they're casually disagreeing with a friend (the kind of thing I never do: I drove my best friend in the world out of Road Trip once because I didn't stop talking shit about it...nice people don't do that kind of thing to their friends- do they?); she said something akin to "different strokes" and walked out of the room (to get popcorn). I don't remember what exactly made me change my position on the film (it was probably the library scene; Chapter 12 on the DVD), but...Damn is Elle Woods dumb. And rich. And perfect-looking. And that's the legacy this pink blimp had on Hollywood filmmaking. Not that brains win out in the end. But rather, to make it in this world you need what Elle had from the beginning. Looks and money.

Scene after scene, this movie is horrendous upon repeat viewings. Whether it's the insert-fork-into-eyes reactions I know I'm not alone in having to the Bend & Snap dance number. Or the boring stereotypes they turned Chuck and Enid into (not that the rat-faced Enrique fared much better, but the actor's nod-no/speak-yes thing worked). Or Elle's comebacks (which one can only grant this compliment to: you certainly wouldn't near The Nanny's Fran or Niles call C.C. Babcock a "frigid bitch"). Or the ridiculous slapping scene. The film's ending wants to be both as smart as My Cousin Vinny and as funny as Serial Mom without upsetting that fragile PG-13 audience. Probably the same reason I resent the film's inclusion of gay characters only to make them irritating and attempt to make lines like "show them a picture of his dick" typical for a lighter MPAA rating. Is this really sexually progressive for the mainstream? The movie's final half hour doesn't only bring My Cousin Vinny to my mind, but Working Girl as well (bringing back-stabbing into a film this late is always a sign of trouble). I remember when Reese Witherspoon used to take smart roles in daring films (Vanessa Lutz in Freeway, Tracy Flick in Election). And let's not forget we have this film to thank for paving the way for such films as Sweet Home Alabama and Vanity Fair. Mediocrity begets mediocrity.