--- title: "Legally Blonde: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/legally-blonde/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/legally-blonde" critics_score: 61 critics_reviews: 8 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Legally Blonde (2001): what the critics said Critics' score 61 from 8 reviews: 3 positive, 4 mixed, 1 negative. The consensus is mixed, with praise clustering around Reese Witherspoon rather than the screenplay. Most critics find her buoyancy, comic assurance and commitment to Elle Woods more persuasive than the story built around her. Several also value the film’s respect for Elle’s individuality and determination, while the supporting cast earns some approval. Even less enthusiastic reviews tend to find Witherspoon engaging, though they differ over how much she can rescue. The main reservations concern formula, uneven humour and awkward pacing, with comparisons to Clueless often working against the film. The spread is substantial: Radio Times finds the silliness hilarious and Witherspoon perfectly cast, while The AV Club considers the comedy too predictable and insufficiently funny. Slant Magazine offers a revealing qualification, criticising the film’s derivativeness while crediting its treatment of Elle’s individualism. The disagreement is chiefly over whether the performance and character compensate for familiar plotting. ## Radio Times — Joanna Berry Rating 4/5. It's desperately silly but Witherspoon is perfectly cast, making the sight of her in pink through Harvard halls hilarious, with fine support. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-w0ka8q/legally-blonde/) ## Empire — Caroline Westbrook Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The film is a surprisingly successful sleeper hit and a sorority sister to Clueless. Witherspoon's terrifically bubbly turn holds proceedings together alongside nice supporting work. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/legally-blonde-review/) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. A flimsy piece of work compared to Election, but Witherspoon's performance takes it further than the under-developed script. Her determined individual shines through the frivolity. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/barbie-goes-to-harvard-7433119.html) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 26 October 2001. The glossy top layer and cast keep viewers chuckling, but the screenplay is a basic clunky potboiler that sticks to convention. Pacing could use work but the humour is enjoyable. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/legally-blonde-review/) ## Time Out — CO'Su Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The film has Elle pulling off a double act with aplomb, but the film as a whole is less assured; jokes work best in school settings but lose sophistication elsewhere. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/legally-blonde-1) ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 2 July 2001. The film is completely derivative of Clueless and dopey, with awkward comedic pacing, though it is remarkably mindful of the protagonist's individualism by Hollywood standards. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/legally-blonde/) ## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 13 July 2001. The feather-light fish-out-of-water comedy slavishly follows formula with dispiriting predictability and is never funny or diverting enough, though it offers a novel view of college social hierarchy. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/legally-blonde-1798192695) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan 13 July 2001. The film squanders its promising high-concept premise and Witherspoon's committed performance as the determined Elle Woods because it cannot figure out where to go after the setup and unravels with haphazard direction and a cockamamie murder-trial subplot. It is amusing in places but ultimately a disappointment that fails to live up to the standard of Clueless. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jul-13-ca-26416-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert 13 July 2001. The film is a featherweight comedy that is impossible to dislike, though its appeal depends on affection for Reese Witherspoon, who carries the movie with sunshine and quick wit as the smart, fashion-obsessed Elle Woods. It is not a great movie and does not compare favorably to Clueless or Election, but Witherspoon is a star and the picture does not overstay its welcome. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/legally-blonde-2001) ## Screen Daily 9 July 2001. Slick, sexy and winsome, it's a lot of fun and a rare feel-good movie that's not entirely frivolous; announces the debut of director Robert Luketic with promise. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/legally-blonde/406228.article) ## Sight and Sound The critic praises the film's skilful satire of status symbols and Reese Witherspoon’s winning performance as Elle, noting how it endorses her unique knowledge and tenacity. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/blonde-ambition-legally-blonde-reviewed-2001) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 26 October 2001. The critic calls it a so-so comedy that recycles elements of Clueless and Election to lame effect. Witherspoon gives a bright performance but the material and director Robert Luketic fail to match her energy. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/oct/26/culture.reviews1) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt 13 July 2001. The film is a mild, sugary romantic comedy that is predictable and cutesy with surprisingly little genuine humor, getting by mainly on Reese Witherspoon's magnetic presence. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/legally-blonde-movie-review-2001-910534/) ## The New Yorker — David Denby 9 July 2001. The film starts with promise as a stylized, candied parody of the Cosmo-girl ethos and the indomitable spirit of a Bel Air princess but quickly subsides into trivial farce with a sitcom-obvious story. It is worth seeing only for Reese Witherspoon's brilliant performance as Elle Woods, a fighting spirit who is not afraid to be silly. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/07/16/legally-blonde-movie-review-girl-stuff) ## The New York Times — A. O. Scott 13 July 2001. The movie is a fluffy, midlevel commercial comedy that offers occasional spontaneous laughter but is mostly a mishmash of hit-or-miss humor and uplifting moments, with Reese Witherspoon as the sharp, quick-witted star who elevates the material as the perky sorority sister Elle Woods. The character is somewhat incoherent and the film does not always know what to do with her, but Witherspoon makes Elle appealing and ridiculous in equal measure. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/13/movies/film-review-a-rich-ditz-has-both-brains-and-the-last-laugh.html) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy 6 July 2001. The comedy gets a major boost from Reese Witherspoon's dazzling star turn as the effervescent Elle Woods, an L.A. Barbie who sets out to conquer Harvard Law School, proving she can be as smart as anyone. The mildly engaging silliness of the premise is never transformed into something more substantial, and the attempt at a fine-tuned Clueless-like tone is only sputteringly achieved. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/legally-blonde-3-1200469201/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Rating 4/5. 25 October 2001. The critic calls it an uplifting, self-assertive comedy that reaffirms human qualities and praises its fresh take. Reese Witherspoon is singled out as irresistibly wonderful for bringing heart to Elle's optimism without sentimentality. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/legally-blonde-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/legally-blonde.md