Robert Luketic is good at making a comedy’s heroine worth caring about, less reliable at making the jokes land. We like the warmth of Legally Blonde, but his faith in a leading performer can excuse slack timing.
Fi1m perspective
Elle Woods arrives at Harvard Law School with clothes that invite everyone to underestimate her, and Legally Blonde (2001) takes her side. Robert Luketic lets her want to be taken seriously without treating her taste as something she must outgrow. We warmed to Elle because Reese Witherspoon gives that determination wit, rather than merely asking us to find her sweet. Luketic’s affection for his heroine makes a predictable comedy worth an evening, though it cannot finish the jokes for him.
Witherspoon is the crucial collaborator here, and the distinction between her work and the writing matters. Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith give the jokes about school and status a clear target, but too many other passages depend on the audience already liking Elle. Luketic sometimes lets a comic point run on after the laugh has gone. A firmer cut would have helped without making the film any less kind.
That feature debut led to the studio romantic comedies Win a Date with Tad Hamilton (2004) and Monster-in-Law (2005). 21 (2008), a drama about MIT card counters, brought a change of direction. Killers (2010) mixed romantic comedy with action and espionage, while Paranoia (2013) continued the genre experiments.
His stated preference for beginning a scene with drama and adding comedy is a sensible one for these films. The pleasure in Legally Blonde comes partly from having Elle’s wish to be respected treated as reasonable, rather than as another opportunity to mock her. Later studio comedies, including The Ugly Truth (2009), have drawn criticism for being formulaic; the debut suggests how much a committed lead can do with familiar material. Start with Witherspoon and Legally Blonde, but allow for scenes that take longer to leave than they should.
Biography
Robert Luketic is an Australian film and television director. He grew up in Sydney and studied at the Victorian College of the Arts School of Film and Television in Melbourne. His short film Titsiana Booberini (1997) screened at festivals including Sundance and won awards, leading to his feature debut.
Luketic directed the comedy Legally Blonde (2001), starring Reese Witherspoon. Subsequent feature films include Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004), Monster-in-Law (2005), 21 (2008), The Ugly Truth (2009), Killers (2010) and Paranoia (2013). He has also directed episodes of series such as Jane the Virgin, The Baby-Sitters Club and Schmigadoon!.
