Lame girlie gags

The entire point of this film is captured in one sequence: when pink emblazoned Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) ascends the steps of Capitol Hill against a tide of dark-suited clones. The central thrust of the script riffs around this juxtaposition of colour, extending it into the characters and the politics with all the force of a spoon delving into a dish of melting ice cream.

A disappointing sequel to the curiously endearing original, this begins with the Bel Air-airhead being sacked from her law firm for daring to suggest that the law should be concerned with justice. In her case, she wants the law regarding the use of animals in cosmetic testing changed and ends up going to Washington to join Congresswoman Rudd's (Sally Field) team of high-powered lobbyists in pursuit of her dream.

An anodyne rewrite of Mr Smith Goes to Washington, it delivers far fewer laughs than the first Legally Blonde, thanks to a weak script and a resolute refusal to render the mechanics and the practitioners of Congress in any remotely realistic manner.

Of the sprinkling of jokes that work, I enjoyed the Pilates for Poodles establishment and the line about Elle's dog, who is revealed as gay: "Bruiser is a male dog who happens to enjoy wearing pastel." In broadening the issues to encompass a welter of liberal values from animal rights to homosexuality, the film loses focus and the girlie gags limp on to the screen like anaesthetised chinchillas. Warm and fuzzy they may be; funny they're not.

The deepest irony here is that Witherspoon herself becomes more attractive when she is despondent than when her megawatt personality is "up" and "on". Time to ditch the pink, girl.

Legally Blonde 2
Cert: certPG