Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. I was surprised that a modern movie looked so drab.
Sharpness was a concern. At best, the movie demonstrated adequate definition, but it never seemed especially concise or dynamic. Instead, the image tended toward a sense of blandness, so the image was usually fairly soft and listless.
I noticed no issues with jaggies or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. Source flaws were an issue, though, as the movie suffered from occasional instances of specks and marks. These weren’t heavy, but they were more noticeable and frequent than expected.
Colors should’ve offered a strong aspect of Blonde 2, but they didn’t. Mainly due to Elle’s ever-changing wardrobe, the film boasted a broad and varied palette, but the Blu-ray failed to deliver vivid, lively tones.
The colors tended to be dull and murky. This even trickled down to poor Witherspoon’s teeth, which persistently looked yellow.
Blacks were flat, while shadows seemed somewhat muddy and dense. I thought the image was still good enough for a “C-“, but it nearly fell into “D” range; it was a problematic presentation for a modern flick.
Most comedies maintain subdued soundtracks, and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix of Legally Blonde 2 fell into that category. The soundfield remained largely anchored in the front realm.
The forward channels provided decent stereo imaging for music and effects, as sounds appeared in the appropriate locations and blended together efficiently. Not a lot of movement occurred across the speakers, but the mix seemed reasonably well integrated nonetheless.
As for the surrounds, they offered light reinforcement of music and effects at most. Frankly, I usually wasn’t really aware that any audio came from the rears, as the mix really did stick strongly with the front speakers. We got material like echo in the chambers of Congress as well as some ambience, but not much opened up the back channels.
Although the soundfield seemed bland, the quality of the audio helped compensate for any shortcomings. Dialogue appeared consistently natural and distinct, and I detected no problems related to edginess or intelligibility. Effects played a minor role in the film, but they sounded accurate and clean, with reasonable presence and no signs of distortion.
Music worked fairly well, as the score presented good clarity. Highs seemed crisp and bright, while bass was acceptably rich and warm.
Some of the flick’s pop songs were too trebly, but those caused no significant issues. In the end, the audio was nothing special, but it suited the film well.
How did this 2019 Blu-Ray compare with the prior Blu-ray from 2011? Audio remained identical, as both discs sported the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix.
Unfortunately, visuals also failed to show improvements. I hoped that the 2019 Blu-ray would bring a remaster, but like the 2011 disc, it seemed to simply recycle the original DVD transfer.
The 2019 Blu-ray includes most of the prior disc’s extras, and we open with an audio commentary from actors Jennifer Coolidge, Alanna Ubach, and Jessica Cauffiel. All three sit together for this running, screen-specific track.
I went into this piece with low expectations, especially since the three performers appear so infrequently in the film. However, they provide a surprisingly amusing and entertaining discussion.
Given their limited time onscreen, the trio doesn’t tell us a ton about the production. Occasional tidbits emerge, but they mostly give the flick the MST3K treatment.
They don’t often provide openly snotty comments, and they present a moderate amount of praise for the participants, though not nearly as much as I anticipated. Coolidge makes sure of that, as she offers more than a few comically snide remarks. The track suffers from only a few slow spots, and it generally gives us a funny piece, even though it includes little data about the movie itself.
Next we find a featurette entitled Blonde Ambition. It runs 22 minutes, 26 seconds and presents comments from producers Marc Platt and David Nicksay, co-producer Jennifer Simpson, director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld, director of photography Elliot Davis, visual effects supervisor Raymond McIntyre Jr., and actors Reese Witherspoon, Bob Newhart, Sally Field, Alanna Ubach, and Jessica Cauffiel.
The program covers topics like issues connected to the sequel, new cast members, location challenges, visual effects and lighting Witherspoon. Much of this falls into the category of fluff, but some decent information appears at times. It’s a decent featurette but nothing unusually good.
Pretty in Pink goes for six minutes, 36 seconds and offers remarks from Herman-Wurmfeld, Platt, production designer Missy Stewart, and art director Mark Worthington. The show looks at set design and other visual/color choices. It delivers a tight, informative take on the topics.
Via the seven-minute, 35-second Stars and Stripes Never!, we hear from Herman-Wurmfeld, Witherspoon, Platt, Nicksay, Cauffiel, Ubach, and costume designer Sophie de Rakoff Carbonell.
This one investigates Elle’s wardrobe and other costume option. Like “Pink”, the program provides a fun, interesting discussion of the film’s broad clothing selection.
Hair Apparent runs six minutes, 55 seconds and features Platt, Witherspoon, Herman-Wurmfeld,
and hair stylist Anne Morgan. No surprise here: the featurette covers various hairdos seen in the flick. It moves nicely and offers some useful notes.
For the next featurette, we locate Elle’s Anthem. It occupies seven minutes, 13 seconds with info from composer Rolfe Kent.
He talks about the score and its use in the film. Once again, we find another solid little program, so expect positive details from the composer.
A dog-related show come next. Puppy Love fills two minutes, 23 seconds with notes from Witherspoon, Herman-Wurmfeld, and actor Bruce McGill.
It discusses canine homosexuality and some aspects of the shoot. I like McGill’s comment about his performance, but otherwise this is a pretty useless piece.
New to this 2019 Blu-ray, we find an Interview with Actor Jessica Cauffiel. During this eight-minute, 37-second chat, she discusses memories of the shoot. She brings a nice collection of shots, even if she repeats some remarks from a similar piece on the first movie’s BD.
Seven deleted scenes fill a total of nine minutes, 31 seconds. Some of these better set up the Congresswoman Rudd character and her relationship with Elle.
A few others spell things out a little more clearly than in the final film, though not in a necessary way; the flick communicates the exposition acceptably well without these extra segments. Except for the alternate Congress piece meant for the end – a painful “Snap Cup Song” - none of the deleted scenes seem bad, but all were appropriate cuts.
More unused footage shows up via the Gag Reel. The two-minute, 39-second piece consists of the usual nuttiness and mistakes. It’s pretty lame.
Don’t expect much from the music video for LeAnn Rimes’ “We Can”. Like most of this genre, it intercuts movie snippets with lip-synch footage of Rimes. Rimes looks pretty good, but it remains a dull video.
The film’s theatrical trailer finishes the set. Oddly, the 2019 disc drops “Bruiser’s Outtakes”, an adorable collection of doggie bloopers that I liked much more than the movie itself.
Little more than a listless remake of the original, Legally Blonde 2 lacks any spark or creativity, and it seems like a dull and pointless affair. Not even Reese Witherspoon’s relentless energy can make this one tolerable. The Blu-ray provides pretty good audio and supplements but visual quality disappoints. The Blu-ray becomes a flawed release for a forgettable movie.
Note that this Blu-ray of Legally Blonde 2 comes as part of a 2-disc “Legally Blonde Collection”. This package pairs it with 2001’s Legally Blonde.
To rate this film, visit the Special Edition review of LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE & BLONDE
