Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2 Special Edition Set

When we meet Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) at the beginning of Legally Blonde, she is a chirpy fashion merchandising major at a Southern California college who decides that the only way to win back her blueblood Senate-minded ex is to enrol with him at Harvard Law. With the help of a Playboy Channel-worthy entrance video and the fortitude that only comes after ignoring countless pleas to "drop those books and get shopping," the blithering idiot gets her wish. Once there, Elle finds her golden dream tarnished and is perplexed when her fellow classmates cruelly mock her outlandish style of dress and psychotic perkiness. Go figure. Will Witherspoon teach her to overcome their resentment of her and loosen up? Will director Robert Luketic be able to convey her rapid growth as a student without pandering to every conceivable stereotype? The answers to these questions and many more can be answered in the special edition set of the Legally Blonde franchise, but anyone who has ever sat through an '80s teen comedy will be able to fill in the blanks. Smug, clueless and slavishly devoted to stereotype, Legally Blonde and its subsequent pointless "political" sequel, Legally Blond 2: Red, White and Blonde, are junk food movies striving to be nutritious. Its "don't hate her because she's beautiful" message may resonate with unfairly oppressed sorority sisters but it will be difficult to overcome the concept that there is something inherently questionable about having a gorgeous, rich, consumerist beauty queen strike a pose as a plucky underdog. However, both films move at a fairly brisk clip and Witherspoon does throw herself valiantly into the role, although it may have fans pining for a little bit more Tracey Flick and a little less Cosmo girl. As well, fans of Jennifer Coolidge will find much to love here, as her Paulette chews up every scene she's in. The DVD set comes with several extras, including the obligatory deleted scenes and a sometimes amusing cast commentary. The "making of" documentary, "Blonde Ambition," will win fan approval, as will the gag reels. Fans of indie director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld may wonder why he chose to follow up his brilliant comedy Kissing Jessica Stein with Blonde II and will get little in the way of illumination besides why he gave Elle a pink halo in many of the scenes; a subtle, but admirably effective, way of saying "Cash grab," non? There's a simplistic interactive game called "Welcome to Delta Nu," which tests potential members of Elle's Harvard sorority for acceptance into the group, which serves to highlight some of the sillier moments in the movie to good effect. Plus: music videos and photo galleries. (MGM)