With its endlessly quotable script, iconic costumes, and the star power of Reese Witherspoon, Legally Blonde sparked two sequels, inspired a Broadway musical, and put the “Bend and Snap” on the map. 25 years after she first strutted her Prada-clad way into audiences’ hearts, Elle Woods returns in Prime Video’s Elle, a new prequel series that follows the eponymous Angeleno years before she set foot in the hallowed halls of Harvard Law School.
Pink is the New Pink: In an entertainment landscape abundant with sequels, reboots and remakes, “Elle” feels, admittedly, like a particularly egregious offender at face value: a needless prequel crammed full of references to reward diehard Legally Blonde fans who can quote every line by heart. But for those willing to look past the banality of the premise, there’s plenty of charm and wit to be found in Elle, which serves as a worthy spiritual (if not aesthetic) successor to the 2001 film, thanks in large part to newcomer Lexi Minetree.
Beach-Less in Seattle: Created by first-time showrunner Laura Kittrell (Insecure) and executive produced by Reese Witherspoon, Elle follows 16-year-old Elle Woods (Minetree, who was hand-selected by Witherspoon for the role) as she’s forced to uproot her idyllic life in Los Angeles and move to the perpetually rainy, flannel-loving city of Seattle. As she struggles to adjust to her new school’s apathetic ecosystem, Elle quickly makes new friends and enemies, including mean girl Kimberly (Chandler Kinney), out-and-proud lesbian Liz (Gabrielle Plicano), dreamy jock Miles (Jacob Moskovitz) and Dustin (Zac Looker), a scruffy outcast with a heart of gold.
Deja-Vu: If those character archetypes and story beats sound familiar, that’s because they are: Elle is almost identical to Legally Blonde in terms of structure and premise, with Cambridge swapped for Seattle and enough subplots/supporting characters to justify stretching a 96-minute movie across eight 45-minute episodes. Admittedly, the 45-minute episode runtime feels particularly egregious for what should be a breezy, half-hour comedy, but the scripts do boast the familiar, referential humor and mile-a-minute one-liners of Karen McCullah Lutz and Kristen Smith’s original script, albeit with a distinctly ‘90s Seattle flair.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: But Elle is nothing without its leading lady (it’s in the name) and just as it was Reese Witherspoon’s boundless, beguiling energy that made Legally Blonde a success, Lexi Minetree is similarly a tiny blonde engine driving the show towards success. Minetree has Elle Woods down to a science, mirroring Witherspoon’s vocal placement and mannerisms in a way that feels character-accurate without veering into ‘impression’ territory. Minetree brings depth, vulnerability, and passion to this younger, less confident version of Elle Woods, evoking Witherspoon’s iconic performance while putting her own stamp on the character.
The Bottom Line: While those tired of remakes/prequels/squels won’t be won over by the familiarity of Elle’s story and characters, fans of the original Legally Blonde (or those simply nostalgic for the mid-late 90s) will enjoy stepping back into the perpetually pink world of Elle Woods thanks to the show’s clever writing and Lexi Minetree’s abundant charm.
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