The 2001 film Legally Blonde has had a surprisingly long pop culture life. Mainly thanks to being a comedy film in the early 00s that hasn’t aged horribly and by virtue of Reese Witherspoon’s performance as Elle. Elle works as a character because the audience knows beyond her all-pink, all-blonde appearance she is smart and capable. Well, what if we got to see her before all that character development in the movie? What if she got to experience a similar fish-out-of-water scenario before going to Harvard Law?
Elle, Prime Video’s new prequel series, explores that well-trodden territory and many more. The show follows Elle (Lexi Minetree) a popular 16-year-old who has her upcoming school year all figured out. Her parents’ announcement that they are moving to Seattle for work dashes those plans. This being the mid-90s, everyone in school is sporting the very best in Cobain style. Elle stands out like a bright pink thumb. Will she be able to fit in, or will she learn that being yourself is more important? The answer can be found in the film Legally Blonde. What Elle offers instead is stale teen drama and punchlines that land with a thud.
Minetree does a fantastic job mimicking Witherspoon’s mannerisms, and her version of the character remains upbeat despite constant challenges. The series finds a real strength in the relationship between Elle and her mother Eva (June Diane Raphael). Raphael constantly steals the scene as both a reliable comedic presence and a source of comfort for her daughter. Their eventual conflict is the most engaging part of the season. The rest of the cast suffers from a lack of appealing development. Characters like Elle’s bully-to-friend Kimberly (Chandler Kinney) have recognizable arcs, but not enough care put into seeing them through.
What ultimately sinks Elle is a lack of stakes. We know she ends up being the same person years later with no ill effects from her brief time as a social outcast. This puts a damper on any consistent development for Elle herself, but it also saps the viewers of their investment. Why should I care about this event that mattered so little to our heroine that it never even comes up in the movie? Instead, the series doubles down with a love triangle that we know leads nowhere and a conspiracy plot involving the school’s secretary. There’s no reason to care about any of it because it reveals nothing new about Elle or the people around her.
With the irrelevant subtitle From the World of Legally Blonde, Elle is yet another prequel that refuses to justify its existence. If there’s a “world” to this franchise, it certainly isn’t expanded on in any meaningful way. Instead, we’re treated to a direct-to-video level effort that lasts nearly 8 hours. A series where every winking nod to the films you remember feels like an insult. There are no stakes, no growth, and no reason to care.
Elle is currently streaming on Prime Video.