Film Screening 8th May, 2004

Poster for Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde 

8:00 PM, 8th May, 2004

  • PG
  • 95 mins
  • 2003
  • Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
  • Kate Kondell
  • Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, Regina King, Jennifer Coolidge

It's two years since Legally Blonde. Elle (Witherspoon) is out of law school and engaged to her law professor boyfriend (Wilson). At first she seems just as oblivious and self-absorbed as ever, then one day while getting the guest list ready for her wedding ceremony she is horrified to discover that her dog's mum is a lab animal. This provides the impetus for the crusade that takes her to Washington, D.C. Legally Blonde 2 follows the successful formula of the original as Elle again finds herself in a rigid, serious environment, where her chipper personality gets her pegged immediately as a lightweight. We also see the return of Elle's eccentric hairdresser friend, Paulette, who is more dazed and delightfully bizarre than ever. But this time Elle is fighting for something outside herself. And she has as much right to be there as anybody. This is definitely a movie for all the blondes out there (and for those with an inner blonde like me!). If you liked the first movie, you're sure to like this one. And even if you missed the point of the first movie, a new writing team has added aspects to Elle's character that will hopefully provide enough surprises to keep you entertained.

Tamara Lee

Poster for Down with Love

Down with Love 

9:00 PM, 8th May, 2004

  • M
  • 101 mins
  • 2003
  • Peyton Reed
  • Eve Ahlert, Dennis Drake
  • Ren((eacute))e Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Sarah Paulson, David Hyde Pierce

Down With Love is a movie set in 1962, and filmed in the style of those Doris Day/Rock Hudson classics about the battle of the sexes. Barbara Novack (Zellweger), is a librarian turned novelist, whose novel "Down With Love" has just become a best seller. Novak's book announces a new woman who will not be subservient to men in the workplace, and will call her own shots in the bedroom (shock horror!). Catcher Block (McGregor), is a womanising male chauvinist pig who works as a magazine writer, specialising in exposes. He bets his boss Peter MacMannus (Hyde Pierce) that he can seduce Barbara, prove she's an old-fashioned woman at heart, and write a sensational article about it. McGregor and Zellweger both give superb performances and are well backed up by the support cast of Hyde Pierce and Paulson as Vicki Hiller, Novak's editor. While Down With Love is a film done in the style of those made in the 60s it still manages to come across as fresh, as it is a romantic comedy of a different kind than what we've learnt to expect from modern Hollywood.

Jacinta Nicol