What, like it\u2019s hard?<\/p>\n
The \u201cLegally Blonde\u201d prequel series \u201cElle\u201d<\/a> sounds like a tired cash grab no one asked for \u2014 but just like the pink-clad heroine depicted in both, don\u2019t underestimate it.<\/p>\n Shockingly, \u201cElle\u201d doesn\u2019t suck. It\u2019s fun, energetic and hits all the right notes.<\/p>\n Though the show is part of a tedious trend of origin stories for characters who don\u2019t need them, \u201cElle\u201d sparkles. It\u2019s a rare case of a prequel that doesn\u2019t tarnish the original.<\/p>\n Reese Witherspoon first played Elle Woods in 2001\u2019s \u201cLegally Blonde.\u201d \u00a9MGM\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n Lexi Minetree takes over the role in the Prime Video prequel series \u201cElle,\u201d premiering July 1. Jessica Brooks\/Prime<\/p>\n Premiering July 1 on Prime Video, the show follows a 16-year-old version of Elle Woods, the iconic character Reese Witherspoon played in the iconic 2001 movie<\/a> (and the tepid 2003 sequel).<\/p>\n Witherspoon is involved as an executive producer, but obviously, the 50-year-old Oscar winner can\u2019t play a teen. Enter newcomer Lexi Minetree<\/a>, 25, who steps into the role.\u00a0<\/p>\n Minetree\u2019s astoundingly good at emulating Witherspoon and capturing her facial expressions \u2014 as seen in her viral audition tape<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tom Everett Scott and June Diane Raphael play Elle\u2019s parents in the show. Jessica Brooks\/Prime<\/p>\n \u201cElle\u201d follows Minetree\u2019s titular character as she moves from LA to Seattle with her family. Courtesy of Prime Video<\/p>\n Set in 1995, the show follows Elle as she\u2019s living a charmed life in LA.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s everything you\u2019d expect: Her parents have a lavish mansion, she\u2019s popular in school (and she has a five-point plan for how to become even more popular) and she\u2019s got a wardrobe full of pink dresses and heels.<\/p>\n But after her plastic surgeon dad, Wyatt (Tom Everett Scott), finds himself in a work-related scandal, the family is forced to move to Seattle.\u00a0<\/p>\n There, everyone at Elle\u2019s new school wears flannel and dark colors, listens to Pearl Jam and Nirvana,<\/a> talks about social justice and turns their noses up at the pink-clad bubbly new girl, who they think is materialistic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Minetree is astoundingly good at emulating Witherspoon and capturing her facial expressions as the beloved character. Kimberley French\/Prime<\/p>\n Minetree is a fish out of water in Seattle with her bubbly personality and exclusively pink wardrobe. Jessica Brooks\/Prime<\/p>\n Elle was on top of the world in LA; she\u2019s out of her depth in Seattle.<\/p>\n The show is nothing if not committed to the time period.<\/p>\n It has a killer soundtrack (needle drops include tracks from Soundgarden<\/a>, The Cranberries<\/a>, Radiohead<\/a>, and Queen<\/a>, and the theme song is Garbage\u2019s<\/a> 1995 track \u201cOnly Happy When it Rains\u201d). There are references to zines, pagers and Blockbuster, as well as references to how the rich kids come from \u201cMicrosoft money.\u201d<\/p>\n One pitfall of the show is the lack of tension with Elle\u2019s potential love interests as we know her future in \u201cLegally Blonde.\u201d Jacob Moskovitz and Minetree are seen in \u201cElle.\u201d Kimberley French\/Prime<\/p>\n \u201cLegally Blonde,\u201d of course, sees Elle end up with Emmett (Luke Wilson). Minetree and Zac Looker are seen in \u201cElle.\u201d Jessica Brooks\/Prime<\/p>\n \u201cElle\u201d succeeds where other unnecessary prequels and spinoffs fail because it understands what made \u201cLegally Blonde\u201d work: Elle is at her best when she\u2019s an underdog and a fish out of water, forcing her to prove herself to everyone around her.<\/p>\n Before the show came out, viewers scoffed at the idea of Elle living in Seattle, since that\u2019s antithetical to the character \u2014 but that\u2019s the point. When Elle\u2019s dad tells her \u201cwe\u2019re moving to Seattle,\u201d she says, \u201cNo, that doesn\u2019t sound right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The show is in on the joke.<\/p>\n \u201cElle\u201d excels because it\u2019s in on the joke. Minetree and Gabrielle Policano are seen in \u201cElle.\u201d Jessica Brooks\/Prime<\/p>\n Elle Woods (Lexi Minetree) in \u201cElle.\u201d Jessica Brooks\/Prime<\/p>\n A lesser show would say, \u201cShe wears pink, and she\u2019s perky!\u201d and leave it there. \u201cElle\u201d gets all the ingredients of what made \u201cLegally Blonde\u201d a hit (beyond making a surface-level assessment), and let\u2019s them cook.<\/p>\n The show also knows the relationship between Elle and her college rival turned friend, Vivian (Selma Blair<\/a>), was a key part of\u00a0\u201cLegally Blonde.\u201d<\/p>\n The show has a lot of cliche high school moments \u2014 cliques, crushes and more \u2014 but mean girl Kimberly (Chandler Kinney) isn\u2019t a two-dimensional villain. \u201cElle\u201d gives Kimberly some depth. It hits a similar note to what the movie did with Vivian, without copying it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cElle\u201d leans into the dynamic between the character and Selma Blair\u2019s Vivian in \u201cLegally Blonde\u201d without copying it. Witherspoon and Blair are seen in the 2001 film above. \u00a9MGM\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n The show does this with Elle\u2019s dynamic with Kimberly (Chandler Kinney). Minetree and Kinney are seen in \u201cElle.\u201d Justine Yeung\/Prime<\/p>\n