With 'elle,' Don't Think Twice About 'legally Blonde.' You'll Still Have A Good Time

Advertised arsenic “from nan world of ‘Legally Blonde,’” nan caller Prime Video bid “Elle” revisits that film’s heroine, Elle Woods (Lexi Minetree), arsenic a 16-year-old precocious schoolhouse student, abruptly transported from Beverly Hills to Seattle aft her integrative surgeon begetter (Tom Everett Scott) botches a chemoreceptor occupation and has to dishonesty low.

Set successful 1995, six years earlier nan events of nan first “Legally Blonde” film, pinch Seattle still surviving done nan agelong tail of first-wave grunge — Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell are mentioned almost successful a azygous activity — it shares pinch nan big-screen mothership only its indomitable protagonist, who loves pinkish and her Chihuahua, Bruiser. (The canine gets its ain root story: It was “rescued” from nan Spellings, arsenic successful Aaron, who recovered that its “earth tones” didn’t lucifer “their caller colour palette.”)

There’s a passing reference to nan lawyer Elle mightiness (and does) become, and surely immoderate things I missed, but if you’ve ne'er seen “Legally Blonde,” you will not beryllium astatine immoderate peculiar disadvantage. (Possibly you will beryllium astatine a disadvantage if you have seen it.) Bruiser aside, thing that happens present affects what happens there. Don’t deliberation twice, aliases moreover once, astir canon. This is thing other entirely.

What that is is simply a precocious schoolhouse comedy, which is to opportunity it’s afloat of acquainted characters swept up successful teenage drama. And because this is an eight-episode bid and not a two-hour movie, relationships will displacement much than once. Indeed, they will not beryllium done shifting by nan season’s end; a 2nd is intelligibly successful nan producers’ sights.

The bid is simply a food retired of h2o communicative arsenic Elle moves from Beverly Hills to Seattle. From left, Kimberly (Chandler Kinney), Liz (Gabrielle Policano), Elle (Lexi Minetree), Miles (Jacob Moskovitz) and Dustin (Zac Looker).

(Kimberley French / Prime Video)

Floating into her caller schoolhouse connected a bubble of positivity that will stubbornly garbage to burst, Elle is simply a spot of colour successful a oversea of achromatic and plaid. (There’s a joke that each nan cliques — “jocks, D&D nerds, stoners, kids pinch parents pinch Microsoft money, kids pinch parents pinch Boeing money” — dress precisely alike.) Her aboveground mistaken for her substance, she’s mocked by Kimberley (Chandler Kinney), nan Mean Queen Bee successful a reversal of nan accustomed dynamic; it’s nan supposedly deep, authentic characters looking down connected nan privileged, seemingly shallow one. (Not knowing that Bikini Kill is simply a band, Elle will offer, “Bikini Kill? I cognize bikinis … that kill.”) Introducing herself to nan skeptical Liz (Gabrielle Policano), who makes euphony and useful successful a grounds store, she says, “I for illustration iced coffee, nan period of July and erstwhile group dress benignant of tennis-y, moreover erstwhile they don’t play tennis.”

At nan aforesaid time, Elle will quickly enslaved pinch Shannon (Danielle Chand), nan school’s self-appointed one-woman welcoming committee, and Miles (Jacob Moskovitz), a central-casting bully feline who virtually collides pinch her, arsenic is traditional. (His overgarment is bluish denim to group him apart.) Socially alert quasi-outsider Dustin (Zac Looker) will return a 2nd longer to sway. Inevitably, each will autumn earlier her goodness, her schoolhouse tone and her No Doubt karaoke, though her bully intentions will person unintended consequences arsenic well, and she’ll person things to study — it’s a food retired of h2o communicative successful which nan h2o will alteration nan fish, and nan food nan water. In a late-season plotline, successful bid to springiness them thing to deliberation astir than 1 another, they’ll go a Scooby Gang (with definitive references to “The Breakfast Club”), investigating big shenanigans. Well, we emotion a Scooby Gang.

Chief among nan grown-ups is Elle’s arsenic blond mother, Eva (June Diane Raphael), who will go progressive successful nan mayoral run of (the late) James Van Der Beek’s Dean Wilson. At school, location are prickly Principal Anderson (Matt Oberg) and Donna (Amy Pietz, bully to spot her), his good-hearted secretary, a champion of needy teens and, it will beryllium revealed, Liz’s mother. It feels incorrect to saddle nan lovable Scott, arsenic Elle’s father, Wyatt, pinch a fugitive-from-malpractice plot, specified arsenic it is — they had to get nan family retired of Beverly Hills someway — and conscionable arsenic his characteristic is lying low, truthful does he disappear, sadly, a small into nan scenery. He does get a bully statement astir gathering personification named Mike McCready, nan Pearl Jam guitarist, successful a java shop and possibly getting together to play, and a chance to lead partygoers successful Oasis’ “Wonderwall.”

Minetree is an apt prime to play a younger Reese Witherspoon (an executive producer), pinch a dash of “Clueless” Alicia Silverstone stirred in, and nan younger formed is likable crossed nan board. Written by Laura Kittrell, “Elle” is lightweight, often evident and oddly, refreshingly guiltless — Elle is waiting for “a cleanable first buss from a cleanable guy” — some for nan genre and nan setting. (As Robyn Hitchcock sang of Seattle successful “Viva! Sea-Tac,” “They’ve sewage nan champion computers and java and smack.”) In a way, it feels for illustration a show made for those who already want what it’s selling, but that’s not me, and I had a perfectly good time.