Legally Blonde prequel series Elle is shockingly not bad: review

What, like it’s hard?The “Legally Blonde” prequel series “Elle” sounds like a tired cash grab no one asked for — but just like the pink-clad heroine depicted in both, don’t underestimate it.Shockingly, “Elle” doesn’t suck.It’s fun, energetic and hits all the right notes.Though the show is part of a tedious trend of origin stories for characters who don’t need them, “Elle” sparkles.

It’s a rare case of a prequel that doesn’t tarnish the original.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 (and the tepid 2003 sequel).Witherspoon is involved as an executive producer, but obviously, the 50-year-old Oscar winner can’t play a teen.Enter newcomer Lexi Minetree, 25, who steps into the role. Minetree’s astoundingly good at emulating Witherspoon and capturing her facial expressions — as seen in her viral audition tape.Set in 1995, the show follows Elle as she’s living a charmed life in LA. It’s everything you’d expect: Her parents have a lavish mansion, she’s popular in school (and she has a five-point plan for how to become even more popular) and she’s got a wardrobe full of pink dresses and heels.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. There, everyone at Elle’s new school wears flannel and dark colors, listens to Pearl Jam and Nirvana, talks about social justice and turns their noses up at the pink-clad bubbly new girl, who they think is materialistic. Elle was on top of the world in LA; she’s out of her depth in Seattle.The show is nothing if not committed to the time period.It has a killer soundtrack (needle drops include tracks from Soundgarden, The Cranberries, Radiohead, and Queen, and the theme song is Garbage’s 1995 track “Only Happy When it Rains”).

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