Remember me
Bust out those nostalgia goggles, because Prime Video’s attempt at creating a prequel to one of the most beloved movies of the early aughts just might require them for it to actually be bearable. And while it’s absolutely dominating the charts, having risen to the #1 spot on the platform’s Top 10 Most Watched list, critics are having none of it—though casual viewers are feeling slightly more generous in their opinions on the show.
We could only be talking about Elle, the prequel to the movie most millennials can quote by heart: Legally Blonde. The series focuses on Elle Woods as she navigates high school and all the pitfalls therein: relationship drama, friendship drama, and fashion drama. The original was full of heart; it was a perfect representation of a fish out of water in a sort of situation no one had really dreamed up before. It was fresh, silly, heartwarming, and relatable, despite its wacky premise. And those are all features that the new show seems to lack, riding the tide on the hope that the audience’s sense of nostalgia and yearning for a simpler time will propel it forward.
Casual viewers think that it’s fun—a silly, fluffy riff on a beloved millennial classic. “It was definitely different from what I expected, but it was incredibly well done and told Elle’s story beautifully. There were so many moments that tied into her future, and you could really see where she got the drive to become the Elle we all know,” said one viewer. And it’s true that Lexi Minetree, who plays Elle, delivers a powerhouse performance, not copying Reese Witherspoon’s original, iconic performance, but bringing something new to the role that easily shows audiences how she grows into the woman that she becomes over the course of the film.
“From the world of Legally Blonde comes a bland portrait of Elle Woods as a teenager that nobody asked for and no one will remember. This harmless piffle only riles you up when you think about it. So don’t think,” said critic Peter Travers in a pretty scathing review. Though it does raise a good point about the necessity of a series like Elle, when, in theory, there are tons of original stories waiting to be told. Is this particular prequel, when the original IP still stands so strongly on its own, really what studios should be running with right now?
What are your thoughts on Elle? Does it stand on its own, or is it another example of studios giving audiences a sequel that they never asked for, hoping to farm nostalgia points? Let us know in the comments. And don’t forget to check out what’s going on over at the ComicBook forum.