We guess if you can buy the notion of a character like Elle Woods becoming a lawyer, then you can buy her and Emmett as a couple.  We do find Luke Wilson especially appealing in his role as a smart, sexy, and honorable (one more time you’ll have to suspend disbelief) lawyer, and found ourselves rooting for him and Elle to get together just so we could see someone get to kiss him at the end (which then sadly never happened).  But if we are to be truly honest with ourselves (as we unfailingly are) then we have to admit we see Elle as an Esquire before we see her as a Mrs. Emmett.

It’s not that she’s blonde and he’s brunette, or that she’s west coast and he’s east coast.  We just think he’s a little too serious and she’s a little too social.  Yes she made it through law school, and yes she’ll buckle down and pass the bar.  But eventually we see her back in LA working for a big entertainment firm, while he argues first amendment cases and does pro bono work.  And while he’s young and hot now he still looks like he’s just a few years away from reading glasses and cardigans.  And that’s when she’ll start to get bored.

The sequel did even less to convince us of their chances. Elle seemed to grow tremendously during her 3 years of law school, and so we were expecting to see a much more grounded person. Instead she actually seems ditzier than ever, and if possible, her clothing has gotten worse. She still hasn’t managed to weed all the pink out of her wardrobe and the ever-present go-go boots make her look like Nancy Sinatra. Of course we all know there’s a brain under all that cotton candy – but does she? Why does she have to learn all of the exact same lessons all over again? Once again there is an uptight female colleague to win over. Once again there is a sleazy boss that she initially trusts. (Wow. In Congress. Shocking.)

More importantly whatever chemistry she and Emmett had before seems completely gone. The only thing they seem to have in common is that they are both inexplicably sporting hairstyles from 1963. Yes they walk down the aisle in the end, but it just doesn’t look right. We have a feeling legal proceedings are waiting for them in the next sequel.

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