Space Cadet is a spiritual successor to Legally Blonde

polygon.com:

In 2001,Legally Blonde told a generation of girls they could be unapologetically girly, unabashedly plucky — and still sharp, smart, and capable of getting into Harvard Law School, becoming lawyers, and winning a landmark case. It’s a staple of girl-power movie lists, winning and memorable enough to inspire a sequel, a musical, and an upcoming spinoff series.

Prime Video’s Emma Roberts vehicle Space Cadet takes a similar route with a radically different profession. This time, the protagonist is a big-hearted Florida party girl who gets into NASA’s astronaut candidate program. The parallels are intentional: Writer-director Liz W. Garcia told us Legally Blonde was a huge inspiration for her movie.

That isn’t a bad thing: Space Cadet is a strong addition to the girl-power canon, full of glittery, sticker-covered notebooks and tie-dyed T-shirts. Garcia’s movie is the perfect successor, adding just enough to the formula to make it stand out, but keeping the same heart and message that resonated with audiences 23 years ago.

[Ed. note: This review contains some slight setup spoilers for Space Cadet.]

Emma Roberts (American Horror Story) plays Tiffany “Rex” Simpson, a bartender whose childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut were dashed when her mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Rex chose to turn down a full-ride scholarship to college so she could focus on supporting her parents. After a high school reunion, where she reunites with a friendly former academic rival who’s found success in space tourism, she decides to pursue her dreams, hoping the admissions committee at NASA will see her potential. Her best friend, Nadine (Poppy Liu), takes matters into her own hands and embellishes Rex’s resume a little. Rex gets into the program, but doesn’t initially find out that Nadine fabricated her credentials. Even though she’s burned by Nadine’s deceit, Rex is determined to see the stars, so she decides to see the facade through to the end.

The comparisons between Rex