Legally Blonde
You must always have faith in people. And, most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.
As women's history month comes to a close, I am going out with a bang. I vow to continue to cover women's stories even as we enter April, but I've been planning this grand finale since week 1. This week's newsletter is about none other than Legally Blonde. The film was released in 2001 and has a severe diversity problem like most movies did back then, and unfortunately, many movies still do today. However, it's still a movie that so many women enjoy and resonate with even if, like me, you're not actually blonde.
I've always loved Legally Blonde because the Reese Witherspoon film is unapologetically feminine. This month I've covered stories of women who have made outstanding achievements, women who have found faith in the darkest times, and a woman who simply wanted to relax instead of catering to her family. With Legally Blonde, I am covering a story of a woman who never sacrificed her authenticity or femininity in order to make it in a male-dominated industry.
I think society is getting better now, but for a while, feminism and female empowerment were misconstrued. People thought women had to be tough and masculine in order to be equal to men. Legally Blonde proves this is not the case, and you can call me crazy, but I believe the film and many others that came out around the same time are responsible for society embracing femininity and understanding you don't have to lose your stereotypically "girly" characteristics in order to earn respect.
If you read my All Too Well newsletter, you'll know I am a die-hard Taylor Swift fan. I'm mentioning this because, like Elle Woods, Taylor has always been unapologetically feminine. She writes about her feelings, she wears sparkly dresses, and she's never felt the need to toughen up in order to be taken seriously in the music industry.
She's accepted three albums of the year Grammys, 40 American Music Awards, and sold out stadiums across the globe, all by staying true to herself. It's my personal belief that many people who don't like Taylor are triggered by her, her authenticity, and her femininity. Those who aren't comfortable with themselves and aren't able to embrace their feminine side and see it as a strength instead of a weakness don't like to see others proudly letting their pink feminine flag fly.
In the same way people are triggered by Taylor, the characters in Legally Blonde are triggered by Elle. We see how Elle's bubbly personality affects Vivian when Elle arrives at Harvard as she looks down on Elle because she associates being girly and bubbly with being dumb and thinks Elle doesn't belong at the Ivy League school. We first see this attitude when Elle arrives at Harvard full of optimism. Unfortunately, she's mocked for it because society thrives on misery and negativity.
This is present on social media all the time. No one can ever let someone else be happy. We also don't equate happiness with being cool, and many people would rather be unhappy to uphold a certain image than allow themselves to enjoy things. Elle is the opposite of this. She'd rather express her enthusiasm about her first day at Harvard than fit in with everyone else. She has a rough time making friends because of this, but in the end, it's her optimism and blind faith in herself that proves Brooke's innocence and proves to everyone how powerful of a lawyer she is.
To tie things back to Taylor, she once said in her Miss Americana documentary, "I wanna love glitter and also stand up for the double standards that exist in our society. I wanna wear pink and tell you how I feel about politics. I don't think those things have to cancel each other out."
I think that quote fits very well with Elle too. She can talk about law and stand up for what she believes in, and as we see at the end of Legally Blonde, she can do it in a pink dress. I've always loved the color pink, fashion, pop music, and all other feminine things, and I haven't stopped myself from listening to Taylor Swift and Britney Spears because someone else thinks those things aren't valid. This is why I feel so connected to Elle.
Legally Blonde opens with Hoku's "Perfect Day," and we're already off to a great start. It's hard not to immediately fall in love with a movie that opens with such a cheerful, uplifting song (which I have on my manifestation/positivity playlist!) In an early scene, Elle is shopping for a dress for dinner, where she believes Warner will propose to her.
The saleswoman thinks she's another "dumb blonde" and tries to sell her an old dress and pass it off as something they just got in. Elle calls her out immediately, proving how educated she is in the fashion industry. People like Warner may not consider her fashion industry knowledge as "serious," but her intelligence when it comes to fashion is just as valid as Warner's knowledge of the law.
The film later highlights this when Elle's knowledge of hair care helps her win the trial. Only she knows that Chutney's perm wouldn't have stayed intact if she didn't wait 24 hours before washing her hair, meaning she couldn't have been in the shower when the gun went off. Elle concludes that Chutney must have heard the gun and gets her to confess to killing her father. Elle's victory is even more satisfying because she doesn't have to betray Brooke to win. Elle is the only one who truly cares about proving Brooke's innocence, while the others are just interested in winning their case and furthering their law career.
“I can't break the bonds of sisterhood,”-Elle Woods, Legally Blonde
Here we see how Elle's femininity works in her favor even while others think she's being ridiculous. Elle uses compassion and integrity to win her case. She won't tell anyone about Brooke's alibi because even though she knows it would prove Brooke is innocent, she doesn't want to break Brooke's trust. Elle knows she can prove Brooke is innocent in a different way because she believes in herself. I also love when Brooke suggests Elle is the only smart one in the group because, at Harvard, Elle's peers would think she's the dumbest of them all.
There's a TikTok from @marmaryeesa2022 that I saw a few years ago where she described how Elle and Vivian's relationship makes it evident that Legally Blonde was written by women. At the beginning of Legally Blonde, Vivian puts Elle down and is seemingly threatened by her. However, there's a turning point for the two of them when Vivian visits Ellen in her dorm room. They talk about Warner not doing his own laundry and getting wait-listed to Harvard.
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Warner acted like he was so much better and more intelligent than Elle, but his father had to call to get him into the school, while Elle didn't use any connections. She got in by working hard. Vivian also confides in Elle about how annoyed she is with Callahan constantly asking her to get him coffee but never asking Warner to get it for him, suggesting he sees her as an assistant and doesn't take her seriously as a lawyer. Vivian also praises Elle for not giving up Brooke's alibi. As the TikTok explains, this is the moment Vivian realizes that Elle experiences sexism too and isn't exempt from it because of her appearance.
Unfortunately, Elle and Vivian's budding friendship ends when Vivian sees Callahan kiss Elle and misinterprets the situation. Vivian thinks Elle has been sleeping with Callahan in order to advance her law career. The truth is Callahan kisses Elle, making her believe he never believed in her but only hired her because he found her attractive. Elle is shattered and set on dropping out and returning to the West Coast, where she thinks she belongs. The scene showcases how sexual harassment and assault can demolish women's self-esteem, and being taken advantage of can make them question their own worth. It's disappointing to see Vivian turn on Elle because they had just shared a sweet moment where they seemed to put their past behind them, and Vivian was starting to realize how awful Warner was.
She only learns Elle is innocent when Emmett tells her what really happened because he believed her from the start. The TikTok explains that the scene shows how the patriarchy can turn women against each other, and I understand this powerful message. However, in Legally Blonde The Musical, which I saw in 2008, the story is a little different, and I believe it works better with the theme of Legally Blonde. In the musical version, Warner and Vivian both see the incident, and Warner blames Elle, while Vivian knows that Callahan kissed her. She later sees Elle at Paulette's salon and encourages her to stay and continue fighting for Brooke. However, the musical also takes out a scene that makes the film very powerful.
In the movie, instead of Vivian empowering Elle to stay, Elle's teacher, Professor Stromwell, encourages her to stay. The professor was very hard on Elle at the beginning of the film, and it seemed as if she was just another person at Harvard who thought Elle was too stupid to be there. The truth is, she was hard on Elle because she wanted her to reach her full potential because she knew what Elle is capable of, and she wanted to see her succeed. The film tricks us into thinking Callahan is the one who believes in Elle, but it's actually the female teacher who has her best interest at heart and knows what Elle can accomplish if she doesn't give up.
“if you're going to let one stupid prick ruin your life, you're not the girl I thought you were”-Professor Stromwell to Elle Woods, Legally Blonde
Before Elle becomes the woman she is at the end of Legally Blonde, there's a huge turning point that happens when Vivian invites Elle to a party and tells her it's a costume party, even though it isn't. Elle shows up in a bunny costume, and what I love is when Elle realizes Vivian lied to her about the costume party, she doesn't get embarrassed. She embraces it. Unfortunately, it only furthers Warner's belief that Elle's not serious.
“I'll show you how valuable Elle Woods can be,” Elle Woods, Legally Blonde
However, it's the moment Elle realizes she'll never be good enough for him, so she shifts her focus from getting him back to proving him wrong. This helps her realize how much she loves law because she can help others. An example of this is when she helps Paulette get her dog back from her ex-boyfriend. This scene has nothing to do with Warner. He's not present, and he has no idea that Elle is helping Paulette. Elle's truly using her knowledge and everything she's learned to help a friend out of the goodness of her heart.
In fact, Elle's friendship with Paulette is one of my favorite aspects of the film, not just because Jennifer Coolidge portrays the character but because Paulette is the one person Elle resonates with, and it showcases the importance of female friendships. Elle not only helps Paulette get her dog back, but she helps her build up her confidence and see her own worth. She helps her feel confident enough to go after the UPS guy she has a crush on, realizing she deserves better than her awful ex-boyfriend. Even when Elle is feeling down about herself, she wants other women to feel empowered. (The scene also foreshadows Elle realizing she deserves better than Warner!)
When Elle teaches Paulette and the other women in the salon the bend and snap, Elle proves she's not threatened by other women and thinks they should all feel good about themselves. Instead of gatekeeping the bend and snap as her secret trick to get whatever guy she wants, she lets the other women in on it, understanding that there's room for everyone to win in their lives.
By the end of the film, Elle turns down Warner after he tries to win her back because she knows her worth now. She's flipped the script as he thought he was too good for her at the film's start, and now she sees that she's too good for him. At the beginning of Legally Blonde, Elle is Warner's cheerleader. She doesn't have life goals outside of marrying him, and she'd rather celebrate his accomplishments than consider everything she's capable of.
“If I'm gonna be a partner in a law firm by the time I'm 30, I'm going to need a boyfriend who's not such a complete bonehead,” Elle Woods to Warner Huntington, Legally Blonde
Unfortunately, Warner doesn't see her with the same eyes. Warner thinks Elle isn't serious, which is linked to her femininity. He calls her a Marilyn when he's looking for a Jackie, which is ironic because Marilyn Monroe may have been the sex symbol of her time, but she was also an incredibly powerful and influential woman proving those things can co-exist.
Elle realizes she'd rather be with Emmett because, unlike everyone else at Harvard, he never put her down or discredited her ability to become a lawyer based on her appearance. Emmett made her feel better when she was kicked out of class by telling her he also had a hard time at Harvard as a freshman. Emmett then gives Elle advice on how to succeed in Callahan's class because he's genuine and wants to help others, which is who Elle is too. By the way Emmett talks to Elle, it's obvious he's not just being nice because he finds her attractive. He speaks to her like a person, not "a piece of ass," as Elle suggested Callahan saw her.
Elle ending up with Emmett is so satisfying because he accepted her from the start and never expected her to change who she was to please other people. He believed her as soon as she told him what Callahan did and went along with her and Brooke's plan to fire Callahan and have Elle as Brooke's lawyer instead. Even when Elle started to doubt herself, Emmett encouraged her to keep going. I love any film that sets a good example for women about what kind of behavior they should and shouldn't accept from men.
“What if you're trying to be someone you are?”-Emmett Richmond to Elle Woods, Legally Blonde
Elle did not deserve to be treated the way Warner treated her, but she absolutely deserves someone as kind and uplifting as Emmett. We've seen countless times how men are threatened by successful and powerful women, but Emmett is proud to stand next to someone like Elle, who sets an example of how important it is to believe in yourself and remain authentic.
The only time Elle ever sacrifices her authenticity is when she gets the internship and starts wearing black in order to be taken more seriously. Luckily, by the time she arrives for the final day of the trial, she's back to being herself, showing up to court in a pink dress. She's no longer hiding her authenticity to be taken seriously. She's proving she doesn't have to take on masculine traits in order to succeed in law.
Her speech is emotional and shows how far she's come. Also, relating back to the TikTok that said Legally Blonde was obviously written by women, Elle and Vivian become friends at the end of the film. Elle doesn't really owe Vivian anything considering she was not nice to her throughout the movie and believed she was sleeping with Callahan to get ahead in her career. Still, Elle has proved herself to be a compassionate and forgiving person. Sadly society doesn't prioritize these traits, likely because they're feminine, but these are the most important qualities to have, and it's actually quite hard to be this way in life, proving once again how amazing Elle is.
Elle got to where she is at the end of Legally Blonde through her unshakable belief in herself through the many ups and downs the film presents. When she's talking to her guidance counselor at the beginning of the movie and the counselor asks her if she has any backup schools because Harvard is tough to get into, she says, "I don't need backups. I'm going to Harvard." Relating this back to manifestation, as I do with most movies I cover, the first step to anything is believing in yourself, and Elle presents this from the start. She has no evidence that things will actually work out for her, and instead, everything and everyone is telling her she'll never get into that school. But she proves them wrong as she does with many others throughout Legally Blonde.
I'm happy to have ended my Women's History Month theme with Legally Blonde. This month has given me a new perspective on the kind of movies I want to cover, and I feel more inspired about writing this newsletter every week. I already have an idea of what I want to do next week, so prepare yourself as I dive deeper into important messages, and I promise I will not stop covering women's stories just because Women's History Month is over.