Legally Blonde
Director: Robert Luketic
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Ali Larter, Jennifer Coolidge, Holland Taylor, Luke Wilson, Victor Garber, Selma Blaire, Matthew Davis, Sally Field
Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) has it all. She is beautiful…she is intelligent…she is stylish…and she wants nothing more than to be Mrs. Warner Huntington III, and live happily ever after. But there just one little problem…her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), will not propose to Elle because, in his conceited perspective, Elle is too blonde and effervescent; both qualities that clash with Warner’s vision of the ideal woman who will be his arm candy and help him become a successful lawyer. Determined to win him back, Elle rallies all her resources and is accepted into Harvard, herself, but along the way, she discovers the truth…that she can shine all on her own.
One of the major themes in this film is Elle being taken seriously, both as a woman and as a lawyer.
Elle’s initial purpose for going to Harvard Law School was to win back her vile, pompous ex-boyfriend because he does not believe that Elle is the type of serious, sophisticated woman that he is meant to marry. Determined to win him back, Elle decides to follow Warner to Harvard Law School, hoping that becoming a lawyer will finally convince Warner that Elle is capable of being the type of woman Warner desires as a wife. The problem is, Elle is only play-acting at being a lawyer in this moment to impress Warner. She is not allowing the true Elle to shine through, and as a result, she is not taken seriously by anyone. But unlike Warner, who had lofty ambitions for his future, but only just gained acceptance to the prestigious Harvard Law School, and when he finished, had nothing to show for it, when Elle starts taking herself seriously as a lawyer, she truly begins to shine. Her clothing, while becoming more professional and elegant when she is helping Professor Callahan with Brooke’s case, still has a special flair woven into each outfit that makes it distinctly Elle. Elle took the initiative to visit Brooke in prison to get Brooke’s alibi and prove her innocence. She not only got the much-needed alibi, but she also gained her client’s trust and friendship by promising to keep Brooke’s secret, which Callahan says makes her a good lawyer. The fact that she kept Brooke’s trust is what will make Elle a great lawyer. When Brooke learns that Elle kept her word, at the cost of Elle quitting both Harvard and the murder case, she fires the vile and pompous Callahan immediately and names Elle as her lawyer instead. Elle proves that she is a great lawyer when she single-handedly wins the case, using her unique fashion knowledge, once again, to gain Chutney’s confession. And unlike the arrogant and conceited men, Elle proves herself both a good winner and a gracious one when she humbly tells the press that any Cosmo girl would have known the rules of hair care, rather than bragging and taking all the credit for the victory herself.
Pink plays a crucial role in the film, particularly for the character of Elle Woods, herself, and how her signature color illustrates moments that Elle is taking herself seriously as a woman and as a law student.
We see Elle wearing pink during her admissions essay, and we see her stand out because she chooses to do a video essay, rather than a written one, and this, along with her impressive resume and perfect grades, convinces the university that she is a worthy candidate for Harvard. She wears a pink top when she receives her final LSAT score; the grade that will determine whether she is worthy of being accepted into Harvard Law School. While the score Elle needed to get was 175 to be deemed worthy, she received179…a perfect grade. Elle is also wearing pink during the moment when she finally realizes that Warner does not love Elle or respect her, and he certainly does not believe she can succeed as a law student. This is a pivotal moment in Elle’s journey, because she realizes that she will never be good enough to impress Warner and now, rather than shine for him, Elle chooses to shine for herself, and prove how valuable she can be, both as a woman and as a lawyer.
Elle proves her value as a woman when she chooses to help other women…women who had no voice…to have a voice to speak up for them. When Elle befriends a manicurist named Paulette, she learns that Paulette’s ex-boyfriend has taken her dog away from her and will not give him back. Elle encourages Paulette to confront her ex and she gives Paulette the courage to stand up to her abusive ex and get her precious dog back. She also encourages Paulette to have confidence in herself, as a woman, and introduce herself to the handsome delivery man who frequently brings packages to Paulette’s salon. After a bumpy start, Paulette and the delivery man, Kyle, wind up getting married and having a daughter of their own, whom they name “Elle.”
Elle also proves her value as a woman when she chooses to help Brooke Wyndam, who she sees as a sorority sister and inspirational role model for helping her lose weight. When Brooke is accused of murdering her husband, the rest of Professor Callahan’s team are certain of her guilt, but Elle is just as determined to prove Brooke’s innocence. When Elle visits Brooke in prison, she brings Brooke a pink care package, and then asks Brooke if she has an alibi for where she was when her husband was murdered. Brooke tells Elle that she was getting liposuction and pleads to Elle to keep this alibi in confidence because if that alibi were revealed, Brooke’s reputation would be ruined, and she would rather go to prison than have that happen. Although Callahan and Warren pressure her to betray Brooke’s confidence and reveal her alibi to them, even being told by them that her confession will help them win the case and win Elle a summer internship at Callahan’s firm, Elle keeps her friend’s confidence, as she had promised to do. She refuses to be bought and bullied. This shows that Elle has more integrity and class than the men do…a fact which even Vivian finds impressive.
Pink also illustrates moments when Elle shines as a lawyer. When Professor Callahan compliments Elle on her intelligent answers during his lecture, he asks Elle if she is considering applying for his internship. When Elle gives Professor Callahan her resume, the document is pink and scented…giving it a unique identity from the other resumes and making Emmett recognize Elle’s potential as a lawyer. When Elle realizes that one of the witnesses is gay, Callahan and Warner dismiss her outright, but Emmett listens to Elle’s reasoning and follows up on it…helping to divulge a major piece of evidence in the case. When Elle replaces Callahan as Brooke’s lawyer for the final part of the trial, she wears a pink business suit. Callahan, once again, dismisses Elle, but Brooke intervenes, saying that Callahan is fired and that Elle will be representing her, instead of Callahan. Although Elle is initially nervous, Emmett encourages Elle to follow through with her questioning, knowing that once she found that strand of evidence where the daughter was washing her just-permed hair, she would learn the truth of the matter and win the case…which she did.
At its heart, Legally Blonde is a beautiful illustration of what female empowerment truly is. Elle is confronted with the sexist and chauvinistic attitudes of men…specifically her former boyfriend and her professor, neither of whom believes that Elle can be a successful lawyer, or an intelligent and serious woman, because they have wrongly pegged her as being a bubble-headed blonde who will never succeed in their world. Rather than succumbing to their ignorant criticism and compromising her integrity, Elle empowers herself by going to Harvard, pursuing her own dream, and giving the women she stands in sisterhood with a chance to do the same…she gives a voice to the women who do not have one and she empowers them. I do not think it is fully appreciated or acknowledged, how genuinely smart and accomplished Elle is, even before she goes to Harvard, when she is initially painted as the beautiful, effervescent Barbie doll that is only there to be arm candy. Warner breaks up with Elle because this is what he thinks she is. And I love that while Elle does prove that she can be a serious and professional law student, she does not lose that sweet, effervescent quality that makes Elle so incredibly special. Even when she is working as an intern for Callahan...her clothing, while more professional, still has little pops of Elle's unique style… and we see her character especially shine when she is wearing her signature color of pink. Elle won the case and proved Brooke's innocence, and she did so with her own, unique perspectives (as we see when she realizes the pool boy’s secret and that the daughter was the actual murderer… discerned when Chutney tells Elle that she got a perm...a fact that Elle exploits to prove her case.) And while she is very smart and succeeds both in the classroom and in the courtroom, she does so with class and humility. Even with her court victory, she is a gracious winner. I was proud of her for accomplishing what she did… especially when we hear that darling Warner, for all his arrogance and lofty ambitions, barely got into Harvard, and is graduating Harvard in disgrace, with no wife, no job offers and no accolades (whereas Elle graduated college with a 4.0 GPA, she was President of her Sorority, she made a nearly perfect score on her LSATS, and she graduated Harvard as valedictorian, with a job at a prestigious law firm waiting for her, (a position that was well-earned given Elle’s success in her first real case) and a handsome and supportive boyfriend in Emmett.
© 2024 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Robert Luketic
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Ali Larter, Jennifer Coolidge, Holland Taylor, Luke Wilson, Victor Garber, Selma Blaire, Matthew Davis, Sally Field
Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) has it all. She is beautiful…she is intelligent…she is stylish…and she wants nothing more than to be Mrs. Warner Huntington III, and live happily ever after. But there just one little problem…her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), will not propose to Elle because, in his conceited perspective, Elle is too blonde and effervescent; both qualities that clash with Warner’s vision of the ideal woman who will be his arm candy and help him become a successful lawyer. Determined to win him back, Elle rallies all her resources and is accepted into Harvard, herself, but along the way, she discovers the truth…that she can shine all on her own.
One of the major themes in this film is Elle being taken seriously, both as a woman and as a lawyer.
Elle’s initial purpose for going to Harvard Law School was to win back her vile, pompous ex-boyfriend because he does not believe that Elle is the type of serious, sophisticated woman that he is meant to marry. Determined to win him back, Elle decides to follow Warner to Harvard Law School, hoping that becoming a lawyer will finally convince Warner that Elle is capable of being the type of woman Warner desires as a wife. The problem is, Elle is only play-acting at being a lawyer in this moment to impress Warner. She is not allowing the true Elle to shine through, and as a result, she is not taken seriously by anyone. But unlike Warner, who had lofty ambitions for his future, but only just gained acceptance to the prestigious Harvard Law School, and when he finished, had nothing to show for it, when Elle starts taking herself seriously as a lawyer, she truly begins to shine. Her clothing, while becoming more professional and elegant when she is helping Professor Callahan with Brooke’s case, still has a special flair woven into each outfit that makes it distinctly Elle. Elle took the initiative to visit Brooke in prison to get Brooke’s alibi and prove her innocence. She not only got the much-needed alibi, but she also gained her client’s trust and friendship by promising to keep Brooke’s secret, which Callahan says makes her a good lawyer. The fact that she kept Brooke’s trust is what will make Elle a great lawyer. When Brooke learns that Elle kept her word, at the cost of Elle quitting both Harvard and the murder case, she fires the vile and pompous Callahan immediately and names Elle as her lawyer instead. Elle proves that she is a great lawyer when she single-handedly wins the case, using her unique fashion knowledge, once again, to gain Chutney’s confession. And unlike the arrogant and conceited men, Elle proves herself both a good winner and a gracious one when she humbly tells the press that any Cosmo girl would have known the rules of hair care, rather than bragging and taking all the credit for the victory herself.
Pink plays a crucial role in the film, particularly for the character of Elle Woods, herself, and how her signature color illustrates moments that Elle is taking herself seriously as a woman and as a law student.
We see Elle wearing pink during her admissions essay, and we see her stand out because she chooses to do a video essay, rather than a written one, and this, along with her impressive resume and perfect grades, convinces the university that she is a worthy candidate for Harvard. She wears a pink top when she receives her final LSAT score; the grade that will determine whether she is worthy of being accepted into Harvard Law School. While the score Elle needed to get was 175 to be deemed worthy, she received179…a perfect grade. Elle is also wearing pink during the moment when she finally realizes that Warner does not love Elle or respect her, and he certainly does not believe she can succeed as a law student. This is a pivotal moment in Elle’s journey, because she realizes that she will never be good enough to impress Warner and now, rather than shine for him, Elle chooses to shine for herself, and prove how valuable she can be, both as a woman and as a lawyer.
Elle proves her value as a woman when she chooses to help other women…women who had no voice…to have a voice to speak up for them. When Elle befriends a manicurist named Paulette, she learns that Paulette’s ex-boyfriend has taken her dog away from her and will not give him back. Elle encourages Paulette to confront her ex and she gives Paulette the courage to stand up to her abusive ex and get her precious dog back. She also encourages Paulette to have confidence in herself, as a woman, and introduce herself to the handsome delivery man who frequently brings packages to Paulette’s salon. After a bumpy start, Paulette and the delivery man, Kyle, wind up getting married and having a daughter of their own, whom they name “Elle.”
Elle also proves her value as a woman when she chooses to help Brooke Wyndam, who she sees as a sorority sister and inspirational role model for helping her lose weight. When Brooke is accused of murdering her husband, the rest of Professor Callahan’s team are certain of her guilt, but Elle is just as determined to prove Brooke’s innocence. When Elle visits Brooke in prison, she brings Brooke a pink care package, and then asks Brooke if she has an alibi for where she was when her husband was murdered. Brooke tells Elle that she was getting liposuction and pleads to Elle to keep this alibi in confidence because if that alibi were revealed, Brooke’s reputation would be ruined, and she would rather go to prison than have that happen. Although Callahan and Warren pressure her to betray Brooke’s confidence and reveal her alibi to them, even being told by them that her confession will help them win the case and win Elle a summer internship at Callahan’s firm, Elle keeps her friend’s confidence, as she had promised to do. She refuses to be bought and bullied. This shows that Elle has more integrity and class than the men do…a fact which even Vivian finds impressive.
Pink also illustrates moments when Elle shines as a lawyer. When Professor Callahan compliments Elle on her intelligent answers during his lecture, he asks Elle if she is considering applying for his internship. When Elle gives Professor Callahan her resume, the document is pink and scented…giving it a unique identity from the other resumes and making Emmett recognize Elle’s potential as a lawyer. When Elle realizes that one of the witnesses is gay, Callahan and Warner dismiss her outright, but Emmett listens to Elle’s reasoning and follows up on it…helping to divulge a major piece of evidence in the case. When Elle replaces Callahan as Brooke’s lawyer for the final part of the trial, she wears a pink business suit. Callahan, once again, dismisses Elle, but Brooke intervenes, saying that Callahan is fired and that Elle will be representing her, instead of Callahan. Although Elle is initially nervous, Emmett encourages Elle to follow through with her questioning, knowing that once she found that strand of evidence where the daughter was washing her just-permed hair, she would learn the truth of the matter and win the case…which she did.
At its heart, Legally Blonde is a beautiful illustration of what female empowerment truly is. Elle is confronted with the sexist and chauvinistic attitudes of men…specifically her former boyfriend and her professor, neither of whom believes that Elle can be a successful lawyer, or an intelligent and serious woman, because they have wrongly pegged her as being a bubble-headed blonde who will never succeed in their world. Rather than succumbing to their ignorant criticism and compromising her integrity, Elle empowers herself by going to Harvard, pursuing her own dream, and giving the women she stands in sisterhood with a chance to do the same…she gives a voice to the women who do not have one and she empowers them. I do not think it is fully appreciated or acknowledged, how genuinely smart and accomplished Elle is, even before she goes to Harvard, when she is initially painted as the beautiful, effervescent Barbie doll that is only there to be arm candy. Warner breaks up with Elle because this is what he thinks she is. And I love that while Elle does prove that she can be a serious and professional law student, she does not lose that sweet, effervescent quality that makes Elle so incredibly special. Even when she is working as an intern for Callahan...her clothing, while more professional, still has little pops of Elle's unique style… and we see her character especially shine when she is wearing her signature color of pink. Elle won the case and proved Brooke's innocence, and she did so with her own, unique perspectives (as we see when she realizes the pool boy’s secret and that the daughter was the actual murderer… discerned when Chutney tells Elle that she got a perm...a fact that Elle exploits to prove her case.) And while she is very smart and succeeds both in the classroom and in the courtroom, she does so with class and humility. Even with her court victory, she is a gracious winner. I was proud of her for accomplishing what she did… especially when we hear that darling Warner, for all his arrogance and lofty ambitions, barely got into Harvard, and is graduating Harvard in disgrace, with no wife, no job offers and no accolades (whereas Elle graduated college with a 4.0 GPA, she was President of her Sorority, she made a nearly perfect score on her LSATS, and she graduated Harvard as valedictorian, with a job at a prestigious law firm waiting for her, (a position that was well-earned given Elle’s success in her first real case) and a handsome and supportive boyfriend in Emmett.
© 2024 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.