Five Things the Screenwriters of "Legally Blonde" Did Right
Looking back twenty years to re-examine the feminist themes in a film that was considered to be ahead of its time.
Last week, Reese Witherspoon announced through an Instagram post the 20th anniversary of the classic 2001 comedy, Legally Blonde. As soon as I caught a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes snapshots, I was overcome with severe nostalgia as it has always been one of my favorite movies.
I told my boyfriend he had to watch it with me that night, and he gladly sat down beside me on the couch. As we were watching, I reflected on the first time I ever watched the film. Twelve-year-old me was expecting it to be just another college movie about a popular sorority girl, parties, and sex just like the many other raunchy comedies of the early 2000s.
As I quickly learned, looks can be deceiving. There are quite a few feminist issues that are addressed in the movie as well as several significant takeaways that I didn’t understand at the time. Wrapped in a pretty pink bow, here are 5 reasons that this movie stands out among other films of its time. (***Spoilers ahead!***)
1. Warner Fades Away
We’ve all dated or at least known a Warner. Not only is his character the classic upper-class d-bag trope, but Matthew Davis’s portrayal is completely believable. The movie starts centered around him as the love interest, but he slowly becomes more forgettable by the minute.
Warner provides the classic example of an arrogant man underestimating a beautiful and intelligent woman to make himself feel better. But once this point is made in the first act, he’s unnecessary to the plot and has very few lines for the remainder of the film. What I found to be most clever about this writing decision is that as Warner lost relevance, Elle found more purpose.
She recognized that putting effort towards making a difference for herself and others was much more fulfilling than waiting around for the validation of this guy who never seemed to think very highly of her in the first place. Warner aims to regain importance in the final scene, but by that point Elle has already grown out of her need for his approval.
2. The Lack of a Love Interest
I was surprised to see that Netflix categorizes Legally Blonde as a Romantic Comedy. A common theme in most rom-coms is that the plot will center around the lead character pandering to a romantic interest.
It’s safe to say that the first act leans into this concept, but it is somehow severely lacking in the romance department. Viewers begin to believe that the entire plot will be focused on Elle’s pursuit of her main goal; becoming Warner’s bride. But this plot device is soon discovered to be a red herring.
Even her ultimate love interest, Emmett, is never the center of the plot nor is he introduced as a potential love interest. He is a supporting character. Elle and Emmett have a platonic connection that naturally builds up to authentic feelings of care and trust.
Their development is subtle. This representation is fairly realistic in terms of relationships, as opposed to most rom-coms that establish immediate lust or intimacy. But, Emmett is never shown objectifying or pining over the leading role.
Emmet is a friend, which is exactly what Elle needed. It’s not until the very end before the credits roll that the viewers get a quick reference to the existence of a romantic development.
3. The Emphasis of Female Friendships
My favorite thing about this movie is its use of several strong female friendships that develop in order to empower one another. The execution of this character development is nothing short of inspirational and heart-warming.
Vivian and Elle start off hating each other because they’re “competing” for the guy. However, as they each get to know the other, they realize that they actually have a lot in common. Through their friendship, Vivian is eventually able to piece together the truth: Warner used and took both of them for granted. She knows she is worthy of a more meaningful relationship.
Elle also helps her new friend at the nail salon, Paullette, who is very timid when we are first introduced to her. Her friendship with Elle empowers her to overcome a manipulative and controlling ex-husband and to pursue the new man she has been crushing on.
Her connection to Brooke Windham, the first client to hire Callahan’s internship, grows as it is established that they were members of the same sorority. As her case progresses, it is conveyed that Elle is the only one who can successfully defend Brooke because of the relationship that they formed. Unlike the others in the internship, she is able to gain Brooke’s trust, and she genuinely believes in her innocence.
Professor Stromwell begins as a harsh authority figure and then becomes Elle’s most prominent mentor. In the first scene with this professor where she dismisses Elle from class, she was trying to teach her a hard lesson about privilege and entitlement. We later learn at a pivotal moment in the movie that Stromwell always saw potential in Elle as she urges her to never give up.
Not only did these supporting female characters help Elle along in her story, but they also benefitted deeply from having her in their lives. In a society that emphasizes the importance of marriage and conditions women to compete with each other for male attention, we mustn’t forget how powerful the “bonds of sisterhood” can be.
4. The Delineation of Rape Culture
Toward the end of the film, we are met with a scene that portrays sexual harassment in a university setting. The pretentious Professor Callahan tries to make a deal with Elle for sex. She not only refuses and tells him off in the moment, but she also stands up against him in the final iconic courtroom scene.
In this scene, the writers demonstrated the consequences of Callahan’s actions as he is fired from the case and blatantly shamed by everyone in the room. At the time, these elements weren’t commonly included in stories involving victims of assault or harassment.
It is absolutely critical that the writers made the decision to empower a character that was previously victimized. Sure, the repercussions for the act were not enough, but in 2001, sexual misconduct was unfortunately not something that could get a tenured professor fired from a university. Even so, the takeaway from the sequence of these events is clear; sexual harassment is unacceptable.
The scene after Elle storms out of Callahan’s office depicts victim-blaming and victim self-doubt, which are both symptoms of rape culture. When Vivian sees Callahan hitting on Elle, she automatically assumes that she was providing sexual favors to further her academic career and ruthlessly confronts Elle.
Elle then starts to doubt and blame herself and almost gives up on everything for which she has worked so hard. The movie does a great job of showing the psychological effects that an oppressive act like that can have on a victim.
After, Vivian tries to gossip about the situation with her peers and is immediately called out by Emmett. Realizing what she has done, she remorsefully admits to making a huge mistake. This effectively intense scene displays an imperative example of a character taking accountability for her internal misogyny. It was a learning moment for Vivian as much as it was for viewers.
5. Elle Woods Breaks the ‘Dumb Blonde’ Stereotype Without Repressing Her Authentic Self.
If there’s one thing we know about screenwriters, it’s that they love to fit female leads into little boxes. Fortunately, that’s not entirely the case in Legally Blonde.
At the beginning of the movie, Elle is introduced as the stereotypical dumb blonde sorority sister who lives in her own little world. She is a cartoonish version of all the “blonde” stereotypes that exist in media.
She’s attractive to men, appears to be naive and ditsy, and nobody takes her seriously. Her interests include shopping, partying, soap operas, and all things pink. But, as we get to know her, we see that she’s not fitting into the bubbly blonde box so neatly.
While she’s made to seem easily dismissable at first, the movie quickly tells us that she is secretly brilliant. One early example in the film is when she is shopping with her friends and a saleswoman tries to take advantage of her. Elle immediately sees through her tactic and challenges the saleswoman by using her immense knowledge of fashion design.
The people around her, unfortunately, don’t recognize her for her intellect because she uses it toward subjects like fashion and pop culture that are deemed frivolous by our society. Throughout the majority of the movie, she is actively working to prove that she can become the cultural definition of a “serious person.”
Although she shouldn’t have to prove herself, this plot point reveals a highly relatable issue that women often face. We are always striving to be taken seriously, especially when it comes to our work.
Even after it seems we’ve met the standard, the goalposts set by the patriarchy are always moving. Elle was accepted into Harvard Law, and that wasn’t enough. She then made it into Callahan’s “prized” internship and still continued to face unfair criticism.
No matter the judgment and animosity she encountered on this journey, her stubborn grit never wavered. And if it did, it was only for the briefest moment. These moments fueled her to work even harder and always with an immovable smile on her face.
Though Elle initially wanted to become a “serious person,” she never gave up on any of her “blonde” interests. This is unlike many female leads in similar stories who end up sacrificing their identities for one goal.
Elle stayed completely true to her fabulous self as she gained the necessary knowledge to excel in her new field. Her character certainly threw viewers for a loop. She forced us to rethink the often negatively represented feminine characteristics and degrading stereotypes in media.
Legally Blonde is a flawed film just like most comedies from the early 2000's. Within the script are harmful stereotypes portraying the LGBTQ community, a lack of cultural diversity, the understatement of upper-class privilege, slut-shaming, and sexist bimbofication of sorority girls galore.
That being said, we can still appreciate it for what it gave us during an era in which comedy was obsessed with hating women. Through the many female characters in this film, the writers demonstrate that we are multi-faceted and can’t fit into just one box. We can be and often are attractive, fashion-forward, and charismatic while simultaneously being brilliant and talented in our own, unique ways.
The movie’s overall message, “Believe in yourself,” is especially crucial for women to heed. Within this one message, however, the writers gave us much more to absorb. Legally Blonde teaches us the importance of women supporting women, shows us that we should never mold ourselves into what we think someone wants us to be, and tells us that there is nothing more powerful than being yourself to the fullest.
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