An unlikely law school candidate proves that she is more than just a pretty face.

Legally Blonde (2001)

Directed by Robert Luketic

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Matthew Davis, Selma Blair, Victor Garber, Ali Larter, Jennifer Coolidge.

READERS of this series would have noticed the lack of female protagonists in the films discussed so far.

Fear not, as this week that changes, in the shape and form of Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) from the film Legally Blonde.

Elle, who appears every inch the Barbie, enlists herself at Harvard Law School in a bid to win back the love of her life, Warner (Matthew Davis), who has dumped her on the grounds that he needs to get “serious”.

“If I’m gonna be a senator by the time I’m 30,” he tells her, “I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn.” Gradually, however, she realises that she should not be there for him, but for herself.

Resolute to prove that she is more than just “blonde hair with big boobs,” she works hard and excels, none more than when she is chosen as one of just four first-year students to assist Prof Callahan (Victor Garber) on a real court case, which she even goes on to win.

The lessons learnt from the film are pretty clear-cut.

No one puts it better than Elle herself, who two years later is the class-elected speaker at her graduation: “It is with passion, courage of conviction and strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world, remembering that first impressions are not always correct, you must always have faith in people, and most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.”

But what else can we take away from Legally Blonde? The film places a particular stress on the bond of sisterhood via the Delta Nu sorority. We see how Elle’s fellow sorority members form her support system during her application process to Harvard Law.

We also see how Elle keeps her word to the client, Brooke Taylor-Windham (Ali Larter), former member of the sorority, and does not reveal her alibi to anyone.

In this way, the film advocates that girls should stick together. In a world where they already face so many challenges, they should not be a challenge unto themselves; united they are stronger.

The film also gives an importance to “girly” things that otherwise would be considered quite trivial. Elle manages to negate the case of the poolboy having an affair with Brooke when, after he notices her designer shoes, she realises that he is in fact gay.

Similarly, Elle catches Brooke’s stepdaughter’s bluff when she says that, at the time of the murder, she was having a shower after just having got a perm.

In two fell swoops, Elle single-handedly proves Brooke’s innocence and wins the case, all thanks to her fashion and beauty knowledge. So, the film advocates that being “girly” and being smart are not mutually exclusive.

Following this, the film dispels the notion that someone “girly” like Elle cannot be a successful lawyer; if anything, she makes a better one — and looks better doing it too.

Legally Blonde as a film thus works at two levels: it is the story of a girl out to prove her self-worth, but because this girl encapsulates the ultimate (negative) feminine stereotype, the story also extends at a broader, more socio-political level.

n Can you think of other teacher, high school or college movies with a female protagonist?

n In what ways is Legally Blonde a feminist film and in what ways is it not?

n Analyse how men are portrayed in the film.

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