Legally Blonde

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For other uses, see Legally Blonde (disambiguation).
Legally Blonde

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Luketic
Produced by Ric Kidney
Marc E. Platt
Written by Amanda Brown
Karen McCullah Lutz
Kirsten Smith
Starring Reese Witherspoon
Luke Wilson
Selma Blair
Matthew Davis
Jennifer Coolidge
Ali Larter
Linda Cardellini
Music by Rolfe Kent
Cinematography Anthony B. Richmond
Editing by Anita-Brandt Burgoyne
Garth Craven
Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s) 2 November 2001
Running time 97 mins
Country United States of America
United Kingdom
Language English
Followed by Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde

Legally Blonde is a 2001 comedy film starring Reese Witherspoon, produced by Marc E. Platt for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios and directed by Robert Luketic. It is based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Amanda Brown.

The film is the fictional story of a valley girl's quest to be regarded seriously at Harvard Law School, and to win back her boyfriend.

The film was a Golden Globe Award nominee for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, and Witherspoon's performance also received a nomination.[1] It is number 29 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".

The movie's box office success spawned a 2003 sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde and an upcoming 2008 direct-to-DVD threequel, Legally Blondes. Additionally, Legally Blonde: The Musical premiered on January 23, 2007 in San Francisco and opened in New York City at the Palace Theatre on Broadway on April 29, 2007.

Taglines:
This summer, go blonde!
Meet Elle Woods. She's a lawyer with a heart of gold...and a mane to match.
Boldly going where no blonde has gone.
Blondes DO have more fun!
Don't judge a book by its hair color!
Believing in yourself NEVER goes out of style!

Contents

[edit] Plot

Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is the typical pampered "Valley Girl" (however she grew up in Bel-Air, across the street from Aaron Spelling) and president of her sorority, Delta Nu, at the fictional CULA, the California University of Los Angeles (an anagram of UCLA). Nearing graduation, Elle expects her Harvard Law School-bound boyfriend, Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), to propose, but he instead breaks up with her, saying that her frivolous lifestyle would hinder his political future. Elle later finds out that Warner's brother, Putnam Bowes Huntington III, is marrying Layne Walker Vanderbilt. Crushed, Elle decides she must revamp her image by attending Harvard Law and thereby winning back Warner. With an exceptional LSAT score (179), a 4.0 GPA, and an unusual application video of herself in a bikini, she wins the approval of the admissions board.

At Harvard, Elle is initially met with hostility and skepticism of her abilities, and she finds Warner is already engaged to fellow law student Vivian Kensington (Selma Blair). Vivian reluctantly invites Elle to a formal gathering, but tells her it is a costume party to humiliate her. Though she shows up dressed as a Playboy bunny, Elle is unfazed. She confronts Warner and finds that his perception of her is unaffected by her accomplishments. Spurred by his dismissive remarks, Elle immerses herself in her studies and becomes a top student in her class. She still finds it hard to be taken seriously, although Emmett Richmond (Luke Wilson), the trial assistant of Callahan (Victor Garber), one of Elle's professors, is friendly to her and recognizes her potential.

Along with Warner and Vivian, Elle is hired as an intern at Callahan's firm. They are assigned the case of defending a young woman, Brooke Taylor Windham (Ali Larter), accused of the murder of her wealthy husband. Windham is coincidentally a former member of Elle's sorority and a famous fitness instructor, facts that convince Elle of her innocence. Her stepdaughter and the household's "cabana boy" Enrique Salvatore (Greg Serano) attest to finding Windham standing over her husband's dead body.

After Windham refuses Callahan's request for an alibi, Elle visits her in jail where she confides that she was having liposuction at the time of her husband's death. Worried that this would destroy her reputation as a fitness instructor, she asks that Elle keep the alibi secret. Elle complies despite pressure from Callahan. Vivian is extremely impressed that Elle kept Brook Windham's alibi, and the two start to become friends. To further discredit Windham, Salvatore testifies that he and Windham had been having an affair. Elle reasons that Salvatore is actually gay, given that he is able to correctly identify her shoes as "last season Prada," something that a straight man can't identify. Although Callahan dismisses her claim as speculative and frivolous, Emmett takes the initiative and tricks Salvatore into admitting this on the stand by asking what Salvatore's boyfriend name is.

Callahan has a private discussion with Elle after the session. To her disgust, he reveals he finds her attractive and begins to caress her thigh. Elle angrily storms out and is met by Vivian, who witnessed Callahan touching Elle's leg and tells her she should sleep with the jury too so they can win the case. Convinced that she will never be taken seriously, Elle decides to quit and return to California. However, after encouragement from one of her female professors and with Emmett's support, she decides to stay. Emmett informs Windham of Callahan's transgression, and she decides to fire Callahan and replace him with Elle.

Since Elle is not a lawyer yet, she is supervised by Emmett. During her cross-examination, the victim's daughter, Chutney Windham (Linda Cardellini), claimed to have been taking a shower at the time of the murder, but Elle argues that having had her hair permed that day, a shower would have deactivated the ammonium thioglycolate and would have ruined her curls. Badgered by Elle's aggressive questioning, the daughter finally breaks down in tears and confesses to accidentally shooting her father, believing he was her stepmother, whom she resented for being the same age as she.

The end of the film shows that Elle graduated from Harvard as the class-elected speaker of her grad class with high honors, and she has been recommended to one of the country's most successful law firms. Now Elle's best friend, Vivian has called off her engagment to Warner, who graduates without any prestigious job offers. Emmett is revealed to be planning to propose to Elle right after her graduation.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Reception

The film was met with varied reception from critics, earning "fresh rating" of 67% positive ratings in the Rotten Tomatoes compilation of 130 reviews. Most reviews lauded Reese Witherspoon's lead performance even if they denigrated the overall merit of the film.[2] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 59 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.[3]

The movie was an unexpected hit, grossing over US$20 million in its opening weekend and ending its run with over US$96 million in the U.S. and more than US$141 million worldwide. It made Witherspoon an A-list actress and one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood (she would be paid US$15 million to star in the sequel). After this movie, Witherspoon had a string of hit movies including the sequel Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde, Sweet Home Alabama and Walk the Line, which landed her an Oscar for Best Actress for playing June Carter.

In 2007, a musical adaption premiered on Broadway, starring Laura Bell Bundy as Elle, Christian Borle as Emmett, Orfeh as Paulette, Nikki Snelson as Brooke, Richard H. Blake as Warner, Kate Shindle as Vivienne, and Michael Rupert as Callahan. Other cast members included Andy Karl, Leslie Kritzer, Annaleigh Ashford, DeQuina Moore, and Natalie Joy Johnson. The show, Bundy, Borle, and Orfeh were all nominated for Tony Awards.

[edit] Music

  1. "Perfect Day" by Hoku is the theme and opening/closing title music.
  2. "Watch Me Shine" by Joanna Pacitti
  3. "One Girl Revolution" by Superchick is the song playing during the closing credits

[edit] Production

DVD cover for the film
DVD cover for the film
  • Although the film's setting is Harvard University, it was actually filmed at USC[4], UCLA[5], and Rose City High School in Pasadena, California. The real Harvard only appears briefly in certain aerial shots.
  • The film was originally set to take place at the University of Chicago Law School, but administration at the school did not approve the film, because of a scene in which a professor places his hand on Elle's leg.[6]
  • The producers intentionally gave Elle a different hairstyle for every scene.

[edit] Comparisons

  • There are numerous references to The Paper Chase (which is also set at Harvard Law) including a scene in which Elle brings food to her ex-boyfriend and says "I brought you sustenance." In The Paper Chase, the main character complains to his girlfriend that she has failed to provide sustenance.
  • While Elle is a sister of Delta Nu sorority in the film, the actual Delta Gamma is the sorority mentioned in the novel. Similarly, the novel takes place at Harvard. It is possible that the sorority in the film is modeled after Delta Zeta, as their national colors are green and pink, as is the house interior in the film.

[edit] Errors

  • Curls can be wet following a perm; they just cannot be washed. Thus, Elle's example of Tracy Marcinco's curls being ruined after getting wet at a wet t-shirt contest could be null and void (unless the water contained shampoo, conditioner, or soap, but Elle is interrupted before this could be established). However, since Chutney did say that she was upstairs washing her hair, the argument Elle uses is still valid.
  • In the scene in which Elle is dismissed from class for being unprepared, the professor asks Vivian Kensington whether "diversity jurisdiction" exists in a case earlier identified as Gordon v. Steele. When Kensington answers that such jurisdiction did not exist, the professor says that this is the correct answer. The Federal Court of Appeals actually found that diversity jurisdiction did exist in the case. See Gordon v. Steele, 376 F. Supp. 575 (W.D. Pa. 1974).

[edit] Pop culture references

  • In Elle's application video, she proves her ability to recall information "at the drop of a hat" by relating a "Days of our Lives" storyline in which heroine Hope Brady is brainwashed by "the evil Stefano," which roughly corresponds to the time frame in which the movie was filmed.
  • In 2007, Moonie, who played Bruiser in the film, made a guest appearance on Deal or No Deal to surprise a contestant who has a fear of dogs.
  • A TV series pilot was shot with Jennifer Hall playing Elle Woods in 2003, but it was not picked up.[7]
  • Elle's dog, Bruiser, stares longingly at the Taco Bell chihuahua during a scene in which a television is on the background. In the film's sequel, the dog that plays Bruiser's mother is the dog who appears in the ads (Gidget). Also, in the second film, we learn Bruiser is gay.

[edit] Legal terminology used in the film

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Allen, Jamie. "Globes: 'Beautiful,' 'Moulin' golden", CNN, 2001-12-20. Retrieved on 2006-12-13. 
  2. ^ Legally Blonde (2001). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
  3. ^ Legally Blonde: Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
  4. ^ USC Campus Filming Office. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  5. ^ 121 Reasons Why UCLA is an Amazing Place. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  6. ^ Legally Blonde (2001) - Trivia
  7. ^ Legally Blonde (2003) (TV)

[edit] External links

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