I'll preface this by saying that this is my subjective opinion. And sure, maybe technically Legally Blonde isn't THE best film ever. But we aren't talking about technical elements today! No, just its vibes, mostly. But let's get on. Legally Blonde is a 2001 rom-com/chick-flick if you want to place it in a box, directed by Robert Luketic and starring Reese Witherspoon.
As I literally just mentioned, Legally Blonde would probably fit into that absolutely delightful (and I'm being serious) genre of girly, cheesy, and incredibly pink 'chick flicks' that are actually a lot more influential than people like to pretend. In 2020, many of these films are still quoted today (and I personally don't remember a single quote from The Godfather) and even the current fashion trends are very much influenced by the styles worn by characters in chick-flick comedies. But given the sheer number of these films that were made, it's impressive that Legally Blonde remains one of the most famous. Most of this, we can thank it's uplifting and relatable tone. It's a feel good film. Friendship and romance, what more could a girl want? I'm kidding. Women are actually biggest consumers of crime fiction, so I'd assume maybe a bit of that too. The film centres around Elle Woods (Witherspoon) as she attempts to fit in at Harvard; although her incredibly pink demeanour casts her as a bit of a social outcast. This makes her relatable. At some point in time almost everyone has felt left out, so it's comforting to follow Elle on her journey in character development. You can live vicariously through it as Elle Woods is actually incredibly inspiring ("What, like it's hard?") And that's what has made this film so memorable: it is about characters you can both like and relate to, with an interesting plot and very fun visuals.
Not only that, it's structured very enticingly. At only just over an hour and a half it's an easy watch and manages to pack in a number of storylines without being unnecessarily long (there's another dig at The Godfather hidden somewhere here)- so there's not a second within this that you can be bored. Once the story properly begins with Elle at Harvard, there are three main plotlines. A romance that I won't give too much detail on in case you somehow haven't seen this film at least once in the last 20 years. But it's very sweet and much nicer than her and Warner (who makes me ill). Elle's personal journey: which was inspired by a desire to one up her ex (probably quite relatable but not the greatest message to be spreading possibly) but eventually is just more of a coming-of-age journey of Elle finding herself, which is surprisingly enjoyable considering I heavily dislike that genre. And the third is surprisingly a murder mystery. I'm telling you- Legally Blonde has layers. Whilst it's not a massive element of the story, it gives the film an extra edge that sets it apart from the rest of the similar films of its time.
One other thing that puts Legally Blonde on top is how surprisingly feminist it was for the early 2000s. Aside from earlier moments of Elle and Vivian, this film is filled to the brim with women uplifting other women. And one-upping shitty men, although I suppose that's not actually feminism. Just justice! All of these women are also likeable in their own way, which sets it apart from other well-known comedies of the time such as Mean Girls which was, as the title suggests, less enjoyable due to the way the women kept treating each other. Female empowerment and friendship is the key takeaway of the film, and you can see it almost everyone. Elle, Vivian, Paulette, etc. Not only this, but all of its female characters are all strong in their own ways. And some of them (such as Elle) managed to do this whilst still remaining girly and feminine and pink. Which is something that's not often reaffirmed for young women and I think it's a good thing that there are films like this to tell them that it's possible.
Overall, I'd say Legally Blonde is more loveable than even some of its other less problematic counterparts such as Clueless. I'd say that is mostly down to the fact that Elle Woods is slightly less annoying than Cher Horowitz (although I do love her) and because the Legally Blonde storylines are more likely to reach a wider audience as there's more of them. Legally Blonde has something for everyone, alongside its good vibes, surprising feminism and a for the most part positive message.
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