Legally Blonde, 2001
Strap yourself in for some Legally Blonde FUN FACTS!
Every time I revisit this movie, I expect it to have aged.
“This time,” I say to myself. “This time I will stop rooting for Elle because she’s white and rich and therefore we should eat her.”
Alas, it never happens.
Legally Blonde is such a hoot and Elle Woods, so gracious and determined in the face of underestimation and abject humiliation, is just too lovable.
I was 10 when Legally Blonde came out. I - like pretty much all girls my age - loved this movie. I wanted to be a badass lawyer like Elle Woods. (I ended up a journalist like Carrie Bradshaw.)
I also wanted to be blonde.
As much as I love this movie, it also conjures a few tormented pangs felt by the little brown girl whose tween years were spent in an era of turbo blonde celebration.
Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Tara Reid, Hilary Duff, Kirsten Dunst, the Olsen twins - these were the women who covered every Dolly, Girlfriend, Cosmo and Cleo of the time.
Even their Latina counterparts were bottled up and sold as blonde (i.e. Nicole Richie, Christina Aguilera). It was also only this past week that I pondered the fact Cameron Diaz’ surname is Diaz. Turns out her father is Cuban. Who knew?
When Elle says to Emmett, “Why shouldn’t I [discriminate against brunettes]? I’m discriminated against as a blonde,” I can feel the collective eye-roll of every non-blonde born between 1980 and 1995.
In 2022, we don’t need to look far to find the failings of Elle’s words.
But ignoring the lack of intersectionality and weird villainisation of brunette women in Legally Blonde, the sentiment of these words - and the point of the movie - does reach for a response to the misogyny of this era at large. It rejects the cultural contempt for the likes of Paris and Britney (and womxn everywhere), whose intellect and worth are calculated in relation to their appearance. Legally Blonde is a sort of ‘fuck you’ to a society that demands women be ‘attractive’, only to then mock and diminish them if they are (or dare try to be).
And this is why we can’t help but love it.
Now, I have that out of the way, the rest of this ‘review’ is going to be a little different. Considering Legally Blonde is not a film that has faded from popularity since its release 21 years ago, I won’t spend any time summarising the plot or unpacking themes I found interesting (as per the last review).
Instead, I’ve raked the internet for some cool facts and trivia I think die hard fans will enjoy!
Also, stay tuned for a SPECIAL EDITION later this week to unpack what we know about the upcoming Legally Blonde 3 (and a few fan theories to discuss).
Until then, some fascinating Legally Blonde facts…
There was an alternate queer ending
In the New York Times’ very important oral histories of the film, a couple of folks recalled an ending in which Elle (Reese Witherspoon) and Vivian (Selma Blair) holiday in Hawaii, sip margs and, wait for it… hold hands.
I know. Raunchy stuff.
According to actress Jessica Cauffiel (who plays Margot, Elle’s sorority sister with the Lucky Scrunchie), “The insinuation was either they were best friends or they had gotten together romantically.”
Wowowow! (…Ok, maybe not as radical as I want it to be.)
There were actually multiple alternate endings written over the lifetime of this script. These also included:
A musical number on the courthouse steps.
One where Vivian becomes blonde (thank God this was vetoed) and she and Elle start the Blonde Legal Defense Fund (ew, this too).
Elle ending up with the professor. (Yikes.)
Legally Blonde’s director is Australian
I’m not particularly nationalistic, but every now and then something fills me with Aussie pride - and Legally Blonde having an Australian director really does it for me.
Even more interesting, director Robert Luketic had only done one film - ONE! - before landing Legally Blonde.
He directed a 12-minute short (vitally called Titsiana Booberini) which garnered a lot of festival hype and had studios vying for his chops.
I don’t know the precise hurdles one must clear between a 12-minute short and a multi-million dollar blockbuster, but I do believe this story contains at least some inspirational content for struggling creatives out there.
An ode to Victor Garber
I love Victor Garber, aka Professor Callahan, aka the villain of Legally Blonde.
Garber is one of those actors - like Stanley Tucci or Judy Greer or Legally Blonde co-star Linda Cardellini - who has been in absolutely everything and you don’t even know it.
Garber was Daddy Warbucks. He was Mr Andrews. He was in The First Wives Club (playing another irreprehensible villain). He’s had guest spots in 30 Rock, Modern Family, Ugly Betty, Will and Grace, Schitts Creek… the list goes on.
My latest internet stalk also revealed Mr Garber has a smokin’ hot hubby (painter Rainer Andreesen). Garber and Andreesen have been together since 2000, marrying in 2015. Just look at them. Cute.
Another celeb fun fact: Garber and Andreesen were the only two guests at Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck’s wedding, which Garber officiated. The six degrees of Kevin Bacon are wild here.
Finally, wrapping the Garber Goss section of this newsletter, in the sixties, ol’ Vic was in a groovy, flower child band called The Sugar Shoppe.
Please watch this video to see Garber looking very Art Garfunkel-esque. Also note the chain link vest. (Seriously, anyone know where I can get one, pls?)
Let’s discuss that 179 LSAT score
Remember when Elle reveals she got 179 on her LSATs? (Also revealing that her sorority sisters walk around with party poppers and silly string, prepared for a celebration at any moment?)
Well I - a non-American, non-lawyer - only found out, thanks to this guy, that the LSATs are scored up to 180. A result above 170 puts you in the 99th percentile… and a 179 is a bonkers brilliant. Elle is basically a genius.
The Bend and Snap origin story
According to the writers, the Bend and Snap was a ‘drunken’ invention conjured in a bar during a brainstorming sesh.
Writer Karen McCullah even said it became a dance move in Italy. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
During the cast’s 20-year reunion, Reese revealed the Bend and Snap scene was supposed to be a full musical number, complete with choreo and back-up dancers.
She also revealed one such dancer was celebrity choreographer Ryan Heffington, the mastermind behind Sia’s Chandelier video, that Margaret Qualley/Spike Jonze Kenzo World commercial and the Euphoria S1 finale sequence.
Emmett Richmond is one of the greatest romantic leads of the 21st century
Do we agree?
I just think writers Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith did a great job of crafting a modern leading man who is all kindness and calm. He even proves himself to be a superhero sidekick before his time, jeopardising his job and going against his boss during the film’s Me Too-themed climax.
Perhaps Emmett’s success also lies in the fact he is a prop character and we don’t actually know anything about him. (Although, I imagine: scholarship kid, had a strong maternal role model. Right?)
My only criticism - and I’ll admit it’s a big one - is the white (light grey?!) blazer in the final scene. *Shakes head and sighs*. So close to perfection.
That sperm case
While I’d previously taken for granted that the Swinney vs. Neubert case was real, turns out: the writers made it up.
When I think the writers started with a blank page and invented this case as a way of illustrating Elle’s advancing legal acumen - I geek out, hard. I am, of course, talking about this scene:
The case allows us to see Warner as the basic misogynist he is, while Elle gets to be all, “And for that matter, all masturbatory emissions where his sperm clearly wasn’t seeking an egg could be termed reckless abandonment.” YES!
Interestingly, this made-up case has made its way into some legal course curricula and actual academic theses evaluating how legislators view sperm in the legal system.
Can anybody say, “legacy”?
Legally Blonde: as told through the internet
Please enjoy a few fun resources for further research:
Read: ‘Legally Blonde’ Oral History: From Raunchy Script to Feminist Classic, Ilana Kaplan, 2021, New York Times [Highly recommend!]
Watch: Legally Blonde and the history of the dumb blonde, The Take, 2019, YouTube
Watch: Drag Queens Trixie Mattel and Katya React to Legally Blonde, Still Watching Netflix, 2021, YouTube
Watch: A real lawyer reacts to Legally Blonde, LegalEagle, 2020, YouTube