Rewind Back to 2001: “Legally Blonde” (25th anniversary)

Since the local Dietrich Theater will be showing “Legally Blonde” for its 25th anniversary as part of their Dietrich Flashback Feature series, I decided to add the movie to my Rewind Series for the Examiner. And quick side note, for the month of June, since it has been 25 years since the beloved Dietrich Theater had its re-opening, I will be focusing my Rewind Series on a few movies that are also turning 25 this year!

“Legally Blonde” was released on July 13, 2001, and was a hit with audiences, grossing $142 million worldwide on an $18 million budget, as well as receiving positive reviews, with praise for Witherspoon’s performance in particular. A sequel was released in 2003, while another sequel was announced to be in development back in 2018. “Legally Blonde” also spawned a media franchise with various adaptations, including a state musical that premiered on Broadway in 2007, a direct to video spin-off (“Legally Blondes”) in 2009 and an upcoming prequel series about Wood’s high school years, “Elle,” scheduled to premiere on Amazon Prime Video sometime this year.

Elle Woods has it all. She wants nothing more than to be Mrs. Warner Huntington III. But there is one thing stopping him from proposing: She is too blond.

Elle rallies all of her resources and gets into Harvard, determined to win him back.

So, before getting into the review, one thing that I definitely had no idea about is that this is based on a book written by Amanda Brown. The novel was based on Brown’s own experiences while enrolled in Stanford Law School.

Throughout its initial theatrical run and even today, “Legally Blonde” has been enjoyed and loved by audiences, making it an enduring pop culture classic. While some audiences (myself included) expected the usual, cliche-ridden “dumb blonde” comedy - which there are a couple of those moments here and there - the movie does have some fairly decent humor and even a couple empowering moments.

The 2001 comedy did a decent job subverting expectations because it shattered the Hollywood “dumb blonde” trope by forcing the main character to change who she was. The “popular sorority girl” archetype in cinema was almost always malicious, exclusive and elitist, Elle subverted this by being fiercely loyal, inclusive, and genuinely kind.

Whether she was helping her manicurist friend Paulette (played by Stifler’s mom) regain custody of her dog or protecting a sorority sister’s alibi at her own professional expense, her empathy was treated as a core strength rather than a weakness. Wood’s motivation also radically changed over the course of the movie as she began her journey entirely just to win back a man who undervalued her. By the end, she completely outgrew him, rejected his attempts to get back together and prioritize her own self-worth and career over romantic validation.

When “Legally Blonde” isn’t subverting expectations, there are some fairly humorous moments that are fan favorites, such as the “Bend and Snap” (where Elle teaches Paulette a move to capture a crush’s attention) and when Reese Witherspoon (Elle) delivers the line “What, like it’s hard?” when her ex is surprised she's going to Harvard. Her delivery of that line honestly makes the line one of the funniest moments of this movie. Elle’s friend, Paulette (played by Jennifer Coolidge, a.k.a. Stifler’s mom) also steals the show with some humorous moments as well.

“Legally Blonde” is widely celebrated as a beloved feminist comedy. Critics and audiences praise Reese Witherspoon’s iconic performance as Elle Woods, highlighting the movie’s empowering message about staying true to yourself, the importance of female solidarity and the ability to defy shallow stereotypes.

MPA: Rated PG-13 for some crude humor and language   (runtime 96 minutes)

Initial release date: July 13, 2001

Streaming services: Tubi/YouTube/Pluto TV/The Roku Channel/MGM+/various PVOD services   (as of writing this review)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F54fjzt4ro

• As agreed in her contract, Reese Witherspoon kept all of her costumes after filming.

• While at Stanford, source book author Amanda Brown wrote letters back home, regarding her inability to fit in with her classmates. Later she made a manuscript based on those letters and sent it to an agent, who was drawn to it because it was the only manuscript submitted written on pink paper - referenced in this movie through Elle Woods' scented pink résumés.

• To prepare for her role as Elle Woods, Reese Witherspoon spent two weeks studying the behavior of sorority girls, as she did not wish to portray a stereotypical airhead sorority image. She states on the DVD commentary that they were all very kind and polite, and she enjoyed her time with them. She also observed women shopping from the café at Neiman Marcus, and attended law school for a day.

• Elle Woods was named after Elle Magazine. Amanda Brown, author of "Legally Blonde", the novel on which this movie was based, spent her time at Stanford Law School reading copies of Elle Magazine.

• This was the first movie Reese Witherspoon had a leading role in that was a box office hit.

• Jennifer Coolidge sent a congratulatory encouragement video to the Marblehead, Massachusetts High School's theater department when they staged the musical stage play version of the film in 2023.

• Emmett (Luke Wilson) jokingly asks Elle (Reese Witherspoon) "how do you think I would look as a blond?" This was a reference to Wilson's real-life brother Owen Wilson, who looks similar, but with blond hair.

• "Dorky David" Kidney is played by Osgood Perkins, who went on to direct the instant cult classic horror movie Longlegs (2024) among others. His father was Anthony Perkins, who played Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960).