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Legally Blonde
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Luketic
Produced by	Marc Platt
Written by	Amanda Brown (novel) Karen McCullah Lutz Kirsten Smith (screenplay)
Starring	Reese Witherspoon Luke Wilson Ali Larter Selma Blair Matthew Davis Victor Garber Jennifer Coolidge
Music by	Rolfe Kent
Cinematography	Anthony B. Richmond
Editing by	Anita Brandt-Burgoyne Garth Craven
Distributed by	MGM
Release date(s)	July 13, 2001
Running time	96 min.
Country
Language	English
Budget	$18 million
Gross revenue	$95,001,351
Followed by	Legally Blonde 2 (2003) Legally Blonde 3 (2008)
Official website
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

This is the article about the 2001 film. For the 2007 stage musical, see Legally Blonde (musical); for the 2003 sequel, see Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & 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, which is seen by many to be part of the Girl Power movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s, is the fictional story of a valley girl's quest to be regarded seriously at Harvard Law School to take 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. 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.

Contents 1 Taglines 2 Plot 3 Cast 4 Reception 5 Music 6 Production 7 Comparison With The Paper Chase 8 Errors 9 Popular Culture 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

• 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.

The film stars Reese Witherspoon as the cute Elle Woods, a 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 intentionally spoofed anagrammed version of the 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, Peyton, is marrying Muffy Vanderbilt. Crushed, Elle decides she must revamp her image by attending Harvard Law and thereby winning back Warner. With an exceptional LSAT score and an unusual application video of her 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. Yet she stills finds it hard to be taken seriously, although Callahan's trial assistant, Emmett Richmond (Luke Wilson), is friendly to her and recognizes her potential.

Along with Warner and Vivian, Elle is hired as an intern at the firm of one of her professors, Callahan (Victor Garber). They are assigned the case of defending a young woman, Brooke Taylor Windham (Ali Larter), accused of the murder of her older, wealthy husband. Windham is incidentally 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.

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." Although Callahan dismisses her claim as speculative and frivolous, Emmett takes the initiative and tricks Salvatore into admitting this on the stand.

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), claims 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 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 Elle graduating two years later at the top of her class with an offer to work at a prestigious Boston law firm. She is the class-elected speaker and relates what she learned about law and life over the past three years. Emmett has since quit Callahan's firm to start his own practice, and he plans to propose to Elle that night. On the other hand, Warner gets no job offers or internships, loses Vivian (who becomes Elle's best friend), and graduates without honors.

• Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods
• Luke Wilson as Emmett Richmond
• Selma Blair as Vivian Kensington
• Matthew Davis as Warner Huntington III
• Victor Garber as Professor Callahan
• Jennifer Coolidge as Paulette Bonafonté
• Holland Taylor as Professor Stromwell
• Ali Larter as Brooke Taylor Windham
• Jessica Cauffiel as Margot
• Alanna Ubach as Serena McGuire
• Oz Perkins as "Dorky" David Kidney
• Linda Cardellini as Chutney Windham
• Bruce Thomas as Kyle the UPS Guy
• Meredith Scott Lynn as Enid Wexler
• Raquel Welch as Mrs. Windham Vandermark

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]

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.

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 [[Superchic[k]]] is the song playing during the closing credits

• Although the film's setting is Harvard University, it was actually filmed at USC^[3] and Rose City High School in Pasadena, CA. 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.^[4]

• The producers intentionally gave Elle a different hairstyle for every scene.

• This was the second film that Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair starred in together, the first being Cruel Intentions.

• 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 Stanford Law School rather than Harvard.

• 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. 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).

• 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 timeframe in which the movie was filmed.

• In one scene, Elle is watching "General Hospital," which once featured Kimberly McCullough (Amy).

• In 2007, Moonie, who played Reese's dog 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.[2]

• 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).

• Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) - The sequel to the film.
• Legally Blondes (2008) - The second sequel to the film.
• Legally Blonde: The Musical - The musical based on the film.

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. ^ USC Campus Filming Office. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
4. ^ [1]

• Official site
• Legally Blonde at the Internet Movie Database
• Legally Blonde Musical
• Legally Blonde movie fanlistings
• Legally Blonde Style and Beauty Page