By Meghana Avasarala
Everyone knows that Legally Blonde— a believe yourself rom-com that had people obsessing over the main character, Elle Woods–turns twenty years old this year. But what has changed in the past twenty years? Is the storyline still viewed the same way? Or do people know better to be concerned about some aspects of the movie?
Legally Blonde opens with Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon, thriving in life as the president of her sorority, Delta Nu. She carries herself as a goddess and is known for her hair, nails, and accessorizing advice. She has the perfect grade in her major, fashion, and has an amazing boyfriend, who she expects to be something more shortly. Unfortunately for her, her boyfriend Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis) isn’t expecting more, quite the opposite actually. Warner, who has recently been accepted into Harvard Law, breaks up with Elle, reasoning that he needs a serious relationship. Heartbroken, Elle concludes: she must go to law school and prove her worth to Warren. And so Elle does; she works hard to be taken on as an intern by the well-known lawyer, Professor Callahan (Victor Garber). She and a few other students, including Warren and his new fiancee, help Callahan prove a weight-loss consultant, a Delta Nu, Brooke Taylor, innocent in a murder trial against her husband. The defense latches on to whether a Delta Nu would sleep with a man in a thong and the chemical structure of perms.
Legally Blonde has one message: to do what you believe in and fight for it. Even though it sends a good message, this movie certainly has its drawbacks. Starting from some critical points regarding Elle’s character to some of the jokes and comments made in the film, the movie had room to improve. When assumptions and stereotypes about a gay man are made, nobody batted an eye before. Still, now people have more to say about it. Other than the stereotypes in the movie, the plot-holes were hard to digest. Raquel Welch’s character says she’s never met Brooke Windham, but later she says that she saw Mr. Salvatore serving a topless Brooke drinks by the pool. Which is it? And finally, how did Elle ever graduate? To be honest, her first trial was beginner’s luck, and after that, her character had no development towards her career. She goes to law school for Warner, but when does it change? When does she decide Law is what she wants to do?
I smiled and laughed throughout the movie, even though some of the jokes were awkward to hear. Rated PG-13, Legally Blonde is a movie you can watch with your family. Filled with comedy, Legally Blonde is the movie you could watch while multitasking. I would recommend this movie to teenagers looking for something to watch at a sleepover.
I rate this movie a ⅘ flames.
