kimberlysteele | Lessons From Legally Blonde's (2004) Elle Woods: Be Yourself No Matter What They Say (Reply)

It is not very goth of me to admit that one of my favorite movies of all time is Legally Blonde from the year 2004. Vanessa Whistler writing for IMDB describes Legally Blonde this way:

Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) has it all. She's the President of her sorority, a Hawaiian Tropic girl, Miss June in her campus calendar, and, above all, a natural blonde. She dates the cutest fraternity boy on campus and wants nothing more than to be Mrs. Warner Huntington III. But, there's just one thing stopping Warner (Matthew Davis) from popping the question: Elle is too blonde. Growing up across the street from Aaron Spelling might mean something in Los Angeles, California, but nothing to Warner's East-Coast blue blood family. So, when Warner packs up for Harvard Law and reunites with an old sweetheart from prep school, Elle rallies all her resources and gets into Harvard, determined to win him back. But law school is a far cry from the comforts of her poolside and the mall. Elle must wage the battle of her life, for her guy, for herself and for all the blondes who suffer endless indignities everyday.

Elle Woods is a great character because she does not give a fiddler's fart what anyone thinks of her. Once she leaves the comforts of Delta Nu, a utopia of a sorority with margarita parties every afternoon, she is a fish out of water surrounded by hostility. Harvard snobs openly shame her for wearing her signature head-to-toe pink. This does not stop her from trying to organize a friendly mixer for them. In short, Elle never hates people back when they throw hate at her. She only gives what she wants to receive and is never dissuaded or distracted from "Do unto others." When an edgy girl says "you would call me a dyke", Elle replies "I don't use that word." She does not conform. She is always a lady.

Bad Things Happen To Her

Elle's life does not go as swimmingly as she had planned. Her boyfriend cruelly breaks up with her at the exact moment she believes he will ask for her hand in marriage. People uniformly presume she is stupid and naive. Her Harvard professor makes an example of her by kicking her out of class the first day. She returns to class with dogged determination. People constantly underestimate her, but her perseverance proves that she is the Iron Blonde. She consistently demonstrates the saying that you should never judge a book by its cover.

She's No Prude, But She's Not Easy

Elle enjoys sex. She confides to a friend about a particularly fun four hours in the hot tub with her ex-boyfriend. It's clear that he did not dump her for lack of action or positions. She always dresses to showcase her assets and is proudly feminine. When her nerdy guy friend is cornered by two cruel girls who want to humiliate him, she play-confronts him and claims that he gave her the best night of her life. The girls are left wondering what on Earth they have missed by overlooking him. Despite having a healthy attitude towards sex, she has well-defined limits of how she will and will not use her body. Though it is presumed by everyone that she sleeps with men to gain advantages, Elle does the exact opposite and turns down men who would happily boost her to the top in exchange for sex. She does this at her own expense because she would rather quietly lose a battle and be the butt of mean jokes than lose her self-respect. She is virtuous but does not virtue signal -- she has far too much class.

She Values Integrity and Kindness Above All

Elle refuses to give up her client's alibi when peer pressured. She does this because it is in line with her decency. She follows the magician's code and "remains silent" despite multiple opportunities to spill the beans. She is friendly to everyone and only brings her cutting knowledge out when the situation demands it. She brings out the best in people, including her hairstylist and her ex-boyfriend's fiancée who later becomes her friend. When she must confront people, she shows them a glimpse of her considerable brainpower while maintaining her cool.

She Knows When to Let Go

Though Elle makes big mistakes, she knows when she's gone off course. She comes to an epiphany after chasing her ex-boyfriend that she's never going to be good enough for him. Compare a certain someone when she was a young woman... Ugh. I'll say no more. Unlike that young woman, Elle takes the time she needs and then pulls herself together with grace and dignity. Because Legally Blonde is a cheesy, predictable rom-com, Elle wins big in the end. I think you'll agree a character of her kindness and wit deserves it.