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‘Legally Blonde’ Oral History: From Raunchy Script to Feminist Classic

Along the way, adult zingers were edited out, Jennifer Coolidge struggled with the “bend and snap” and the ending was changed at least three times.

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By Ilana Kaplan

In 2001, Reese Witherspoon was already on her way to becoming a household name. But it would be the feminist masterpiece “Legally Blonde” that would cement her status as a Hollywood star.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Amanda Brown , “Legally Blonde” follows Elle Woods (Witherspoon) from ditsy, sorority socialite to first-year law student in an effort to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner (Matthew Davis). But what transpires next surprises everyone, including herself: The perky blonde with a tiny Chihuahua named Bruiser and a flair for pink discovers she is actually cut out for the courtroom.

It’s been 20 years since Elle, against all odds, got into Harvard Law, fended off a professor’s advances and came to the legal defense of a sorority alumna. She remains an emblem for challenging stereotypes and embracing female empowerment in the face of misogyny. By refuting the “dumb blonde” trope, Elle has become beloved for her sincerity and her insistence on unapologetically being herself.

In 2021, “Legally Blonde” is more relevant than ever. Years before the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, the Robert Luketic-directed comedy tackled workplace sexual misconduct and power dynamics. High-profile fans like Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian (who each paid homage to it in videos) have stoked its legacy, as has a 2003 sequel ( and a third movie due next year ), as well as a Broadway adaptation .

In advance of the July 13 anniversary of its release, I recently spoke with the film’s stars (including Jennifer Coolidge, Jessica Cauffiel and Matthew Davis), screenwriters and others about creating the “bend and snap,” Elle’s Harvard video essay and the movie’s enduring legacy. Here are edited excerpts from our conversations.

The original script was much raunchier.

KIRSTEN SMITH (screenwriter) We were sent a fiction manuscript by Amanda Brown [by] a couple of different producers and Marc Platt was one of them. It immediately struck us as one of the greatest movie ideas ever, and we pitched it as “Clueless” meets “ The Paper Chase ,” one of those law school movies from the 1970s. I might have worn a lot of pink in the meeting.

JESSICA CAUFFIEL (Margot, one of Elle’s best friends) The first script was very raunchy, to be honest, in the vein of “American Pie.” What we know now as “Legally Blonde,” and what it began as are two completely different films. It transformed from nonstop zingers that were very adult in nature to this universal story of overcoming adversity by being oneself.

KAREN McCULLAH (screenwriter) There were some differences in the manuscript. It wasn’t a murder trial, and she ended up with a professor, so we made some changes. It was a matter of finessing the details and adding a few characters, like Paulette and her friendship.

CAUFFIEL Originally, there was a line when [her friend] Serena says, “What’s the one thing that always makes us feel better no matter what?” And I say, “Cunnilingus.” That was actually a line in the film. We thought when we went to the premiere that it was still that edgy, raunchy edit.

Reese Witherspoon was always the top pick for Elle, but other big names were thrown around.

SMITH [Reese] was the first person who read the script. It seemed like she was just right on the edge [of fame]. We didn’t send it to any other actors.

JOSEPH MIDDLETON (casting director) We did “ The Man in the Moon ” and “ A Far Off Place ” when she was really young, so when Marc was bringing up names, and it was Reese, I already believed so strongly in her.

McCULLAH Christina Applegate said something about how she had turned down [the role of Elle]. Marc once [mentioned] Britney Spears, and I was like, “No, that’s not a good idea.” I think she hosted “S.N.L.” the night before, and his kids were into her, so he threw her name out there.

JENNIFER COOLIDGE (Paulette, Elle’s new friend and manicurist) I’ve heard rumors, and I don’t know if they’re true, that Courtney Love was up for [my] role. I heard Kathy Najimy was up for it.

SMITH I remember talk about getting Chloë Sevigny to play Vivian [a rival law student]. That didn’t work out, and we ended up with our queen Selma Blair. Selma and Reese were close, because they had done “Cruel Intentions” together. So their friendship is a great anchor for everything.

ALI LARTER (Brooke, a fitness instructor on trial for murder) They originally wanted me to come in for one of the sorority sisters. But when I read [the script], I just loved Brooke.

MIDDLETON I loved Paul Bettany for the Luke role, but he was British, and they felt like it needed to be a real American.

McCULLAH We always called [the love interest Emmett] “the Luke Wilson character” while we were writing it. They saw some other actors, and finally Joseph was like, “Maybe we should get Luke to play the Luke Wilson character.” I was like, “You think?”

There was a lot of field research done by the cast and crew: Smith and McCullah visited Stanford, while Witherspoon, Cauffiel and the costume designer Sophie de Rakoff spent time with a University of Southern California sorority .

SMITH We went to law school for a week right during orientation time. The scene where it’s a group of new students going around in a circle talking about it was from us eavesdropping on actual law students talking to each other for the first time.

McCULLAH The criminal law and constitutional law classes were the two that we sat in. Criminal Law was pretty interesting. Constitutional law, I remember crying a few times because I was so bored. But I did start writing some of the scenes for the scripts in that class, so some good came out of it.

SOPHIE dE RAKOFF (costume designer) [Reese and I] went to a sorority house for research while we were prepping. Everyone was wearing pink, so right then and there that gave us a throughline for the movie that became a huge part of the aesthetic and of Elle Woods’s personality and identity.

CAUFFIEL We [talked] an entire sorority into going out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Reese offered to buy them free margaritas all night. She leans over to me as the drinks are on the way and goes, “We’re not drinking anything. We’re drinking water.” We stayed sober as they got tanked, and we took notes.

Elle’s Harvard video essay was supposed to have a Judge Judy cameo.

McCULLAH There was an article somewhere that video applications became a common thing for a while [after the movie came out]. We just did it because it’s way more interesting to watch than hearing someone read an application essay.

ALANNA UBACH (Serena, one of Elle’s best friends) Judge Judy is supposed to be this amazing icon that Elle absolutely adores.

McCULLAH We wanted to shoot [Elle, Serena and Margot] chasing Judge Judy wherever she tapes her show and them being like, “Judge Judy! Judge Judy! Can we get an autograph?”

UBACH They cut that scene. They just couldn’t get Judge Judy on board. And I thought, “Reese, what if Ryan Phillippe played a really famous judge who had his own show, and we have him on billboards.” She said, “Alanna, no one’s going to believe that my husband’s a judge. Are you kidding me?”

The idea for the “bend and snap,” the maneuver Elle says has a “98 percent success rate of getting a man’s attention,” was conceived while the writers were drinking at a hotel bar.

SMITH Marc felt like we needed a big set piece in the second act, and we kept trying to think of how we could make it around Paulette and Elle. We were like, “Should the nail salon get robbed? Is there a mystery that happens?”

McCULLAH I was like, “What if it’s as simple as Elle teaches her a move to help her get the UPS guy.” Then Kirsten jumped off her bar stool and said, “Ooh, like this?” and she did the move. I forget which one of us said “the bend and snap,” but we probably both said it at the same time.

SMITH Karen is like, “Did someone teach you that?” I’m like, “No I made it up right now.” Then we went to Marc’s office, and I did the move. Toni Basil ended up becoming involved as a choreographer because once Robert read it, he got really excited to turn it into a full musical number. So, I found myself going to Toni’s studio and teaching her and a bunch of dancers the “step” I made up.

TONI BASIL (choreographer) I choreographed iconic things for David Bowie and Tina Turner. People interview me and they go, “You did the ‘bend and snap’?” It’s like, what, a one-and-a-half-minute number in the movie? But it was such an integral part.

SMITH Toni would call [part of the step] “the little chicken wings.” She was like, “More chicken wings, more chicken wings.” Jennifer does great chicken-wing hands. She puts the spin of hilarity and awkwardness on everything she does in the movie.

COOLIDGE Toni was incredibly frustrated with my ability to handle the choreography. Reese learned to “bend and snap” in about 10 minutes and I was the antithesis of that.

BASIL Jennifer changed it around. She pushed up her [breasts] instead of snapping because that’s what Jennifer does, because that was right for the character.

COOLIDGE One day I said to [Basil], “I’m not Elle, I’m the other character, Paulette, and I wouldn’t be really good at the ‘bend and snap.’ That’s not who I am.” And Toni said, “Jennifer, you need to learn this dance number and do your very best because even if you’re trying to do your very best you will still be the worst dancer.” It was a very sobering moment. But she was right.

Raquel Welch, playing the ex-wife of Brooke’s dead husband, wanted special lighting.

ANTHONY RICHMOND (cinematographer) She knew how she wanted to be lit. I had two sets of lights where I wanted them and one set where she wanted them, so she could look at herself in the mirror. I would dim one set down slowly and bring my own ones up so she never knew it was being changed.

DE RAKOFF She was obsessed with light. When I went through the fitting at her house, and we were talking about the courtroom scene, she was like, “I need to wear this hat.” It was a big, black straw hat; inside of that giant brim had a second layer of white straw that the light would bounce off so that she could get more bounce on her face. She basically created her own hat that had a built-in bounce board.

COOLIDGE All I know is she didn’t need her own lighting. She looks strangely youthful and sexy. Her face and her tiny hands, she made a deal with the devil. She looks like a billion bucks.

Some of the cast had real-life crushes during filming.

UBACH I discovered that [Matthew had a crush on Selma] during the trial scene. We could see that heart beating every time he was around her. He was so nervous, and I thought, “How could someone looking like that be as nervous as he is?”

MATTHEW DAVIS (Warner) I’ll adore her till the day I die. I will always cherish her taking care of me and looking after me because I was so damn green.

CAUFFIEL I think [Matthew] had a crush on everybody. At one point, he had a crush on Alanna.

COOLIDGE I had a crush on [Bruce Thomas, who played] my UPS man. But he was married and had a beautiful wife and children, so I had to shut that off. I didn’t have to act or get excited when he walked in — it was all true to life.

CAUFFIEL Everybody had a crush on Luke, but Luke was dating two supermodels at the time.

Test audiences didn’t like the original ending, so it was reshot to show Elle at her law school graduation.

CAUFFIEL The first ending was Elle and Vivian in Hawaii in beach chairs, drinking margaritas and holding hands. The insinuation was either they were best friends or they had gotten together romantically.

[Ubach remembers this as well but the screenwriters say they never wrote that ending.]

CAUFFIEL The second or third ending was a musical number on the courtroom steps, and as Elle came out, the judge, jury and everybody in the courtroom broke into song and dance. I’ve been waiting for somebody to leak that for 20 years.

McCULLAH We originally cut to a year later, Elle and Vivian were good friends, and Vivian’s now blond. They had started the Blond Legal Defense Club and were handing out fliers in the quad because that was the ending in Amanda’s manuscript.

SMITH One of the versions ended with Emmett and Elle kissing. We screened the movie two or three times, and every time people didn’t want to end it with a kiss. They thought it wasn’t a story about [Elle] getting a boyfriend, which was really cool to have people say that.

McCULLAH In the theater lobby of the test audience, Kirsten and I were like, “Why don’t we cut to graduation so we can do captions?” So we started writing that scene in the lobby with Marc.

SMITH Reese was shooting a movie in England at the time called “The Importance of Being Earnest,” so, [her] reshoot was done in England, and she was wearing a wig.

McCULLAH Luke had shaved his head for “The Royal Tenenbaums,” so he’s wearing a wig.

COOLIDGE It was so good, [Elle’s] speech at the end, Donald Trump had to steal from it .

The cast and crew say the film has lived on because it’s become more relatable over time.

SMITH It was the right feminist message and character to land when it did. It wears its desires on its sleeve: the contradiction [that] you can be a woman who’s fighting to be heard with a very clear point of view, who’s very strong and smart and also funny, fun and interested in different things, fashion and the law.

DAVIS I’m certainly biased, and this might sound hyperbolic, but I think “Legally Blonde” was one of the last great films in the sense that we shot it on 35 millimeter. It really captured the spirit, the grandeur and the magic of Hollywood. Reese is such a magnetic superstar, and it was a showpiece for her. I think we really captured lightning in a bottle.

LARTER You see this undeniable force, and that [Elle] never lets her self-doubt take her down. When you watch a movie like this, you believe in yourself a little bit more.

BASIL [The movie] is more relevant in a deeper way now than ever before. Women, equal pay and the #MeToo movement, so much has come around in the last 20 years that did not exist when these girls were creating this movie.

Fans constantly remind the cast and crew how the movie affected them.

COOLIDGE People come up to [Reese] and say, “I went to law school because of you.” People tell me that, too. I don’t think all these people could be lying: I think people really got inspired by that story.

DAVIS My friend set me up on a blind date once, and they were like, “You’ll love her, She’s cool. She’s a lawyer.” We had a beer, and we hit it off. I didn’t really talk too much about my story of being an actor. By the end of the night, we started making out. Right in the middle she pulls away and says, “I have to tell you something: ‘Legally Blonde’ is my favorite movie, and that’s why I became a lawyer. I wanted to tell you that all night long.”

McCULLAH When I was in Fiji, another guest told this honeymoon couple from Mexico who were lawyers that I had written “Legally Blonde.” The woman came running up to me, hugged me, and she’s like, “You’ve given me permission to wear pink every day of my life.” It was so cute.

COOLIDGE I can be in some environment that is not a “bend and snap” environment, walking through some dark subway tunnel, and someone comes up to me and does it. I could be on an airplane, seatbelted in, and they want me to get up and do it for them. Sometimes the requests are way more than you want to do during turbulence.

CAUFFIEL There are such hard-core “Legally Blonders” out there. I’ll be ordering a pastrami sandwich, and they’re like, “ Do you have your lucky scrunchie? ” I have my hat and gnarly mom clothes on, and they want to take pictures and talk about it. I love those moments because I see how something that we were also blessed to be a part of touches people’s lives.

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Kim K Recreated Elle Woods' Harvard Essay Video For Halloween & I'm Shook

Elle Woods from Legally Blonde is, by far, the most iconic movie lawyer ever. How many movie lawyers have that much boundless positivity and epic style on top of being a bonafide genius? That's right — none. It's no wonder that lawyer-in-training Kim Kardashian recreated Elle Woods' iconic Harvard admissions video for Halloween because it was everything when you watched it an the movie and Kardashian's rendition is everything the internet never knew it needed now. Kim Kardashian's video recreating Elle Woods' Harvard essay has the reality star rocking the entire Elle Woods look with blonde hair, pink clothes, and all. Oh, and what's an Elle Woods without a little Bruiser Woods by her side?

FYI, In case you haven't seen any of the Legally Blonde movies, know that Elle Woods is a total badass. Basically, when everyone thinks she's not smart enough to get into Harvard University and study law, she proves everyone wrong and becomes one heck of a lawyer. Kardashian is also studying law and her decision to do so hasn't sat well with everybody online, so Kardashian channeling Elle Woods sends a big message to all her haters: watch me prove you wrong.

While Kardashian is dressed like Elle Woods, her statement at the beginning of the video totally seemed like a message straight from Kim Kardashian herself to everyone doubting her. Kardashian wrote, "Oh! Hi, I'm Elle Woods and for my admissions essay, I'm gonna tell all of you at Harvard why I'm going to be an amazing lawyer."

You can watch Kardashian's full video, titled "Harvard, what like it's hard?!" below.

Kardashian revealed her goal to become a lawyer on April 15 through an Instagram post. She wrote, "Last year I registered with the California State Bar to study law. For the next 4 years, a minimum of 18 hours a week is required, I will take written and multiple choice tests monthly."

While her decision to study law has been met with criticism, she's not entertaining her doubters. She continued,

I’ve seen some comments from people who are saying it’s my privilege or my money that got me here, but that’s not the case. One person actually said I should “stay in my lane. I want people to understand that there is nothing that should limit your pursuit of your dreams, and the accomplishment of new goals. You can create your own lanes, just as I am. The state bar doesn’t care who you are.

View on Instagram

Watch Kardashian prove all her haters wrong. I and the rest of Kardashian's fans have faith the star will be a great lawyer one day — just like Elle Woods.

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

10 Life Lessons From Legally Blonde ’s Elle Woods

By Edward Barsamian

It’s been 15 years since Elle Woods entered the hallowed halls of Harvard in Legally Blonde . The film gave us such cultural treasures as all-pink ensembles, a pint-size pup named Bruiser, and, of course, the bend-and-snap (works every time). And while actress Reese Witherspoon has gone on to win an Academy Award, start her own lifestyle label, and r aise a family , her pink-adoring alter ego only gets better with age, too. In honor of Legally Blonde ’s 15th anniversary, here, 10 lessons from everyone’s favorite Delta Nu.

Always know your fashion and seasons. It will make you the best consumer.

If law school doesn’t work out, you can always fall back on being first runner-up at the Miss Hawaiian Tropics contest.

By Mélanie Nauche

By Hannah Coates

By Hannah Jackson

Never underestimate a well-rounded course curriculum.

Make the best impression by hiring the best.

Keep your interests diverse. You never know when it might pique someone’s interest.

East Coast vs. West Coast rivalries still exist.

Whoever said orange was the new pink, was seriously disturbed. Unless it’s Hermès orange.

Bend and snap. Works every time.

Make a good impression with just a hint of scent. It could get you the job of your dreams.

If you exercise you won’t feel compelled to murder.

Kim Kardashian Re-Creates Elle Woods’ Harvard Video Essay From ‘Legally Blonde’ For Halloween (Video)

She nailed every detail, even the “I object!”

Kim Kardashian went all out this Halloween, not only dressing up as Elle Woods from “Legally Blonde” for the spooky holiday, but also re-creating Elle’s full Harvard video essay down to every little detail.

“My name is Elle Woods, and for my admissions essay, I’m going to tell all of you at Harvard why I’m going to make an amazing lawyer,” Kardashian says. “As president of my sorority, I’m skilled at commanding the attention of a room and discussing very important issues.”

Kardashian also tweeted photos of herself in the various costumes from the 2001 comedy, including the iconic green sequined bikini and the pink slip dress. Bruiser, of course, was in tow.

In real life, the reality TV star is studying law without attending law school. Her late father, Robert Kardashian, was an attorney and part of O.J. Simpson’s defense team during the football player’s infamous 1997 murder trial.

A third “Legally Blonde” film is officially in the works, with Reese Witherspoon reprising her iconic role. Jamie Suk is directing the film, which is expected to hit theaters next year.

Watch the video below.

Elle Woods Harvard Video Essay pic.twitter.com/PNMBs2dl0C — Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) October 31, 2019

Legally Blonde pic.twitter.com/7deqdWVv60 — Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) October 31, 2019

Legally Blonde! pic.twitter.com/8OIffq7f3f — Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) October 31, 2019

How Harvard’s ‘Legally Blonde’ production bent the narrative with a snap of Asian flair

When Harvard’s Asian Student Arts Project first decided to perform “Legally Blonde” with an all-Asian cast, it was something of a joke. But by the time the musical sold out last month, it had become a reflection on white privilege, class and the model minority myth. 

“The story of Elle going to Harvard is a story of white privilege,” Karina Cowperthwaite, a Harvard junior and the director of the show, told NBC Asian America. “She is blonde, beautiful, rich and white. The admission officers take one look at that identity and say, ‘Yes, she’s in.’” 

For the past several years, the Asian Student Arts Project (ASAP) had put on performances with an all-Asian cast, including "M. Butterfly," but finding the right one this year was difficult, Cowperthwaite said.

“There are no musicals that talk about Asian American identity in a way that is not slightly offensive, tropey or relies on stereotypes,” she said. “They’re honestly pretty racist.” 

One member jokingly suggested an all-Asian version of “High School Musical.” Cowperthwaite, co-president of ASAP, didn’t love the suggestion, but it gave her an idea: “Legally Blonde.”  

“There are a lot of nonrace specific musicals that are just automatically assumed to be white,” she said.

ASAP redesigned the musical’s original set and costumes, and made changes to the script to reflect an Asian American experience. For instance, Elle’s neighbor was no longer Richard Simmons, but Mindy Kaling. Elle’s pink style included a Hello Kitty obsession, and Paulette’s salon was set in Chinatown. To get inspiration, the set designer visited Boston’s Chinatown, and added traditional Chinese characters to the sign on the salon that says “The Hair Affair.”

Adapting it to an Asian American context also meant reconsidering deeper aspects of the story.

“On the one hand, we’re exploring the model minority myth and being considered a privileged minority in this country, but also thinking about the immigrant narrative of being Asian American, and how that translates into working in a salon,” Cowperthwaite said.

The show also explores the backstory of Elle’s love interest, Emmett, who comes from a lower-income family and has to work three jobs to keep up at Harvard.

“It’s breaking down the narrative that the Asian identity is a singular experience,” Cowperthwaite said. “I think that is something that mainstream art struggles with, in terms of representation by filing down Asian identity to one trope or one identity. When you have a musical where every single character is played by someone Asian, suddenly you have this giant array of how Asian identity can exist in this one environment of Harvard.”

The show also explored Elle’s blondeness within the Asian American experience and how whiteness is often romanticized, she said. The blonde wig used by actress Natalie Choo, who played Elle, had dark roots to show she was not a natural blonde. “There is a performativity of blondeness that exists in the original musical. It’s just in a different context now that Elle is Asian American,” Cowperthwaite said.

Cowperthwaite, who is biracial, attended a predominantly white high school and was the only Asian American in her theater program at the time. She said keeping her Asian identity separate from her love for theater was the best way to avoid typecasting.

But now she knows how to appreciate both. “I suddenly understood that equating art with identity is something that is important, necessary and powerful,” she said. 

When the show, which was produced in just six weeks, sold out, she said she was thrilled. 

“We have an all-Asian cast and we’re filling houses of audiences to see that cast, which has never happened before,” she said. “In terms of representation, to me it’s a really big step forward, especially on our campus.”

She added: “This production is a love letter to all those girls out there who dream of being Elle Woods but feel like they can’t because they don’t look like Reese Witherspoon.”

Entertainment

How The 'Legally Blonde' Movie & Musical Differ

It's hard not to adore Elle Woods. The blonde, bubbly California girl bounced into our hearts in the 2001 film Legally Blonde , and there she has remained for a whopping 15 years. The story of a woman determined to make her actions speak louder than her looks should resonate with anyone who has felt underestimated — even if the problem wasn't ones all-pink ensembles or platinum hair. It's no wonder feminist icon Elle's story was woven into Legally Blonde: The Musical — though there are plenty of differences between Legally Blonde 's movie and musical, the inspiring message is still strong as ever.

For the uninitiated (seriously, how/why haven't you seen this movie yet?!) Legally Blonde is about former sorority president Elle who gets emotionally punched in the gut when her boyfriend, the "old money" Warner Huntington III, dumps her in favor of his more "serious" brunette ex-girlfriend, Vivienne. Determined to win back his heart, Elle heads for Harvard Law School, but while there realizes that she has a lot more to offer the world than being Warner's wife. The musical (which this Legally Blonde -obsessed writer went to see twice when it was on Broadway, and watched countless times after DVRing its MTV airing) starts with the same premise, but isn't an exact retelling of the movie. Save for the music (duh!), here are the major changes the musical made to the movie that you may have missed:

1. Elle's Admissions Video Is Replaced With A Dance Number

In the movie, Elle makes a video essay to get into Harvard, which shows off her "lawyerly" skills like remembering what happened on Days Of Our Lives and arguing for softer toilet paper in her sorority house. In the musical, Elle's essay is replaced with a song and dance number in the Harvard admission's office.

2. Professor Callahan Kicks Elle Out Of Class, Not Professor Stromwell

In the movie, Professor Callahan generally seems to respect Elle — until the moment when he hits on her, temporarily shattering Elle's belief in herself as a future lawyer. Professor Stromwell holds Elle up to a higher standard, and even kicks her out of class in the beginning of the film when she doesn't do her reading assignment. In the musical, Callahan is the one who kicks Elle out of class, and, sadly, the amazing Stromwell (who ends up being Elle's mentor) is cut from the musical entirely. It's one of my least favorite parts of the musical, as Stromwell was a strong female authority figure that helped Elle realize she was on her way to being an excellent lawyer no matter what Callahan said.

3. Warner Proposes To Vivienne In Front Of Elle

In the movie, Warner and Vivienne get engaged sometime between his breakup with Elle and the beginning of law school. However, in the musical, Warner's engagement is doubly hurtful, as he does so in front of Elle after both him and Vivienne land the coveted internship at Callahan's law firm. Fortunately, Elle isn't sad for long, because it turns out that her name is also on the internship list.

4. The Bend And Snap Is What Convinces Elle The Witness Is Gay

In the Legally Blonde film, the pool boy who states he is having an affair with Brooke, Elle's client, sasses Elle at the water fountain by criticizing her "last season" Prada shoes. It's this moment that convinces Elle he's actually gay, and lying about his affair. In the musical, Elle breaks out the "bend and snap" for Nikos, and when he doesn't drool over Elle's signature move, she realizes he must be gay. It's all done through a particularly funny song called "Gay Or European," which ends in Nikos announcing that he, in fact, is both.

5. Emmett Helps Elle With Her Epiphany

In the movie, Elle's epiphany — that she should actually try to excel in law school for herself, and not Warner — comes about after Warner insults her. Elle realizes that Warner is a jerk, and decides to do something to prove her worth. In the musical, it's Emmett, Elle's soon-to-be love interest, who tells her that she needs to actually start applying herself (via song, of course.) Personally, I prefer the version where Elle realizes she has the grit it takes to succeed at Harvard on her own, but Emmett's song, "Chip On My Shoulder," could inspire anyone.

6. Vivienne Takes Elle's Side Against Callahan Immediately

Professor Callahan is way more sinister in the musical than in the film. In the movie, Vivienne witnesses Callahan putting his hand on Elle's leg, but turns away before Elle pushes him off. In the musical, Vivienne sees Callahan forcibly kiss Elle, and her slap him — but her ex-boyfriend, Warner, turns away before seeing the latter. Vivienne realizes that she has to stick up for Elle, and convinces her to stay in the game despite the scummy Callahan. In this way, Vivienne takes over for the sadly missing Stromwell, who gives Elle a confidence boost in the movie after the disheartening incident with her professor.

7. Paulette Is Obsessed With Ireland

Though Jennifer Coolidge totally killed it as manicurist Paulette in the movie, the Paulette in the musical is given a quirkier personality. For one thing, she's obsessed with the country Ireland, and likes to play music from the land whenever she's sad. (Like in the movie, Paulette marries the UPS guy — who also happens to be Irish!)

8. Elle Refuses Warner's Proposal Gently

In the movie, Elle shoots Warner's declaration of love down with a cutting, badass line: "If I'm going to make partner by the time I'm 30, I need a boyfriend who isn't such a butthead." In the musical, Elle goes the classier route, and gently declines Warner's proposal with a "thank you, but no" and a song about finding her own way. Personally, I'd rather the musical have stuck to the former.

9. The Courtroom Scene Is Far More Theatrical

Not surprisingly, the Legally Blonde musical cranks up the theatrics of Elle's courtroom scene. Though Elle uses the same legal strategy (every Cosmo girl knows that you can't get a perm wet!) in the musical, Elle takes the entire courtroom into the bathroom with her to prove that Chutney was lying about being in the shower at the time of her father's murder. Snaps for creativity, Elle.

10. Warner Becomes A Model

At the end of Legally Blonde , Warner graduates from Harvard without any job offers and without a girlfriend. In the musical, he takes a different path — he ditches law school altogether and becomes a model instead!

11. Elle Proposes To Emmett

We never see a proposal in the Legally Blonde film, only an epilogue at the bottom of the screen that say that Emmett is proposing to Elle on the night of her graduation. Legally Blonde: The Musical sticks to its feminist theme and puts Elle in charge of her own future — she's the one who asks Emmett to marry her during her valedictorian speech.

Both the movie and musical have their own merits, but no matter which one you prefer, both are sure to tug at your heartstrings and remind you that being the best version of yourself is still the most important thing — no matter what people think of it.

Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

20 Years Later, Here's What 'Legally Blonde' Got Right And Wrong About Work

Senior Reporter, Work/Life

Twenty years ago this month, a blond Harvard law student who unapologetically loved Barbie colors, manicures, blowouts and scented résumés entered our movie theaters and won over hearts.

The 2001 film “ Legally Blonde ” starred Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, a woman who initially applies to Harvard Law School to win back her college boyfriend, Warner, who broke up with her for not being serious enough. When Elle realizes that Warner will never think she’s good enough, she decides to become a lawyer herself and prove her haters wrong.

Her quest to become a lawyer despite snobby fellow students and skeptical friends, family and law professors became a media franchise that includes a movie sequel, Broadway musical and a future third film . Elle Woods has been referenced in an Ariana Grande video and became a career inspiration to women. Witherspoon told an interviewer in 2017, “At least once a week I have a woman come up to me and say, ‘I went to law school because of “Legally Blonde. ″ ’”

But what about “Legally Blonde” stills hold up when it comes to its messages about career and work? When I first watched the film as a kid, I remember being dazzled by Elle’s pink glittery outfits and oohing at her courtroom triumph when she used her knowledge of perm maintenance to help win a murder case.

Now, in 2021, clunky Mac desktop computers are no longer en vogue and the early 2000s fashion ― Tiffany necklaces and all ― feels nostalgic. But there’s still a lot of the film that remains relevant. Here’s what still rings true ― and what definitely doesn’t ― about the film’s take on careers and success.

It accurately portrays how cultural fit and connections can matter more than grades.

When ex-boyfriend Warner condescendingly tells Elle she won’t get the coveted internship he wants because “You’re not smart enough, sweetie,” Elle shoots back, “Did we not get into the same law school, Warner? ... We took the same LSATs and we’re taking the same classes.”

But left unspoken in the film is that Elle and Warner, who attended the same California university and likely did a lot of the same extracurriculars as other wealthy white college students, also share a similar pedigree that helped them get into an elite law school.

We find out that Warner, who has multiple politicians in his family, had his dad place a call to get him off of the waitlist at Harvard. But Elle used her connections, too, just ones that are less appreciated by this patriarchal society. To stand out from the crowd of Harvard applicants, Elle hires “a Coppola” to direct a video admissions essay of herself in a hot tub and around her sorority house.

Shocked and awed at the sight of Elle, the all-white male Harvard admissions board comes to quick agreement to take a chance on Elle, pointing out that she has been in a Ricky Martin video and is a faux fur panty designer. “Aren’t we always looking for diversity?” one quips.

The scene inadvertently shows how ridiculous elite admissions processes can be, relying on irrelevant, subjective factors like extracurriculars and personal networks to make life-changing decisions about who belongs in an institution. Using the metric of cultural fit over who has real aptitude for the position is an unfortunately real practice outside of movies, too, and it’s a dynamic “Legally Blonde” captures well.

It nails the betrayal felt when quid pro quo happens in the workplace.

Long before the #MeToo movement, “Legally Blonde” confronted sexual harassment in the workplace. Callahan, the law professor who mentored Elle in her internship, asks to see her alone in his office.

First, Callahan praises Elle’s courtroom skills, saying she will be a great lawyer for following her instincts, then asks if she has considered her career path. Elle says she has not but that she knows getting a summer associate job is competitive. Callahan explains that competition is really about “knowing exactly what you want and how far you will go to get it. How far will Elle go?” before putting an unwanted hand on her thigh. Elle throws off his hand and storms off.

The subtext is clear: Callahan’s support for getting an associate job is conditional upon Elle accepting his harassment. It’s a textbook case of quid pro quo sexual harassment, in which opportunities for advancement are conditioned on submission to unwelcome sexual advances. The harassment derails Elle’s confidence in herself and almost causes her to drop out of law school because she becomes convinced Callahan gave her the internship only because he saw her as a “piece of ass.”

But at the beauty salon, Elle meets another professor, Stromwell, played by Holland Taylor, who delivers the movie’s iconic pep talk: “If you’re going to let one stupid prick ruin your life, you’re not the girl I thought you were.”

As a result, Elle stays true to herself, gets hired to represent a client over Callahan’s objections and does end up graduating from law school with a prestigious job lined up. Elle has her success story, but Callahan’s move shows the challenges women face that can take them out of their careers before they even begin.

But it doesn’t acknowledge the cruel abuse of power Elle exercises over a witness in a key scene...

Throughout the film, Elle’s knowledge of beauty, makeup and designer fashion is underestimated, even though it’s a valuable asset that helps clear her client’s name in the film’s climactic moment.

“Legally Blonde” successfully shows that the smarts that can make you successful in your chosen profession can come from many experiences, not just from the advanced degrees already earned by Elle’s snobby, educated classmates.

But one key scene feels jarring now to watch. During the murder trial in which she assists, Elle makes a broad assumption that only a gay man would know that her shoes are Prada and believes this would refute the prosecution’s narrative that Elle’s client and a pool worker named Enrique are having an affair to swindle the victim. Elle gets another law student to out Enrique during his testimony by asking Enrique what his boyfriend’s name is, and he answers.

Enrique’s outing is framed as a rah-rah moment of feminist triumph for Elle, who used knowledge possessed by none of the lead male attorneys around her to help their client. But the fact Elle facilitates outing someone else takes me out of the movie now. It makes me feel queasy to see Enrique Salvatore, the only Latinx queer character in the film with a speaking role, outed so cruelly.

...and “Legally Blonde” completely fails on the racial and ethnic diversity of a real student body.

Elle the intrepid first-year law student embodies a power fantasy that you can embrace your femininity and love pink and still get ahead in your career, but ultimately it is a fantasy reserved for white women. The absence of people of color in Elle’s Harvard student body is glaring. In 2004, when the movie is supposed to take place, the real Harvard Law School wasn’t as white as the one “Legally Blonde” depicted. As writer Ella Ceron points out , that year Harvard Law was about 52% students of color . The incoming class of 2023 is 47% students of color and 17% LGBTQ students.

Ultimately, I still laugh and smile at Elle’s journey to becoming a woman who owns her ambition, and who will roar triumphantly when she finds out she gets a coveted internship that her no-good ex said she was not smart enough to get.

But I can longer buy Elle as an outsider. The film frames her as a cultural outlier at her law school because she is from California, wears bright pink, and has a perky, cheerful personality compared to her insular East Coast student peers who dress in muted, dull colors. But now I see that when you take away her colorful outfits and accessories, Elle Woods is not all that different from the status quo of the people in power she wants to join. She fits right in.

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Legally Blonde: Elle Woods' Harvard Video Essay

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Kim Kardashian Recreates Elle Woods’ Iconic Harvard Video Essay For Halloween

What, like it’s hard.

Between actually studying law, filming a television show, running a beauty brand and being a mother, I genuinely cannot fathom how Kim Kardashian West has the time to pull together some of the looks she does. The 39-year-old reality star and beauty mogul just unveiled her first Halloween costume paying homage to Reese Witherspoon’s iconic character, law student Elle Woods from the 2001 film Legally Blonde. She even filmed her own remake of Woods’ Harvard admissions video essay.

“Oh! Hi! I’m Elle Woods and for my admissions essay I am going to tell all of you at Harvard why I’m going to be an amazing lawyer,” Kardashian West said at the start of the video recreation, a nod to her own pursuit of the same university degree.

View this post on Instagram Elle Woods Harvard Video Essay Elias Tahan video and editing Ricky Alvarez video and photo Lauren Drablier producer Chris Appleton hair Ash K Holm makeup Music: “One Girl Revolution” Superchick Courtesy of Whizbang, Inc. and Inpop Records A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Oct 31, 2019 at 10:24am PDT

Kardashian filmed each and every scene from the meeting with her sorority Delta Nu to wearing a green sequinned bikini while floating on a li-lo. She brings the video home, though, when she’s walking in the pink dress with the pink feather pen, wearing the pink lipstick and holding a dog (who is presumably starring as Bruiser Woods). “I object!” she proclaims.

This look will be one of four Kardashian will be serving this year. When one fan asked on Twitter for a preview of today’s costume, Kardashian responded, “I was up until 1:30am shooting one look! I have one w kids, one w Kanye and one solo. I have a 4th look but not sure if I will do it this year. Need to decide.”

I didn’t think Kardashian’s take on Pamela Anderson last year could be beaten but, alas, here we are.

Meanwhile, we are patiently awaiting Reese Witherspoon’s reaction. The actor’s hyped television series The Morning Show premieres tomorrow on new streaming service Apple TV+. Yes, you have to hand it to them: The Kardashians never miss a beat – or timely hook in the grand bid for publicity.

Let’s meet back here for outfits two, three and four.

topics: celebrity , Kim Kardashian , kim kardashian west , elle woods , legally blonde , reese witherpoon , Halloween , halloween 2019

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Legally Blonde! Kim Kardashian Recreates Elle Woods' Iconic Harvard Video Essay for Halloween

Kim Kardashian West, who is currently studying to become a lawyer, just channeled one of the most iconic pop culture law students of all time — Elle Woods!

The 39-year-old reality star and beauty mogul unveiled her first Halloween costume of 2019 on Instagram by recreating a series of memorable looks that Reese Witherspoon wore as Elle Woods in the the hit 2001 film, Legally Blonde . She even made her own Harvard Law admissions video essay, just like Woods did in the film.

“Oh! Hi! I’m Elle Woods and for my admissions essay I am going to tell all of you at Harvard why I’m going to be an amazing lawyer,” Kardashian West said at the start of the video recreation.

View this post on Instagram Elle Woods Harvard Video Essay Elias Tahan video and editing Ricky Alvarez video and photo Lauren Drablier producer Chris Appleton hair Ash K Holm makeup Music: “One Girl Revolution” Superchick Courtesy of Whizbang, Inc. and Inpop Records A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Oct 31, 2019 at 10:24am PDT

Kardashian West goes on to act out each and every scene from the admissions video, including a meeting with her society Delta Nu to vote on Charmin toilet paper versus generic, the bikini-clad pool scene discussing Days of Our Lives , and the scene exhibiting “legal jargon in everyday life.”

As for the outfits, she perfectly recreated each one from the admissions essay.

Kardashian West wore the Barbie pink slip dress, Tiffany & Co. heart tag choker and baby pink sunglasses that Woods sported in the “legal jargon” scene. She kept the look as realistic as possible by wearing a French tip manicure, blonde wig and hot pink lipstick, carrying a pink feather pen and holding a tote with a dog (meant to be Bruiser Woods) inside.

View this post on Instagram Legally Blonde A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Oct 31, 2019 at 10:06am PDT

For the pool scene, she donned a blonde wig pulled up into a bouncy ponytail and wore an identical green sequin string bikini to lounge on a hot pink pool float.

Her look immediately got praise on social media, including one message from Witherspoon who played Woods herself. “Elle Woods forever!” the actress wrote on her Instagram Story.

Khloé Kardashian agreed writing, “The best I’ve ever seen.”

The costume is spot-on for Kardashian West, who revealed in April that she decided last summer to begin a four-year apprenticeship with a law firm in San Francisco, with the goal of taking the bar in 2022.

RELATED: Kim Kardashian Is Studying to Become a Lawyer, Wants to Take the Bar in 2022

Leading up to Halloween 2019, fans were dying to get a preview of what the KKW Beauty mogul would wear. When one fan asked on Twitter, she replied saying: “I was up until 1:30am shooting one look! I have one w kids, one w Kanye and one solo. I have a 4th look but not sure if I will do it this year. Need to decide.”

I was up until 1:30am shooting one look! I have one w kids, one w Kanye and one solo. I have a 4th look but not sure if I will do it this year. Need to decide. https://t.co/ORFmrvUUiu — Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 28, 2019

Last year, Kardashian West got decked out in two memorable costumes: a Victoria’s Secret Angel (a group look she did with all the Kardashian-Jenner sisters ) and Pamela Anderson circa 1999 at the MTV Video Music Awards.

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Kim Kardashian channels Elle Woods in Legally Blonde video

Kim Kardashian West pulls on a sparkly pink bikini in Legally Blonde spoof which tells the world why she’ll be an amazing lawyer.

Arts and entertainment reporter @BethanyMinelle

Friday 1 November 2019 13:12, UK

Kim Kardashian has channelled her inner Elle Woods in a short video spoofing Legally Blonde.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star - who's studying to become a criminal justice lawyer - shared the clip on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram Elle Woods Harvard Video Essay Elias Tahan video and editing Ricky Alvarez video and photo Lauren Drablier producer Chris Appleton hair Ash K Holm makeup Music: “One Girl Revolution” Superchick Courtesy of Whizbang, Inc. and Inpop Records A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Oct 31, 2019 at 10:24am PDT

Titled "Elle Woods Harvard Video Essay", the film reconstructs the 2001 movie application of East Coast sorority girl Elle Woods scene by scene.

The video has been watched over eight and a half million times.

The video starts off in a swimming pool, with Kardashian dressed in a shiny pink bikini.

Speaking directly to camera, she begins: "Oh hi, I'm Elle Woods, and for my admissions essay I'm going to tell all of you at Harvard why I'm going to be an amazing lawyer."

A scene in a conference room focuses on a debate over toilet paper, with Kardashian concluding on an all-important vote over brands and comparable "chafing".

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Another pool-based skit shows her remembering plot points from long-running US daytime soap Days Of Our Lives, while floating on a lilo.

The clip ends with a demonstration of legal jargon, as a sexist comment is directed her way in the street.

Like the fictional character, played by Reese Witherspoon in the original film, reality star Kardashian has also struggled for people to take her legal ambitions seriously.

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The mum-of-four is part-way though a four-year apprenticeship with a law firm in San Francisco, and plans to take her exams in 2022.

She is being mentored by two lawyers who are helping her log her required 18 hours of weekly supervised study.

Last year Kardashian visited President Donald Trump in the White House to successfully argue for the release of a 63-year-old grandmother jailed over non-violent drug charges.

Kardashian was also among the celebrities who pleaded for the release of a teenage sex trafficking victim who was jailed after killing a man who tried to rape her.

Her father, Robert Kardashian, was an attorney, who became well known after joining the defence team of former American football star OJ Simpson .

Kardashian sports blonde locks in the video to mimic Witherspoon's appearance, crediting the new look to Leicester-born hairdresser Chris Appleton.

Meanwhile, Witherspoon has been on the publicity trail over the last few weeks, with her new Apple TV + drama The Morning Show.

The big-budget production, about a breakfast TV newscaster who's sacked for sexual misconduct, is one of the flagship programmes of the newly launched streaming service.

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Woman Who Applied To Harvard 'For Fun' & Got In Reveals The Opening Line Of Her Winning Essay

She claims it was all about her essay, but after seeing her stats, some aren't buying it..

• John Sundholm

Written on Apr 12, 2023

There are many iconic lines in the 2001 film "Legally Blonde," but the true stand-out is Reese Witherspoon's character Elle Woods' response when her ex-boyfriend reacts with shock that she got into Harvard—"What? Like it's hard?"

That's a joke, of course, but one woman on TikTok has proven that there's a bit of truth in every joke, even the ones about it being easy to get into Harvard. Because as she reveals in her videos, she sort of stumbled into attending what is often called the most prestigious university in the world.

A woman applied to Harvard 'for fun' and got accepted.

TikToker @harvardhoneyyy, who bills herself as "The Real Elle Woods," tells her TikTok followers to "just apply! You never know what can happen." If that sounds absurd to you, you're certainly not alone—it's Harvard, after all—but in her case, it turned out to be true.

RELATED:  23-Year-Old Shares How Happy She Is To Have A $76K A Year Job With Unlimited PTO — People Tell Her That's A 'Low' Salary

The woman applied moments before the deadline after she had already been accepted to her top-choice schools.

Unlike most people applying to colleges, let alone elite Ivy League institutions, Kelsey Hoskin's college future was already done and dusted. As she revealed in on-screen text, she had already finished all her "real applications" to the schools she actually planned to attend and could get into after graduating high school in 2017.

But on a lark, Hoskin  decided to throw her hat in the Harvard ring anyway, saying she applied "for fun the night it was due," getting in just under the wire. And as she revealed in her TikTok to her shock—and surely to the consternation of every kid currently receiving rejections from their universities of choice amid today's cut-throat admissions requirements—she was accepted.

"I am delighted to report that the Admissions Committee has asked me to inform you that you will be admitted to the Harvard College Class of 2021," reads a screenshot of her acceptance letter.

And lest you think this is a scam and she was admitted to a community college in, say, Harvard, Illinois—as several commenters suspected—Harvard College is what Harvard University calls their undergraduate program. It is indeed the Harvard we all know and love—or love to hate, depending on whether or not you were accepted!

RELATED:  Valedictorian With 1590 SAT Score Rejected From Every Ivy League School

The woman revealed her winning essay she says won her a spot at Harvard.

So how did "The Real Elle Woods" pull off her Elle Woods-inspired stunt? She says it all came down to her college application essay.

Since graduating from Harvard in 2021, Hoskin has started a business consulting others on how to get into Harvard, and frequently shares her favorite lines from the best college application essays she's seen. One of the essays she shared was a particular favorite—her own. 

College application essays, she says, all come down to the first line, and she says this one, in particular, had a perfect opening. "Music is unifying," the essay begins. "It is the crisp brilliance of sound as the bow leaves the strings of a violin—no matter who is holding it."

If you're not particularly impressed by that opening line, you're not the only one. Even Hoskin herself admits it's not "the most brilliant first sentence ever." But, she says, "it did the job."

RELATED:  Highschooler With 4.1 GPA Explains Why She Thinks She Was Rejected From 'Every College She Applied To'

The Harvard grad says the key to a good college application essay is grabbing attention while revealing something impressive.

The TikToker says the reason her essay worked despite not having "the most brilliant first sentence ever," is that it "starts with a fairly attention-grabbing, over-arching blanket statement about something that I learned while doing a really impressive, initiative-taking experience."

Hoskin's essay goes on to describe how she became the "head violin teacher of a volunteer non-profit arts academy when I was only 15." After describing the experience in detail, she then explained how it "gave me the confidence to go on and do X, Y and Z" and went on to write about "other cool, unique and impressive things that I had done," which she refers to as "golden nuggets."

She directs applicants to "strategically" place their "golden nuggets" throughout their essays and recommends following the same formula for scholarship essays as well. 

You might have noticed that this is pretty standard, boilerplate advice for writing a college application essay. And her fellow TikTokers definitely noticed.

RELATED:  Teen Rejects College's Rejection Letter & Tells Them 'I Will Be Attending'

Some on TikTok were skeptical of the woman's Harvard story given how difficult it is to get into college today.

"Everyone who says this has perfect stats," one woman commented, along with an eye-roll emoji. "Ok but what were your stats tho," another user asked. Hoskin insisted that, while important, stats like GPA and standardized test scores are not the be-all, end-all to getting into the Ivy League. But so many people reacted skeptically that she made a video revealing her stats. And sure enough...

Her GPA, SAT scores, and AP class performance were all top-tier. But really jumped out at people was her class rank—#2 out of a 72-person class. This led many to assume she comes from "money money" and had gone to one of the many small, private, ultra-exclusive high schools that serve as "feeder schools" to the Ivy Leagues. 

Tellingly, while Hoskin insisted that she "was the first person in my school (and town) to ever go to Harvard," she never refrained from answering specific questions about her background and the high school she went to.

Even if everything did go as she says, others pointed out that since she was admitted back in 2017, her advice is no longer relevant in 2023's admissions environment, which has been proven to be more competitive— historically so, in the case of some elite schools . "Admissions six years ago is way different than it is [right now]" one user wrote.

Whether Hoskin's advice is accurate or not, there have certainly been loads of students with stellar qualifications getting rejected by elite schools left and right this year. So if all else fails, there's always the actual Elle Woods' busty, candy-colored video-format college application essay. It's worth a try!

RELATED:  High School Student With 5.1 GPA Wrote A SpongeBob Essay And Was Rejected By Every Ivy League University Despite Being #1 In His Class

John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.

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