“Legally Blonde” is Back on Netflix: Why You Need to Go Watch It

Picture this: it’s April 1. It’s a Thursday night, you’re exhausted from the week, and you just finished an organic chemistry exam. You decide to take the rest of the night to relax, so you open up Netflix to find a good movie to watch while you eat dinner. The window opens, and there it is, back under my list: Legally Blonde.

I love Legally Blonde. It’s definitely my go-to movie for any mood. Sad? Legally Blonde will help brighten your mood. Stressed about school? Legally Blonde can help motivate you and show you that hard work pays off. Girls night? Legally Blonde is a crowd-pleaser. It has everything: romance, friendship, comedy, important themes like believing in yourself and finding independence, and of course, a dog. 

I think Legally Blonde is a really important movie for young girls to watch — this movie means something different to all age groups — but I think it’s an especially important experience for girls around middle school age. One of the most important messages to me in this movie is that no matter what other people think of you or expect from you, no matter what other people are saying you can or can’t do, if you believe in yourself and put in the work, you can achieve anything. 

When I was in middle school, I felt like it was wrong for me to be traditionally feminine. I prided myself on my commitment to my education and enjoyment of things like reading, and I felt like being interested in things people consider “girly” would invalidate all that. So, I let that show in my music taste, clothes, and all the superficial parts of my life. But I can remember being little, in elementary school, and really enjoying all of those things that I had cut out of my life. I think a lot about how my life may have been different if I hadn’t gone through that phase and instead just allowed myself to exist more freely.

Maybe you can share this sentiment with me. I’ve heard from a lot of other girls that they can relate to this, but of course, it may not be a universal experience. My point is, in Legally Blonde, we get to see Elle defy these expectations. Nobody believes she can get into Harvard Law, just because she’s a sorority girl who likes pink and sees the good in the world. But, when you really pay attention, you find that Elle has a ton of qualifications that make her a great, unique applicant. She has a 4.0 GPA, is president of her sorority chapter, has leadership and volunteer experience, and even scored a 179 on her LSAT (with a 180 being a perfect score). She’s also very kind to others and never puts other people down. She never insults Vivian or tries to hurt her in any way, even though Vivian is pretty rude to Elle and is the one keeping her away from Warner. Plus, when we get to see her in action in class, at work, and in the courtroom, Elle is an excellent lawyer! She looks at cases from a unique perspective, maintains trust in her client, and stays true to her morals. 

Now, Elle isn’t a perfect role model and definitely isn’t relatable to most people, as an affluent, white woman of privilege. But I still think that the message of being whatever you want to be no matter what others expect from you, and the reminder that women who embrace their femininity can still be powerful and intelligent, are very important ideas for young girls to grow up with. It’s something that I definitely needed to be exposed to more when I was growing up, and I think that Legally Blonde really helps get this message across to women of all ages. 

• 2000s
• elle woods
• feminism
• legally blonde
• movie
• Rom Com