A significant marker of a fresh beginning is meeting new people. Introductions, social outings and figuring out how other people operate requires determination and tenacity. In these situations, women often reduce the stress of these daunting tasks by offering one another an extra shoulder to cry on or a friend during times of celebration.
In Legally Blonde, intimidation feeds one of Elle Woods’s (Reese Witherspoon) main traits — confidence. You hear it when she accepts her friends’ premature congratulations on her (almost) proposal; in the way she screams, “ME!” after finding out a professor unexpectedly selects her for a prestigious internship; and when she continues to cross-examine a witness after embarrassing herself in front of a judge.
That same confidence helps her overcome the intimidating experience of leaving behind everything she knows and forging an unexpected path. She meets new people, starts studying at a new school, takes on a new academic subject and moves to a new town. Throughout the movie, she takes most of her confidence from her relationships with women despite her wealth and attractiveness. Her friends either spend their time pushing her further or holding her higher.
Margot and Serena
Elle meets her best friends, Margo and Serena, in college while earning her Bachelors of Arts in fashion merchandising. When Elle uses her education to stand up for herself after a boutique saleswoman attempts to take advantage of Elle’s perceived stupidity, they refrain from telling her she is too much. It’s the first time Elle shows potential as a good lawyer, and they let the moment sit.
Next, they piece her back together when her boyfriend Warner breaks her heart on the night they all expect him to propose. After Elle decides to chase Warner to Harvard, Margot and Serena give their full and unabridged support. They never question her ability. They help her study for the LSATs despite the fact that passing it means Elle moves across the country. They give up parties and learn how to grade the material for her. Then out of pride, Margot and Serena travel from California to Boston so they can be present when she wins her first case. The three of them represent women who trust each other and their decisions.
Paulette
Elle and Paulette meet when Elle rushes into the nail salon where Paulette works for an emergency manicure. After learning a bit of upsetting information, Elle turns to another woman for comfort. Paulette simply says, “Spill.” The two form an immediate friendship and talk things through. Paulette makes the nail salon the safe space Elle seeks. It’s her first safe space in the new city, and the two look out for each other. Elle perceives Paulette as an equal although Elle attends Harvard and Paulette paints Elle’s nails.
In the movie’s most famous scene, Elle teaches Paulette the “Bend and Snap” to get the attention of the man she has a crush on — trying to give Paulette confidence. Paulette says she is nothing but “stretch marks and a fat ass,” but Elle wants Paulette to believe in herself enough to turn something Paulette dislikes about herself into something she sees as an asset. After attracting the man she likes with Elle’s signature move, Paulette comes to the courtroom with her new boyfriend to show Elle the same encouragement.
Professor Stromwell
Although Stromwell kicks Elle out on the first day of class for her unpreparedness, Stromwell convinces Elle to stay at Harvard after another professor sexually harasses her. Stromwell turns that horrible encounter into persistence by saying, “If you’re going to let one stupid prick ruin your life, you’re not the girl I thought you were.” While this seems like a relaxed attitude in 2018 when fewer people accept “Boys will be boys” as an excuse, Stromwell telling Elle to rise above was a display of support when Legally Blonde swept theaters 2001. In the movie, Elle takes it as a license to stick up for herself and accepts the unexpected, blunt inspiration.
Brooke Taylor Windham
Brooke and Elle bond over people misjudging them as well as time spent in the same sorority. Even though they excel in business and law, as Elle says, “All people see when they look at me is blonde hair and big boobs.” They make a point of looking past those in each other. Brooke immediately trusts Elle, which makes Callahan (Elle’s professor/Brooke’s lawyer) angry. On trial for her husband’s murder, Brooke tells Elle her alibi under the condition Elle promises to keep it to herself. Elle refuses to tell Callahan, saying she “can’t break the bonds of sisterhood,” to which he responds, “Screw sisterhood.” Brooke fires him after learning he tried to use his position over Elle for sex. She trusts and believes in Elle enough to replace him even though she is a student.
The new beginnings Elle chased meet her past when she comes to court for her first day as a trial lawyer. Earlier in the movie, she dresses boringly and wears fake glasses in an attempt to blend in with the other students. Looking in the mirror, she whispers to herself, “I totally look the part.” She wears her own style of clothes after Brooke shows absolute faith in her. Elle walks through the courtroom in a pink dress with her hair done up in big, blonde curls. Brooke provides Elle the opportunity to prove to herself she can be both people. Brooke takes a chance on Elle, and it pays off in the end.
Vivian Kensington
Throughout the movie, Elle and Vivian Kensington, Warner’s new girlfriend, form the most surprising friendship. Things get off to a rough start between the two, and Vivian makes fun of Elle for being blonde and dumb. However, Elle’s niceness prevails. They end up respecting each other while working together during their internship with Callahan, a new experience for both of them. They find things to connect about, including their professor’s tendency to ask women to get his coffee but never men.
Vivian apologizes after discovering she is wrong about Elle sleeping with Callahan. Vivian immediately helps create a way to correct it and put the pressure on the right party. Once again, Legally Blonde shows two women with men between them coming together. They put aside their differences and issues with each other, mostly jealousy, and blame those creating the problems, including Warner.
Legally Blonde is not an ideal feminist movie. It includes a scene where a self-identified feminist decides Elle fits the stereotypes her looks play into and makes fun of her. However, its main character fights her way through growing pains with the help of her female friends. It also shows feminism on a day-to-day basis is simple: be nice to strangers, give other women a chance, take the support women offer and think of ways to give it back. Just like the “Bend and Snap,” it “works every time.”
