Legally Blonde

Legally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy directed by Robert Luketic and starring Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods. Adapted from Amanda Brown's novel of the same name, the screenplay was written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. The film follows a fashionable sorority president who enters Harvard Law School after her boyfriend ends their relationship, then discovers that her abilities and ambitions extend far beyond winning him back.

Elle initially lives in Southern California, where she expects Warner Huntington III, played by Matthew Davis, to propose. Instead, Warner breaks up with her because he believes she is not serious enough for his planned political career. Elle responds by studying for the LSAT and submitting an unconventional application video to Harvard. Once admitted, she finds Warner already engaged to Vivian Kensington, played by Selma Blair. Her colorful clothes and cheerful manner make her an outsider among classmates who underestimate her intelligence.

The supporting cast includes Luke Wilson as Emmett Richmond, a young lawyer who encourages Elle, and Jennifer Coolidge as Paulette, a manicurist whose friendship gives Elle support outside school. Victor Garber plays Professor Callahan, who selects Elle for an internship involving the defense of Brooke Windham, a fitness entrepreneur accused of murdering her husband. Ali Larter portrays Brooke. Elle earns Brooke's trust and protects her confidential alibi: she was undergoing liposuction when the murder occurred.

The case becomes the film's decisive test of Elle's judgment. After Callahan makes an unwanted sexual advance, she nearly abandons her legal ambitions. Encouraged to continue, she ultimately questions Brooke's stepdaughter, Chutney, in court. Chutney claims she was showering during the shooting, but Elle notices a contradiction involving her freshly permed hair. Drawing on her knowledge of hair care, Elle explains that washing a new perm would ruin it. Chutney then admits that she accidentally killed her father while intending to shoot Brooke. The resolution turns knowledge dismissed as frivolous into crucial courtroom evidence.

Released in the United States on July 13, 2001, Legally Blonde became a commercial success and earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture in the Musical or Comedy category and for Witherspoon's performance. Its popularity led to the 2003 sequel Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, and a Broadway musical that opened in 2007. The original film ends with Elle delivering a graduation speech, having transformed her pursuit of Warner into an independent commitment to a career in law.