Why ‘Legally Blonde’ Remains One Of Hollywood’s Smartest Career Movies
Twenty-five years after its release, Legally Blonde is having another cultural moment. Amazon Prime’s prequel series Elle has already been renewed for season two, another sequel is reportedly in development, and Elle Woods remains one of Hollywood’s bubbliest and most recognizable protagonists.
Elle has become a role model for many young women pursuing careers in law for her refusal to change herself, her kindness towards other women, and her sharp instincts.
Beneath Elle’s pink Y2K wardrobe and the movie’s fish-out-of-water comedy lies one of the most empowering depictions of female professional ambition to be put on screen. Here are five career lessons from Legally Blonde that still hold relevance over two decades later:
This is the primary theme of the movie and a direct quote from Elle’s graduation speech. Though nearly everyone at Harvard initially dismisses Elle as a vapid sorority girl, she has the last laugh in proving wrong all those who doubted her. She ends the movie as class valedictorian, with her pick of law firms to work at after proving Brooke Wyndham’s innocence.
At work, be open to your colleagues surprising you. Even if you get off to a poor start, as Elle does with Vivian, be receptive to second chances. Likewise, don’t allow anyone to underestimate the value that you bring to your role.
From her first day at Callahan’s law firm, Elle knew that Brooke was innocent. Even when nobody else was brave enough to agree with her, she trusted her gut and stuck firmly to her beliefs, which were, of course, vindicated in the end.
Don’t be afraid to speak up and voice an idea that you strongly believe in. It’s okay if no one else in the room agrees with you, initially. You’re the only person that needs to believe in yourself.
Elle is a great lawyer because she is an attentive listener, picking up on even the most mundane comment that others would likely ignore. Both of the defense’s big wins in Brooke’s murder trial happen because of this skill. Elle discovers that Enrique, the pool boy, is lying about having had an affair with Brooke when he calls her shoes “last season.” And in the movie’s most famous scene, she proves Brooke’s innocence after Chutney makes a mistake by claiming that she showered right after getting a perm.
The best professionals notice what everyone else misses. Being an active listener boosts creativity. A minor annoyance that your coworker vents to you about could be used to make a new SOP that better optimizes your company’s workflow. Or, like Elle using her extensive knowledge of hair care to win the trial, something from your own interests may spark an idea for a project that blows away your clients.
On their first day at their coveted internship at Callahan’s law firm, Elle greets her romantic rival with a compliment: “You look very nice today, Vivian.” Although Elle could have used the internship as an opportunity to prove to Warner why she’s a better match for him than Vivian, especially after Vivian cruelly humiliated her at the party earlier in the film, Elle instead took the high road and extended an olive branch, which was the first step toward the two putting aside their differences and becoming friends.
Elle is also the only intern to make progress with Brooke Wyndham by showing her genuine sympathy for her situation, finding things that they have in common and refusing to betray Brooke’s trust. Brooke repays Elle’s kindness by putting her faith in Elle to replace Callahan as Brooke’s lawyer.
Legally Blonde demonstrates the importance of women supporting other women, both in the workplace and outside of it. Vivian lets Elle down and nearly drives her out of Harvard once and for all when she sees Callahan sexually harassing Elle and wrongfully assumes that the two are having an affair. Elle really needed the support of her female colleague and Vivian’s actions contributed to Elle’s belief that no one at Harvard will ever take her seriously.
You don’t have to be best friends with your female colleagues, but it is important to try to make a connection with them. Knowing that you have a trusted person who you can talk to about issues that you are facing at work, and celebrate your wins with, can be a relief.
In following her ex to Harvard, across the country from her friends, family, and the familiarity of Malibu, Elle becomes a better version of herself. At the end of the movie, she still loves pink and her love of Cosmopolitan helps her win her first major trial, but she has also surprised herself by realizing that she is smart and has a knack for law. She always was smart, though. She just needed to push herself and believe in herself.
To grow in your career, you must take risks. Ask to shadow someone in a role that you’re interested in. Volunteer to join new committees, task forces, or project teams that you haven’t tried before. You can even take a leap and switch industries. If nothing else, it’s a learning experience, but in the best case scenario, you could gain new experiences and discover new skills that help your career in the long run.
Over two decades later, Legally Blonde remains proof that ambition, kindness, and optimism are not mutually exclusive, and that underestimating women will always be a losing bet. Elle Woods doesn’t succeed by abandoning the qualities that made people underestimate her. She succeeds because she learns to see those qualities as strengths. That message feels even more relevant today than it did in 2001.