Hair Color Doesn't Define A Woman's Success - Essay Example

In the movie, Witherspoon plays Elle Woods, a typical blonde who seems to be an airhead but proves to be knowledgeable about more than just fashion once given a chance to shine in the courtroom. Although shot along the vein of Clueless, another dumb blonde triumphs movie, Legally Blonde stands alone in its genre as being the first movie of its kind to have pushed its female lead to succeed to prove a point to those who had been putting her down because of her hair color and its accompanying stigma.

With the resurgence of female empowerment movies in our present day, it is important to note that Legally Blonde was not just trying to deliver the basic point that anything a man can do, a woman can do better. Instead, this film has proven to be intelligent in its own right. Not once does the film ever veer into sexual joke territory. Although the plot is ridiculous to most people, the comedic timing of those acting in the film is simply divine. Not a single joke ever fell flat nor lost its meaning.

The movie dares to tackle serious issues relating to the trials and tribulations of people who do not fit into a certain social mold or opinion. Elle is the embodiment of every woman who has found herself in such a situation. Finding herself on the receiving end of bullying at Harvard Law School, Elle manages to teach a lesson along her way to discovering herself, tolerance and understanding are a necessary part of college life and some people need them more than others do. Each person has something important to contribute to life, the question is, can they do so if their peers have already prejudged them?

In hindsight, this movie does remind me a bit of the Melanie Griffith movie Born Yesterday, which was also a film about a dumb blonde discovering that there was more to her than what society dictated she could be. As a director, Luketic made sure to keep the story going at a fast pace, an action that led to an efficient method of storytelling and made the script truly shine. The scenes and costumes were right on the mark with the personalities being portrayed on screen and always helped to move the story along no matter how subtly.

Music played an important role in the telling of Elle Woods's story. The movies opening theme song “A Perfect Day” by Hoku set the tone for the character who is always charming, bubbly, and charismatic. The soundtrack decided to remain true to its blonde empowering roots by including songs like “Can't Get Me Down” and “Watch Me Shine” to help further showcase the inner strength of the Elle Woods character.