 5) Legally BlondeÂ
Want to know why women love Legally Blonde? Because it defies stereotypes.
Reese Witherspoon is Elle Woods, a sorority girl sorely disappointed when her boyfriend is accepted into Harvard Law and subsequently breaks up with her. The solution? Get into Harvard Law and get him back. So she does, all too easily. Once at school she faces stereotyping due to her appearance and attitude, immediately belied by the fact that she’s much smarter than everyone else.
The part that I like most about Legally Blonde, though, is the way in which the various female characters finally band together. Elle’s attitude might seem ditzy and self-centered on the surface, but she’s a remarkably loving person, encouraging her hairdresser to go after what she wants, and breaking down the resident bitch’s resolve to discover that she’s a decent person after all.
The whole point of the film is the puncturing of stereotypes, the rejection of images that calls blondes stupid and smart women ice queens – and it’s all for the benefit of women.
