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WEST MEETS EAST IN LEGALLY BLONDE
by Carrie Menkel-Meadow
The brilliantly titled
Legally Blonde does more than turn those old "blond"
jokes around. It is also a brilliant satire of the closed culture
of the Eastern establishment. As Reese Witherspoon's seemingly
"dumb and dumber" character leaves her CULA (not really
my old university, UCLA) sorority house to attend Harvard Law
School and snag her preppie boyfriend back from the clutches
of Eastern propriety and snobbery, she teaches the audience a
few things about some less common bigotries.
 First, blonds are
not all stupid, even if they come to class in leather and carry
small dogs with them. Second, by studying hard, even a blond
LA valley girl obsessed with clothes can master the LSAT (the
only part of the film that seemed really fictional to me). Third,
diversity means diversity! If we want diversity in education
we have to look for it in lots of strange places. Fourth, common
sense can sometimes win out, even in a convoluted Socratic class.
Fifth, and least surprising, working class people are nicer than
Ivy league snobs and take care of each other. Sixth, girls do
bond, even across geographic and class lines and Seventh, and
most importantly, a good trial lawyer must do her fact investigation.
With many characters "ripped from the headlines," like
the Harvard law professor with a criminal defense practice run
out of a private law firm (a more dashing Alan Dershowitz), who
is also a sexual harasser, the younger second wife accused of
murdering her husband for the money (Anna Nicole Smith, anyone?)
and the tough Socratic law professor now in female drag (a nice
twist on the old Kingsfield theme) who turns out to have a heart
of gold (played winningly by our feckless female judge from The
Practice, the characters are as familiar as a Bugs Bunny
cartoon, but far more hilarious. Whether seen as a "girl
bonding movie" as one of my colleagues described it, or
a corrective to the seriousness of ONE L, this movie had this
transplanted east and west coast law professor (visiting at Harvard
Law School as it opened) in stitches. Yes, the portrayal of the
Harvard law students as brunette, earnest, cut-throat, preppie
and clannish was probably a bit over the top (my Harvard students
were unbelievably kind to each other and very geographically
and ethnically diverse), but it was true in an earlier Harvard
era and some of us old enough to remember it will find this classic
"fish out of water"tale a great send-up of eastern
snobbery. As one who has taught at the real UCLA and the real
Harvard (the Harvard of the film is actually USC's campus), this
tale of the clash of two cultures was uncommonly funny and I
bet will ring true in a strange way to transplanted students
of either coast or anywhere in between who seek their educations
in faraway domains and encounter regional, educational, racial,
ethnic, gender, life style or hair color discrimination. In other
words, serious schools -get a life! Law students really do come
from all walks of life these days and if they seem a bit ditzy,
just get over it! You can't tell the strength of a brain from
hair color. (Can't judge a book by its cover, did you all get
that?) I learned that lesson myself from my smart and blond "surfer
boys" at UCLA Law.
For me, the real send-up of the movie was the classic trial scene
denouement as Witherspoon's clever character, Elle (the ur-"she-woman")
slowly unravels, Perry Mason-like, the real killer with her detailed
knowledge of female cosmetics. Moral of the story, boys? Facts
really matter and good trial lawyers will come from all walks
of life as they know or master the facts of the witnesses they
must "break down" or the clients with whom they must
empathize. (Elle does both, beautifully!)
Though the movie will seem derivative to fans of Clueless,
the ultimate Ur-LA movie, more legally inclined viewers should
be able to both laugh and see the more important real human messages
in this film. Women's stuff matters (relationships, facts, being
treated like a functioning human being no matter what one looks
like, including respect). Discrimination comes in many forms.
But most important, to this old trial veteran and professor,
the light and funny movie actually demonstrates the importance
of hard work and fact investigation. For the astute, you will
see the seemingly one-track-minded Elle demonstrate her intellectual
prowess over her own domain early on-she knows her fabrics! And
think about how many murders turn on fiber analysis! For at least
this viewer, and former and proud LA resident, I will be more
careful of my regional and hair color prejudices, as should we
all. If you are a law student, law professor, resident of the
west coast or east, go see this movie and learn something as
you laugh at yourself!
Posted: August 31, 2001
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