Legally Blonde – which is better: the movie or the book?

Today I’ll be looking at the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and its film adaptation LEGALLY Blonde starring Reese Witherspoon released in 2001.

Which is better – the movie or the book?

The Book:

Legally Blonde was released in 2003 although it was written a long time prior to that. But before it was published the manuscript was picked up by film producers and optioned as a film. It was published later in the wake of the huge (and unexpected) success of the film. However, if you were hoping for a novel which had the same wonderful characters, dynamic settings and amusing narrative as the film – you’ll be disappointed.

Legally Blonde was written by Amanda Brown, who was unsurprisingly, a blonde who went to law school. Hey – write what you know – said some famous old dude. Amanda Brown, speaking on the Legally Blonde DVD special features, said that within a day or two of her being at law school, she realised she had to do something different, as she spent every class reading magazines. She also said she chose Stanford Law School because it was near a ‘really great mall’. If you don’t like the sound of Amanda Brown – you probably won’t like this book, because unfortunately she based the main character Elle Woods on herself.

One of the first things you’ll notice about the book is the dialogue; it is forced, unnatural and there is way too much of it. I feel this is the ultimate marker of a first time, out-of-nowhere novelist, as they haven’t yet figured out how to incorporate dialogue with the narrative. For example, ‘I hope you won’t be disappointed, Elle,’ Warner said as he exited the freeway. ‘I know you wanted to go to our favourite place, the Beach House, but I thought we should go to the Ivy tonight, since it’s the place where this all began.’ Try reading that out loud – people don’t talk like that. One thing which distinguishes good writers from great writers is their ability to find the voice of their characters that is unique to them. Unfortunately, in this book all the voices are the same, as the characters are just acting as a voice-piece for the author who is trying to reveal all the information needed in between descriptions of jewellery, hair, etc.

Elle’s decision to go to law school and her preparation (LSATs, finances, admissions essay, etc) were all crammed into about 2 paragraphs, which struck me as odd because it was a pivotal scene in the movie highlighting Elle’s determination and great relationships with her friends. In contrast, the novel gives off the impression that Elle doesn’t need to work hard to get in because her social life has given her all the knowledge she would need to pass her exams. This isn’t the kind of character you want to support, and it certainly isn’t someone I empathise with.

Amanda seems confused about whether her writing style is third person limited, or third person omniscient. We follow around Elle, and are privy only to her thoughts and experiences, however on occasion she slips in details that Elle would not know. I also wished that I didn’t have access to Elle’s thoughts, as they were bitchy and mean spirited. Elle isn’t accepting of people who are different to her – she treats a group of nerds with contempt, looks down upon Sarah (Vivian in the movie) and her friends for not caring about looks, and even acts above her own friends Margot and Serena because she doesn’t agree with their life-choices after she has left to go to law school. Elle constantly baits the other girls at law school by showing off, flaunting her beauty and berating them for not trying to look attractive; it’s almost as though she is intentionally trying to make them (and us) dislike her.

Emmett, Professor Stromwell, Paulette and Professor Callaghan are conspicuously absent from the book. Instead, Elle has a friend called Eugenia but they lack any chemistry on page to get me interested in their storyline. Instead of Callaghan representing Brooke Windham, there is a lawyer called Miles whom Elle asks out and uses her sorority knowledge base to get herself hired for the case. Paulette’s replacement is Josette, but she has no personality or storyline or even a bit of bend-and-snap!

I have to mention the bizarre Warner subplot of the novel – he really wants to be a film director, but his family wants him to be a lawyer and marry someone serious like Sarah. He fails most of his classes, doesn’t get the internship with Miles and spends most of the book moping about her success. Frequently he appears at Elle’s house to hook-up with her and discuss the ‘good old days’ when he felt free to do what he wanted to. Elle obviously doesn’t want to be a lawyer, and never has a big moment where she discovers that she is good at it/enjoys doing it. Instead, Elle decides that she wants to make a legal themed jewellery line. Even Elle winning the murder trial was a pale comparison to the film; she basically raised her hand and asked to question the witness.

Everything I love about the movie is missing from this book; Emmett, Professor Callaghan, Holland Taylor giving badass advice, Elle working hard, female friendship, Dorky David with sandwich in his mouth. Instead, these things are replaced by more stereotypes, bitterness and generally unlikeable characters. Not the girl power flick I know and love.

The Movie:

So… not the biggest fan of Elle Woods yet?

Luckily, when the film was optioned for a book, producer Marc Platt asked Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith to write the screenplay. I adore Karen and Kirsten’s work on 10 Things I Hate About You, and One for the Money, I think they are fantastic screenwriters who are very good at creating well rounded, detailed characters who have great dialogue. They transformed book-Elle into a kind and charismatic movie-Elle, who with the help of the gorgeous Reese Witherspoon, created a character you really care about and root for.

Everything Elle says and does, with the slight exception of her comments about brunettes, shows that she cares deeply about people and being true to herself. She is kind and generous to her friends and even people that aren’t nice to her, but she also sticks up for herself when she needs to. The best example of this is her friendship with Paulette, who is played by the hilarious and talented Jennifer Coolidge. Elle is a true friend to her, and treats her as her equal. Their scenes together are a delight to watch. Elle and Vivian’s blossoming friendship is very sweet, and I enjoyed their interactions with one another. To be honest, this story just gets better and better with each retelling (I’m talking the musical, not the sequels) as the notion of the importance of female friendships, and building one another up rather than tearing each other down becomes more prominent.

My favourite part of the movie is the montage where Elle decides to take matters into her own hands and work incredibly hard to prove to everyone that she should be taken seriously. This is decidedly absent from the book – Elle spends most of her time filing her nails in class and feeling sorry for herself. Then Amanda Brown uses a terrible plot device; the ‘Secret Angel’, who sends Elle notes from all the law classes to help her pass her exams. This lazy deus ex machine gives Elle everything she needs, without her having to work for it at all, which results in me disliking the character even more. If there’s one thing I hate in literature, it’s a character who has everything handed to her on a silver platter… they’d better make a 50 Shades of Grey film so I can rip that lazy, badly written book (and its ridiculous Mary Sue Anastasia Steele) to shreds.

The world of Legally Blonde is incredibly beautiful. From the wardrobe, to the settings, the hair and makeup and choices of props, it is a wonderful film to look at. I could quote this film back to front, and I’m glad it’s one of my favourite films. Whenever I watch it I start to feel that I could do anything if I stick my mind to it. It also makes me want to start wearing more pink and buy a fluffy phone – but that’s just the material girl talking. One thing it doesn’t make me want to do is study law. I have spent the past three years at uni doing classes with law students, and no offence, but no thank you. As much as this film glamorises law school and the practice of law, I’m not fooled. I know being a lawyer would be incredibly tough, often boring and complicated, as well as depressing as hell. I object.

What I did:

I have incredibly fond memories of the film, because it was the first movie I saw at the cinema without my parents. My sister’s older friends were taking her to go see it, and they were nice enough to invite me too. We went to the arcade and then to see the movie, and I still remember every moment that the audience absolutely lost it laughing. It was one of those magical cinema crowds where everyone is on the same wavelength. Even though I didn’t get all the jokes at the time, I still thought it was an incredibly funny film and enjoyed every moment of it.

What you should do:

Watch the film – – – (then go see the musical – I saw it live for the first time last weekend). The Elle we are introduced to in the film is a very likable character; although she is perhaps not our usual heroine, her positivity and determination are what make her a character you root for. I remember the huge cheer in the cinema when she called Warner a bone-head, we were all so excited that she had come out victorious! Snaps for Elle!