Right now, nothing in this life and world are sure bets, minus this: I want Legally Blonde 3. And you know what? So does Reese Witherspoon.
“It would be pretty cool,” the actress told Fashionably Late. “I think we’re ready to see Elle and see what she’s up to lately.”
“It’s kind of great right now because we’re talking about women in politics and how important that it is to get more women,” she continued. “And I think it’d be kind of a cool thing to have her be a Supreme Court justice or somebody who runs for office.”
Now, she was also quick to say there are currently no plans for another Legally Blonde, but damn it: I wish there was. Even though Legally Blonde 2 was nowhere near as magical as its predecessor, and even though I have to defend Legally Blonde to every person who rolls their eyes at the 2000 original.
Which brings me to my next question: how has Legally Blonde not been recognized widely as an important feminist film? I mean, it has to you and I (who are smart, wonderful, incredible humans), but so many men greet the title with vitriol. I mean, even in The Office, Katie says Legally Blonde is her favourite movie, and Pam and Jim laugh at her. As if it’s not a movie about a woman getting hers despite the dudes in her life saying, “LOLOL.”
Legally Blonde has issues, sure, but at the same time, it upholds all the notions of feminism that have come to define the current cultural landscape, and then some. It promotes sisterhood, yes, but at the same time, Elle has to thwart sexism, rampant under-appreciation, and the sad reality of not being taken seriously because she’s a woman who likes pink and being inherently feminine. “I’m never going to be good enough for you,” she says to her ex-fiance, Warner after he tells her she isn’t smart enough for their fancy law internship.
And then she storms out of the room and says, “I’ll show you how valuable Elle Woods can be.”
So with our political climate in mind, this is something I’d love to see upheld again on ye olde silver screen. The issue with Legally Blonde 2 wasn’t the premise of Elle Woods in Washington, it’s that the movie became almost a parody of the movie that adhered us to the franchise so much. Now, with Woods ten years older, wiser, and likely wielding a sizeable chip on her shoulder (because even the most optimistic humans have the insatiable need to say, “I’ll show you”), Legally Blonde 3 could be a movie that takes on even more of the system that Legally Blonde (the original) began to tackle.
Thus, I’m here for Legally Blonde 3. I would like it to happen. So hoping it does. Because I’d like to see how valuable a grown-ass version of Elle Woods can be.
