Legally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, based on Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name.

It stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber, and Jennifer Coolidge.

The story follows Elle Woods (Witherspoon), a sorority girl who attempts to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner Huntington III (Davis) by getting a Juris Doctor degree at Harvard Law School, and in the process, overcomes stereotypes against blondes and triumphs as a successful lawyer.

Witherspoon received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and the 2002 MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance.

An upcoming Amazon Prime Video prequel series about Woods's high school years, Elle, is being developed by Witherspoon.

In California, fashion merchandising student and sorority girl Elle Woods is taken to a local restaurant by her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III.

Elle learns of Warner's engagement to his previous girlfriend, Vivian Kensington, and befriends local manicurist Paulette Bonafonté.

Brooke, after learning of Callahan's behavior, replaces him with Elle under Emmett's guidance, as law students may represent clients if they do so under the supervision of a licensed attorney.

"[9] Screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith spent two days on Stanford's campus in the spring of 2000 doing research for their screenplay based on Brown's novel.

[11][12] Luketic explained that when the studio first green-lit the project, they were not aware that the film would be structured as a progressively feel-good, women's empowerment movie.

[14] Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alicia Silverstone, Katherine Heigl, Christina Applegate, Milla Jovovich and Jennifer Love Hewitt were all considered for the lead role[13] but Luketic said he "knew on page five of the script that [he] wanted Reese to play Elle".

"We met at a hotel on Sunset Boulevard and discussed the film...we were both concerned about some aspects, like how can the audience feel sorry for a rich girl driving a Porsche; and she had to dress in a very particular way that wasn't distracting or off-putting...And every decision came from a certain innocence [of the character].

Ali Larter originally wanted to play one of Elle's sorority sisters, but upon reading the script, she fell in love with the character of Brooke Taylor Windham, the fitness instructor on trial for murder.

[18] "But by going down to Beverly Hills, hanging out in Neiman Marcus, eating in their cafe and seeing how these women walk and speak, I got into the reality of the character.

[19]The film's costume designer, Sophie De Rakoff, became fast friends with Witherspoon on the set, bonding over Dolly Parton.

[30] "[Producer] Marc Platt wanted a B plot for Paulette (Jennifer Coolidge)," McCullah Lutz told Entertainment Weekly.

Co-writer Kirsten Smith observed, "I think we spent a week or two trying to figure out what the B plot and this big set piece should be.

After test audiences revealed they did not like this ending, McCullah Lutz and Smith consulted with Luketic, Platt and other members of the production team while still in the lobby of the movie theater and they all agreed a new conclusion was necessary.

Other endings proposed for the film included a musical number in which Elle, the judge, the jury and everyone in the courthouse broke into singing and dancing.

The site's consensus reads, "Though the material is predictable and formulaic, Reese Witherspoon's funny, nuanced performance makes this movie better than it would have been otherwise.

"Beaming star wattage out of every pore, not to mention her hair, Witherspoon once again proves herself a comedienne worthy of comparison to such golden era greats as Carole Lombard and Ginger Rogers.

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "predictable, cutesy and surprisingly short on genuine humor" but "still gets by thanks to the magnetic presence of Witherspoon.

Devin Stone, better known online as LegalEagle, a YouTuber and American lawyer, observed that the application process portrayed in the movie in which Elle Woods sent the Harvard Law School admissions board a video essay was not possible.

[47] Stone said Woods had no authority to act as a lawyer when she represented Paulette Bonafonté over custody of her dog from her ex-husband and called her conduct a "huge ethical violation."

"[53] "When I saw the movie I just felt it gave me like a real surge of motivation because I really identified with her," Layla Summers, a family law attorney, told Spectrum News.

"Just being a girl and being a woman, the odds are stacked against you still...When I watch the movie now I feel like I'm part of a great club of powerful professional women, like a sorority.

"[55] Entertainment reporter Lucy Ford revealed to Witherspoon during an interview in 2018 that she had written her college dissertation on the film and presented her a pink-ribbon bound copy.

[56] The Legally Blonde soundtrack includes music from Vanessa Carlton, Samantha Mumba, Superchick, and Hoku, who sings the opening song, "Perfect Day.

[60] In April 2007, a musical adaptation premiered on Broadway to mixed reviews,[61] starring Laura Bell Bundy as Elle, Christian Borle as Emmett, Orfeh as Paulette, Nikki Snelson as Brooke, Richard H. Blake as Warner, Kate Shindle as Vivienne, and Michael Rupert as Callahan,[62] running until October 19, 2008.

[64] Legally Blonde also had a three-year run at the Savoy Theatre in London's West End, starring Sheridan Smith, Susan McFadden, and Carley Stenson as Elle, and Duncan James, Richard Fleeshman, Simon Thomas, and Ben Freeman as Warner.