Grab Your Ammonium Thioglycolate: Here Are the Best Movies like ‘Legally Blonde’
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Let’s talk Y2K. In 2001, the world was forever changed with the release of Legally Blonde. Starring Reese Witherspoon, the film follows a ditsy sorority girl who gets dumped by the biggest asshole in the pre-law program, and in an act of reclamation which turns into an act of marvelous revenge, follows him to Harvard Law School and becomes a successful lawyer.
The film was adapted from a 2001 novel from writer Amanda Brown, which detailed her experience of attending Stanford Law School as an ultra-feminine girls’ girl. The film’s director, Robert Luketic, said that the studio behind the film, Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, did not realize they were getting a progressive, empowering, feminist film, instead expecting two hours of wet t-shirts and boobs. Jokes on you, studio execs.
The film was followed by a sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, and later a Broadway musical, Legally Blonde: The Musical. And we’re not done yet. We’ve been waiting forever and a day for Mindy Kaling’s Legally Blonde 3, and we’ll keep waiting. In the meantime, here are 20 movies that’ll scratch that pink patent itch.
My Cousin Vinny
This 1992 comedy stars Joe Pesci as a Brooklyn-born personal injury lawyer who travels to Alabama to defend his cousin who is being accused of first degree murder. With no trial experience and even less southern hospitality, Vinny takes on the case with the help of his fiancée Mona Lisa, played by Marisa Tomei. No spoilers, but the final court scene rivals Legally Blonde’s iconic perm cross examination.
Miss Congeniality
One of Sandra Bullock’s best roles, welcome to the stage Miss Gracie Hart, an FBI special agent who goes undercover as a pageant girl to bust a domestic terrorist. Like Elle Woods, Gracie Hart is a fish out of water, and if you think about it, Miss Congeniality is the alternate universe Legally Blonde.
Erin Brockovich
This 2000 legal drama stars Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich, the attorney who took down PG&E for its widespread contamination of drinking water in Hinkley, California. Roberts won an Academy Award for her performance and the film reigns supreme as one of the best legal dramas ever made, right in line with Legally Blonde (lol).
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
If we told you Romy and Michele and Legally Blonde shared a costume closet, would you believe us? Well, you shouldn't, it's not true. But you could see it right? This cult classic stars Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow as two women who return to their high school reunion with fake careers and glitzy personas to impress the hometown heroes. In addition to the movie’s Elle Woods approved aesthetic, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion features an unforgettable dance number that rivals the “Bend and Snap.”
Uptown Girls
This 2003 comedy stars Brittany Murphy as the free spirited daughter of a famous musician, and Dakota Fanning as the child she begins nannying when her entire world falls apart. Uptown Girls is a key member of the “films that defined the 2000s” club, one Reese Witherspoon is no stranger to.
The Devil Wears Prada
Remember when we said Miss Congeniality was the alternate universe Legally Blonde? Well, we take it back. It’s The Devil Wears Prada. This film needs no introduction, but for due diligence, The Devil Wears Prada stars Meryl Streep as an Anna Wontour-inspired fashion magazine editor, and Anne Hathaway as her fashion averse assistant. Hathaway’s Andie Sachs must adapt to life in the elite fashion space under the constraints of New York’s most notorious boss.
Mean Girls
From the mind of Tina Fey comes the millennial bible, Mean Girls. Starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, and Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls follows the social hierarchy of high school through the eyes of Cady Heron, a transfer student from Africa.
How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days
Enter stage left, the best rom-com ever made. This 2003 film stars Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey as two singles conning each other into falling in love, she for the purpose of a journalistic assignment, and he to win a big account at his advertising agency.
Pretty Woman
Starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, Pretty Woman is a 1990 rom-com that follows a Hollywood sex worker and a rich businessman who fall in love. Remember that iconic moment in Legally Blonde when Elle says, ahem, “Oh, I like your outfit too, except when I dress up as a frigid bitch, I try not to look so constipated.” Well, Pretty Woman features its own iconic clapback, and it feels just as good. No spoilers, IYKYK.
13 Going On 30
This 2004 comedy stars Jennifer Garner as a 13-year-old girl who makes a wish to be 30 year old and wakes up as such. This film also features an iconic dance number, which we’re learning is a core pillar of 2000s comedy.
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John Tucker Must Die
John Tucker and Warner Huntington III, enemies of the state. John Tucker Must Die follows a trio of high school girls who have all been slighted by the same boy, guess who? Starring Brittany Snow, Jesse Metcalfe, Ashanti, Sophia Bush, Arielle Kebbel, and Penn Badgley, this movie is feminist canon.
The House Bunny
Pink pumps and sorority houses are the threads that tie together Legally Blonde and The House Bunny. This 2008 comedy stars Anna Faris as a former Playboy bunny who takes a job as the house mother of a bottom-tier sorority at a party college. Both films feature an iconic female lead who at first seems like a ditz, but turns out to be the heroine.
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Sydney White
Another Greek life based 2000s film, Sydney White stars Amanda Bynes as a girl who goes to college with plans of rushing her mother’s sorority. That sorority turns out to be much more evil than her mother ever warned, pushing her to the outskirts of Greek row, where she moves in with seven dorky dudes in a rundown house called “The Vortex.” The film is a not-so-subtle adaptation of Snow White, but it’s a lot of fun.
Clueless
The definitive '90s movie, Clueless stars Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz, a popular wealthy high schooler who gives makeovers, plays matchmaker, and falls in love with her step brother (barely). Clueless and Legally Blonde, along with others on this list, satirize the “dumb blonde” trope and remind the world to not underestimate promising young woman.
On the Basis of Sex
This 2018 drama depicts the early career of Ruth Bader Ginsberg who, like the fictional Elle Woods, attended the prestigious Harvard Law School. The film follows Ginsberg, played by Felicity Jones, through her years at the university, which were marked by doubters abound and lots of books.
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