LEGALLY BLONDE MUSICAL VS MOVIE

(warning, not particularly grammar correct, and if u need a td;dr i like the musical more and think there are many flaws in the movie but it is my subjective opinion)

today i watched legally blonde the movie (in hopes of more emmett and elle content i'll be honest) because i loved the musical so much and had never seen the original movie. i was disappointed but i still found it to be relatively enjoyable. i just wanna talk about differences and things i liked more about each and stuff. this is probably my longest rant, and i definitely expect no one at all to read this. ESPECIALLY SINCE ITS ABOUT LEGALLY BLONDE NOT SOMETHING THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN TO THIS DEGREE. 

first off, emmett, the original reason i watched the movie. i was disappointed when i saw the actor for emmett because i think christian borle fit the character that emmett was in the musical more (and i found him more attractive but thats not important). he had importance in the movie of course, with the advice and the support, but it was to a very low degree. he had like 5 minutes of screentime in the whole movie! 

i think the issue with this is there were too many characters in the movie, each of them were loveable of course but not necessary. for example, david (that autistic kid who knew the aristotle quote). i actually LOVED david and i thought he was so cute, relateable, and likeable. ill talk about one of his scenes later, but can you actually think of anything he gave to the movie that couldnt have been given by a different character? he gave elle a book off the bookshelf, he knew a quote, and he walked in with the lawbook and quote. he didnt end up actually participating in the trial besides a few head-shots and reactions. 

so many characters, not just emmett, were really creative and had a lot of potential, but had no real time to shine or reach the potential they were offering. i wouldve loved if there was a scene where the activist lesbian (i forgot her name) realized she was wrong about elles persona, or lifted her up in another act of feminism (feminism is the whole point of the movie and she was clearly passionate about such a topic!). in taking away a few of the characters and giving others bigger roles in the musical, the audience was given a chance to get to know them. that lesbian character's short scene in the musical where she turns the brooke wyndum tape back on is HILARIOUS AND LOVEABLE! in those two seconds i loved her more than i ever did in the entire legally blonde movie. she also contributed to the trial in gay or european, had a more memorable introduction in "the harvard variations" and she comfortable took the place of a classmate and background character. 

this is what i like about emmetts adaptation in the musical. he was given a backstory (the backstory might be in the second movie but my point still stands), he was given motivations to learn at harvard and he motivated elle. before i move on and end up not finding anywhere to fit this in, i LOVE the scene where emmett asks elle to stay at harvard because "what about love" THE USE OF THE MOTIF AND THE EMOTION OF ELLES RESIGN BELIEVING SHES BETTER TO JUST BE A PRETTY GIRL AND NOT A LAWYER AND EMMETTS CONFESSION THAT SHE DOESNT HEAR IS SUCH A POWERFUL SCENE AND I WAS CRYING WHERE WAS THIS PASSION IN THE MOVIE anyways sorry for interrupting. in the musical, his supportive characteristics were magnified, he started the group conversations, gave advice to groups, and his conversations with elle were longer. emmett helped her study which gave him a lot more relevance. however much i love that elle pushed herself to study in the movie, it didnt feel as empowering, emotional, and suspenseful. something about actively seeing elle study and learn with her friends, not just emmett but paulette too (giving evidence that they were friends outside of just the hair/nail salon!) and then seeing her apply the knowledge was far more powerful to me. 

in addition to showing her determination to learn and succeed in that venture, it also showed her development with emmett and warner. this was something i did not like about the movie. not only did emmett and elle dating feel incredibly sudden and forced (was it just me or did they have no chemistry or reason to be more than friends?) but ALSO her decision to reject warner felt out of the blue! i may have missed it, but there were no clues that she was no longer interested in warner or interested in emmett (other than two second scenes were she bit her lip and smiled but she did that at literally everyone. are you telling me elle is a pansexual queen or that you didnt develop a major relationship in your film?). in chip on your shoulder (yes it is my favourite song on the soundtrack thank you for asking) emmetts explanation of "your iq goes down to forty maybe less" and seeing elle attempt conversation through a door ("say hi to grandma bootsie!!") gave the audience an idea that elle staying with warner was a bad idea. this wasnt explored in the movie beyond warner being a total dick and a bad boyfriend to vivienne, but it was explored in chip on your shoulder and serious reprise (yes i know that it was based off a scene in the movie, but to me that was more warner just being a dick to elle. he seemed more against dating her in the musical, whereas in the movie he was touching her and flirting. elle seemed aggravated by warner but determined to keep trying to win him back, and there werent any signs that she was changing her mind).

about elle changing her mind, elle singing about "is this... law?" was INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT IN THE MOVIE! she realized her passion for law and got motivation to continue beyond winning warner back. while this scene is in the movie, it does not tell the audience that she is coming to this realization and if i had not seen the musical i would not have interpreted it as elle coming to this realization at all. if i had not seen the musical i would guess that elle doing this sidequest with paulette had no relevance to the storyline at all, only displaying elles characteristic of passionately sticking up for the underdog and her friends. 

now my next topic, vivienne! i loved parts of her movie character and hated other parts and thats what im gonna talk about here. i liked that in the musical, warner and her engagement was in front of elle before "so much better" and i like that that scene was extended (as i like how most scenes in this musical were extended with the songs but thats not important). i liked her preppy character in the movie and how she was more of an immature mean girl. i liked that she faced sexism in the workplace and that pushed her and elle to become friends. the scene in their room was incredibly heartwarming to me and definitely one of my favourite scenes in the film. their bonding over warners behaviour and the comments in passing ("maybe callahan needs a donut in addition to his coffee!") was very sweet to me and i loved their dynamic. it felt more genuine than ANY OTHER RELATIONSHIP IN THE WHOLE MOVIE and i was glad to read that they became friends after the movie. you know what i didnt like? the miscommunication and slut-shaming that was barely expanded on. after all their bonding vivienne IMMEDIATELY goes back on what she thought before, and her comment to elle in the elevator which was timed incredibly poorly and cruely by the writers and just felt unnecessary. the two second scene when talking to brooke at jail felt rushed and was never looked at later. vivienne was never shown apologising to elle for her comments about SLEEPING HER WAY INTO THE OFFICE, ENTIRELY DISREGARDING ALL HER WORK! i didnt like that about her in the movie. i liked that in the musical, the opposite happened. that after callahans sexual harrassment she stood up and gave her a girl-to-girl talk (good example of taking out background characters and giving their roles to other not-fully-developed characters btw because did we even need stromwell?) viviennes legally blonde song was motivational, she maturely admits she was wrong (i fucking love the line "but when im wrong, i say im wrong, and i was wrong about you" because thats such a sweet line and it just made me love her instantly). it gives vivienne EVEN MORE IMPORTANCE because it pushes elle to go back and finish the case. while i loved the scene where her and elle bonded in the movie, it wasnt necessary when the song legally blonde was there, which couldnt be said vice versa. they needed a proper bonding and forgiveness scene that wasnt immediately pulled away. 

onto my most boring topic, unnecessary scenes or ones that were worse. david is a great character, i love him, i cant believe he wasnt in the musical, and i am going to steal him and add him into any legally blonde fanfiction i ever write in the future (it might happen! who knows what i end up writing). but he was NOT NECESSARY. his scene where he was trying pick up some chicks B) and totally landed on his ass with it, but then elle came in to say he had some epic dick and "omg you broke my heart!!" was very sweet. i loved it. but it had, and i mean this genuinely, literally no relevance to anything ever. im sure it was probably displaying that elle stands up for people and helps them, and that she made friends with david and thats why they were friends when he helped her with getting back in the trial, but thats not necessary! you can give that role to a different character and thats definitely why he wasnt in the musical (even though i totally love him and the musical DEFINITELY NEEDED HIM wdym). other scenes that werent necessary is emmett and elle going to see the ex-wife at the spa, the only purpose it couldve served was introducing/foreshadowing mr tacos or whatever his name was (THE GAY SPA BOY) and showing that emmett is adorable and him and elle are a cute couple. but the bonding scene between them was weak, especially weaker than in the musical, and its probably why the ex-wife was deleted entirely from the musical. i generally think the musical taking out things that werent necessary, making things more clear for the audience, like making elles score on the lsats "175" which was the exact required amount instead of "179" which was more realistic, but its clearer to the audience that she reached her goal with doing the exact number she needed, especially when its a live performance where the audience needs to hear and interpret whatever is said incredibly quickly with no rewind option or subtitles to assist (so adapting that for the musical version was a good movie with the new context). 

my last mini topic, warner and the delta nu's in one. warner was a total asshole in the movie, which i loved. while he was an asshole in the musical it was more subtle, i think they prioritized making it clear that him and elle werent meant to be instead of hinting to the audience that elle could do better. i liked vivienne liking elles integrity and giving side eye to warner, but if im being honest vivienne and warners development was done better in the musical. it wasnt even foreshadowed that they were going to break up in the movie. with the delta nu's, i felt that they, once again, had little importance in the movie. they werent shown much at all and i think for the musical adaptation it was very creative to make them the greek chorus (or ensemble whatevs) because it gave them more relevance and more opportunities for comedic relief. i think the scene in the movie where one of the girls is getting married was nice in that it was bittersweet, but not at all necessary (i wonder why it wasnt included in the musical!). but generally i think that most of the characters were done much better in the musical than the movie. 

so yes, i liked the musical more.