LEGALLY BLONDE 2

LEGALLY
BLONDE 2
Elle Woods
takes on
Washington DC!
Meet Elle Woods
Elle Woods cannot be summed
up briefly, but if I absolutely
had to…
Sorority girl from California
Does the unthinkable and
graduates as a lawyer from Harvard
Law School!
What starts off as a way to get back
at her exex-boyfriend, materializes
into Elle finding her true calling
Meet Elle Woods
Elle graduates with honors and
as the valedictorian of her class
She also has a job offer from
one of the best law firms in
Boston
She is also engaged to Emmett
Richmond, a young attorney
who she meets at Harvard Law
All in all, life is perfect!
The Plot (Yes, there is one)
Detective Finchley:
Finchley Miss, I'm the highest-paid most sought after private
investigator in the greater Boston area.
Elle: And that's precisely why we came to you, Detective. It is absolutely vital
that we find Bruiser's mother,
mother and pronto. His father might be a little more
difficult. You know dogs.
Detective Finchley:
Finchley May I ask why?
Elle:
Elle Of course. "Martha Stewart Weddings" recommends a 4 to 6-week window
for RSVPs and naturally I can't send the invitation without an address.
And the sooner I get started on all that calligraphy, really, the better.
Detective Finchley:
Finchley You wanna send an invitation to your wedding to your
dog‘s mother. Are you serious?
Elle:
Elle Detective, if I have to make room for my second cousin's vegan diet coach,
you better believe I'm gonna make room for the mother of the one loving
creature who's always been there for me. In fact, I can't believe I haven't done
this sooner.
sooner
Detective Finchley:
Finchley I'm thinking the same thing.
The Plot (Yes, there is one)
However, when Elle
discovers that
Bruiser’s mother is at
an animalanimal-testing
facility, she takes it
upon herself to fight
for this cause
Hence, “Bruiser’s Bill”
was born!
The Plot (Yes, there is one)
Elle moves to
Washington D.C. and
starts the ground
work for the passage
of Bruiser’s bill
After her share of ups
and downs, she is able
to convince the
committee and
Bruiser’s Bill passes
(as in all fairy tales)
Legally Blonde 2? Policy? Really?
Those were the exact words going through my mind
when I saw this movie was an option and that is the
reason that I picked this movie
It would be interesting to tease out the policy aspects
of a movie that (at the time) I didn’t think had a lot
of substance
Policy and Politics – Lessons learned
Networking
It’s not only about what you
know but also about who you
know
Elle was able to start work
immediately on Bruiser’s Bill
because she knew
Congresswoman Rudd, a
Harvard alumnus
Policy and Politics – Lessons learned
Know your audience
Elle’s door man has been in
Washington for years and he
teaches her about her audience
With help from the doorman,
Elle gets to know the members
of the Committee of Energy
and Commerce and then uses
that to her advantage for the
advancement of Bruiser’s Bill
Policy and Politics – Lessons learned
It’s not only about the evidence
Bruiser had been affectionate with Leslie,
owned by Congressman Stan Marks, the
Chairman of the Committee on Energy
and Commerce which has jurisdiction
over Bruiser's Bill
Elle finds out that Congresswoman
Libby Hauser, the Ranking Member of
the committee of Energy and Commerce,
was a member of Delta Nu – the same
sorority as Elle
Both, Marks and Hauser, warm up to Elle
and eventually come to support Bruiser's
Bill
Policy and Politics – Lessons learned
The Politics of Policy
Congresswoman Rudd has her
own agenda
Her financer forbids her from
going against animal testing
because he has some stake in those
companies
Elle is then left high and dry
when Congresswoman Rudd
takes back her vote
Policy and Politics – Lessons learned
Be ready for the “window”
Elle perseveres and does all she
can in her power to keep this bill
alive
She calls on her sorority sisters
and they stage a protest
One of her colleagues who hated
her earlier, gets inspired and
blackmails Rudd so that this bill
can pass
Recommend?
Most definitely!
Not only is this movie an easy
watch (mostly for women), it
has it’s moments and fair
share of substance
The only downside everything moves along too
smoothly, even for a movie
And they lived happily ever after!