Thank you all for watching my dive into the novel, 'Legally Blonde' by Amanda Brown. Originally this video started out as an appreciation post for the musical, however after reviewing the evidence I found the novel too interesting not to dedicate an entire video to. Some differences between the novel which aren't articulated in this video include: Warner wants to be a film-maker and feels creatively stifled by his family, Warner and Elle continue to date (behind Sarah’s back) up until really the very last pages, Bruiser is named Underdog, Josette is French and has a weirdly written accent throughout the novel, Brooke does not get liposuction in the novel but instead has a home-network shopping addiction which she goes to a support group for, Underdog gets a cute t-rex costume for the costume party, the teachers all have quite unique names like: Kiki Slaughter-Haus, Elle finds all the entry exams (plus future exams) easy and completes them without contest, Elle doesn't lead in the final court trial but rather just makes the comment about Chutney's haircare being inconsistent with the crimes timeline. If I think of anymore then I'll edit this comment to add. Thank you for watching, please consider subscribing and share with your secret angels! Much love, Drama Dorks.
There's definitely a part of me that suspects the author was aiming for more of a satire starring a parody of herself in some ways but didn't quite have the writing skills to pull it off.
Her writing style is very juvenile. I can see why it might have slightly worked back then but it’s aging like rotten milk. Thank god the character of Elle was saved
@@money4fun-cc5uy for every best seller, there are hundreds of books written by grown adults that you wouldn’t be able to differentiate between a fanfic written by a middle schooler.
As someone who was inspired to study law because of movie Elle Woods and Legally Blonde, it actually hurts that the original intent for the character and the novel was the literal opposite. Thanks for the very interesting video, my soul has been crushed
to be honest -- the book is different from the movie! ive wanted to be a lawyer since i was so little, and elle woods is one of my biggest inspirations (were so alike its insane besides me not being white) and i think its totally okay to still look up to her, shes a great role model, and not the same elle in the book. - just because she was originally based on someone awful doesn’t mean you can’t look up to her , because that’s not the elle u are familiar with, i totally get what ur saying tho
Don't be crushed that the novel's version of Elle is an asshole. Be grateful that Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith managed to turn chicken shit into chicken soup and then turned around and co-wrote Ella Enchanted together, another movie about a young woman overcoming and thriving. As one of my favorite RUclipsrs once said in regards to Game of Thrones vs. the books it is based on, "The book is the book and the show is the show. In the books, Podrick Payne is a ten year old boy. In the show, he's a sex god who was so good when losing his virginity that the prostitutes don't take his money afterward." Our Elle Woods isn't this Elle Woods. Sometimes it just takes an outside perspective to fix things up and make it shine.
loose tangent but ella enchanted the book was actually great imo. Was my childhood fav and I liked it probably more than the movie. As a Cinderella connoisseur she's still one of my fav Cinderellas. Despite that I still love the Anne Hathaway one too, they did a whole bunch of cool unique stuff with the plot to adapt it to screen form.
Side note the way Elle’s written in the OG novel comes across way more like this takes place in high school and not one of the most respected universities in the country 😭 the snickering with her one friend, the shallow insults, it all just feels really immature
The way the author describes her experience of law school, how she _watches_ people as if they're bugs underneath her shoes reminds me intensely of onision
She so obviously thought she was better than everyone else in that class and it's so... pathetic? Like girl no wonder you made no friends LOOK AT YOUUUU 😭
Heard he got humbled during the years he quit youtube (although his address is exposed and his children are endangered because of one consistently insane stalker who wants him to commit s**c*de since he quit. he went back to youtube after YEARS as a last resort to put a stop to it.)
This is very similar to The Devil Wears Prada in how Andy was way more cynical and mean spirited in the book than she was in the film. It's also similar in how both books are hated by people who saw the movies first.
I saw the Legally Blonde movie before reading the book, and I don't hate the book, but I see how the movie is a huge success and part of pop culture, while the book is just another book.
@@KawaiiStarsThe Shopaholic for me is the exception, I liked the books way more than the movie and read the whole series. Book Becky is not a bad person
This is my favorite kind of adaptation. It was the same thing with The Devil Wears Prada. I love it when there's a shitty book about women being nasty too each other and is just so full of hate but then is turned into movie of positivity and acceptance.
There’s plenty of women being nasty to eachother in both of those films as well, though. The thing that I understand least about Legally Blonde specifically is how Enid claims to be such an amazingly devoted through-and-through feminist but also continuously bullies Elle for being feminine. Shouldn’t she, as a feminist, be doing her best to dismantle stereotypes about outward femininity, rather than participating in upholding them?
@@pavladavlasRight but at the time she was demonstrating women who claim to be feminists but misunderstand being a feminist as rejecting being too feminine because being too feminine would be setting back women so women like Elle were the enemy. Is that what being a feminist is? Absolutely not but it's what ppl mistook it for
@@pavladavlasthat's actually what the film is going for. Enid believes that Elle will be vapid and brainless based on her attire due to stereotypes about femininity that she has internalised. The film is pointing out that nothing about liking pink and loud clothes makes one vapid, it is only the stereotypes and expectations pushed upon these otherwise meaningless symbols that makes them so. Enid is learning a lesson: don't judge people for how they look! She may be a feminist, but that does not automatically make her completely enlightened. Her arc is learning that you can be more stereotypically feminine by personal choice, not because it has been forced upon you.
16:37 So wait let me get this straight… the book was IN FAVOUR of quid pro quo sexual harassment??? The part of the movie and musical where Elle is sexually harassed by Callahan and feels completely betrayed that he didn’t actually respect her- it was OPPOSITE in the book??? I am boggled and baffled
Its crazy how book Elle is how other law students assumed Elle would have acted like- a vindictive self absorbed shallow woman who was dimwitted and slept her way to the top without ever caring about law
Holy cow. I see why publishers initially passed on "Legally Blonde". Book-Elle is terrible! The script writers and director deserve all the kudos for fixing that mess.
whoever saw the potential in this underneath all of... that... deserves so many awards for turning it into the iconic movie and musical. Amanda Brown sounds like a nightmare of a human who wrote a self-insert protagonist thinking she was just quirky, misunderstood, and somehow better than everyone else. I don't know how you could write a character like that and seriously root for her.
to be fair, I had the same feelings when I went to university the second time round: I had already gotten a degree in Biology and decided that I wanted to change paths and start over as a history major. At that point I was 22 and all the other first semester students were 18 and it´s just a huge developmental difference. It didn´t help that I´m a radical conservative and most of the young girls were leftists. What I´m trying to get at is that even minor shifts in perspective like you would have through age, upbringing and political views can already alter the way you see your classmates drastically. I couldn´t take the other gals (and boys) seriously after they whined about safe spaces, or broke down crying because they didn´t know how to use a printer or screamed at the professor because he wouldn´t let them write about how Spider man is misogynistic in a seminar about the Balkan wars of the 1990s. (all of these incidents actually happened) So while I respected the other students there as you would respect any random human you don´t know, I still found them to be silly or morally inferior a lot of the time and eventually lost interest in having anything to do with them at all. This improved greatly by the time I got my Masters degree, as most students in those classes were more reflected, older and more serious about our field of study. But first semester classes are an absolute cesspool of really shallow, airheaded and asocial people.
@@0therM0ther.01 no, actually I try my best to be very positive in interactions, smile and be polite towards people. Being grumpy about not fitting into a group benefits nobody. I also don´t hate these other people, I´ve just been diagnosed twice in my life with being in the top 0.5% for women in terms of IQ and that makes forming meaningful bonds very hard. (I know it´s a terrible thing to say since it always comes off as bragging, but tbh I didn´t ask for this or do anything to deserve it, it just is what it is.- and it´s relevant to the situation.)
This novel is low-key insane lol. I would have never imagined that the source material for the masterpiece of a film (and musical) Legally Blonde is would be so unhinged.
There are definitely a few others, but I think my go to example is Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a movie so good, the author retconned his book as a bad dream.
It's funny, because some of the novel's criticism of law school, both in classes and the social environment, is actually spot on. It's just filtered through such an unlikeable protagonist that you feel more sympathetic towards the system than to her. If there had been a more likeable protagonist, then some of those criticisms might have been more pointed. And if book Elle was supposed to be satirical, then it missed the mark there too.
I’m positively scandalized… It’s funny that such a feel good girl power movie came from a book that seems like the feverish ramblings of an incel or alpha podcast host. You’re certainly right when you say thank god for screenwriters lol
This novel sounds like a pitch-perfect look at the internal-world of a narcissist-- every waking thought devoted to assuring herself she is better than every person around her, friend or foe, morally, intellectually and physically. The other characters are not seen as people, but as objects, deemed either helpful-to-Elle or In-Her-Way.
honestly, if the original writer had even half a brain cell and it was rewritten, it would be an amazing way to teach people, especially young girls about narcissistic abusers and narcissistic friendships. something similar to the way lolita is written.
I remember in 8th grade my class had to take a famous person and do a short biography about them. I decided to do mine about Reese Witherspoon because she's one of my favorite actresses. I remember reading her comments about the Legally Blonde book when she was prepping for the role (or maybe it was while they were filming...anyways, she read the book) and she commented that she HATED Elle Woods. Now I understand why. One of the few instances where filmmakers had every right to change the book.
On the bright side, I’m really happy that the screenwriters were able to adapt this into an iconic film with good messaging and something that’s much more feminist-conscious than this rather shallow source material… I find it beautiful actually that they made such an inspiring film that has spoke to our generation from that book, whatever the author’s objective was supposed to be
A “not like other girls” girl but in reverse, considering it’s usually a sort of tomboyish girl comparing herself to girly girls and judging them whereas here it’s a hyperfeminine girl judging girls that aren’t as feminine as her 😂
I don’t want to accuse the author of lying, I’m sure there really is some “crazy feminist” out there that really believes this. However, many times stuff like that isn’t actually feminism, it’s straw man arguments made to make feminist movements look bad or it’s young women (many times teenage girls) posting on the internet without a real understanding of feminist movements. Stuff like “changing human to huwoman” sounds ridiculous and gets tossed around as a reason why the feminists are out of control, but I’ve never once heard anyone seriously say this. 4chan is incredibly well known for spreading strawman feminist arguments to make feminists look bad- such as getting hashtags like “end father’s day” trending by posting exaggerated tweets pretending to be crazy feminists, or promoting movements like “free bleeding” on these same fake accounts. You can find screenshots of people planning out this misinformation on 4chan. Again, I can’t say for sure that no feminist at Stanford made a really stupid comment, because all of the sources are just about legally blonde. But I want to encourage people to not take statements like “Wow I heard this CRAZY feminist say we should change it to overster!” at face value, especially when it’s coming from someone who already seems to have a problem with feminism. If your thought is “How could anyone genuinely believe this”…. maybe the answer is that they don’t.
As someone who always prefer novels than the movie adaptation, this is like an existential crisis for me. This is the one time I thank the fuck they strayed away from the original content. 😂
The worst sin of all from the novel is calling "chutney" a spice. It's a bloody condiment, a sauce if she'd have bothered to know. Would Elle call ketchup a "spice"? I guess so since chutney is way better than ketchup and as we know, novel Elle has no taste.
@@morbidsearch Fair point but STILL, I can't bear this insult to my country's cuisine like that. And who in their right mind would name their child "chutney"? She better not come to India or she will be relentlessly mocked for that name. I guess her parents are those kind of people who get Chinese tattoos, thinking that the words mean something cool without even bothering to check what it means.
Personally I hate ketchup and idk what Chuntey is so I wouldn’t know but also I think it would be a nice name. 100% would be those bullies fault for making fun of someone’s names. I find it sad the we live in a world where parents actually have to pick a name that’s socially acceptable if they don’t want their kids to be mocked. It’s just unfortunate.
@@bituinl Giving that name to a white child feels even more icky, again like those people who get Chinese tattoos without thinking if it means anything stupid. You wouldn't name your child "siracha" or "hummus" because it sounds "exotic" Chutney comes in a lot of different forms and eaten with different things, from sweet to sour to mouth burning spicy but the most popular ones are sweet, spicy and tangy and are mostly eaten with curries, dosas and fast food. There are a lot of versions for different purposes but that's probably the most heard / most used for. That's why it's hilarious to name your child that. I feel sorry for her if she finds out that's her name's meaning lol Edit: if you don't like ketchup, try different types of chutney honestly. There are several for every flavour possible. I think you may like it
@@SimsyHazel i mean I think long as they know what it means (and the name it’s self isn’t an insult) I don’t see the problem. I mean some foods sounds like pretty cool names. I mean I know someone named tequila. I mean I was confused at first because like “wait that’s their name?” In a more like “I’ve never heard someone named that before” because I was genuinely confused, but I thought that was a pretty nice name.. So idk idk >_< Though to be fair I personally don’t have a strong feeling about different cultures. I mean I find them interesting or some things weird but that’s about it. It’s honestly about the food with me, and I guess I have some nice feelings when people say my cultures food is awesome but that’s it tbh. I don’t know why I don’t particularly feel strong about culture ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Also that’s pretty cool. I think I would definitely try the super spicy one because I really like spicy foods. I also love curry especially Indian curry and tbh now I want some Indian food and Nigerian food. Either way that’s definitely a win win for me. Which type Chutney do you recommend the most though? The most popular ones or something else?
Are we sure the book isn't a parady?? It honestly sounds like it should be. The idea of a unscrupulous 'heroine' being loved and applauded for everything she does. Almost like an exploration into the 'Mary Sue' trope taken to such an extreme. That even the audience can't use her as a powerfantsy and they see how ridiculous the whole concept is?
Yeah, I was thinking the same with "she cheats her way through law school, which is full of smug ineffectual losers and/or judgey assholes and then ends up with a law firm"
Thanks for this fascinating deep dive into the book! This reminds me of my shock at reading the original book "Sex and the City" by Candace Bushnell. The main character was jaded, alienated, and not very nice. Her friends were jaded, alienated, and not very nice. All their encounters and adventure were with people who were jaded, alienated, and not very nice. There were no character arcs. There were no happy endings. There was no charm, comedy, or sparkle. There was a good deal of sex, but no one enjoyed a moment of it. There was nothing but a stream of low-key horrible moments in the lives of low-key horrible people. I read, more recently, that Candace Bushnell was horrified by the TV adaption. She didn't like it, apparently, that the characters were given heart, soul, and the capacity to love each other and feel joy.
Most writers wouldn't like it if their dark satirical critique got turned into a shallow feel-good sugar-coated consumerist wish fulfillment work, yes.
I guess that means that they are THIS inclined on so called "realism"? I do remember studying such a movement in French literature and honestly, the books don't depict just tragedies like in romanticism as Hugo does, nor like in classical theater in which tragedies provide lessons, but more about human patheticness and the ugly facet of human nature. It's a pain to read, but it's still better than reading incomprehensible classical books in which I have to analyze and translate every line. What also kept me going is only for the drama and see the end. Apparently, people in the latter half of the 19th century seem to be all about realistic things rather sugar coated "dreamlike" (as is often the way romanticism is perceived) scenarios of the horrific world, things that would straight out make you turn away from cold hard reality were it not for the beautiful style of writing of romantic authors. The truth of human's patheticness is the lack of development, showing a nature in which humans won't ever learn from their actions. Moreover, the settings are also so mundane with no major events happening that it feels like a waste of time to read because basically, the status quo has always been there from start to finish, with nothing interesting to add
I read the book years ago and I forgot how mean Elle was, but I still remember just how *meandering* it is. I do kind of wish Eugenia made the jump to the movies/musical. She's literally the best character in the book.
the musical has more ties to the novel than the film likely has and you can see that this is far more apparent in the demos, but was eventually dropped storytelling wise and also because it's likely related to jerry mitchell's desire to make people care for elle as a human being. he says this in the elle character study with the book author and laura. take it like a man is inherently malicious and features elle repeatedly insulting emmett's appearance, and rather than being a song that is related to the themes of the musical regarding love, both self and romantic, is extremely self centered. emmett doesn't sing or talk much until the bridge. beacon of positivity is the earliest form of positive that i personally know of which eventually transitioned to love and war and then positive. beacon of positivity has a much more sardonic tone to them and is filled with lyrics detailing violent acts toward vivienne like shooting her and burying her in harvard yard, which the greek chorus backing her and actually existing as a form of her true inner thought underneath a facade. i do think that the greek chorus in the final version of the musical aren't legitimately the voices in elle's head and this is supported by the fact that paulette can see and hear them. the remix also supports this and there's also a small moment where serena has a reaction to kyle's middle name being brendan which only really makes sense with context of ireland. which also has other strange implications but the musical makes it work anyway. i think the demos try to bounce between the elle of the film who seems less like satan incarnate and the elle of the novel who is, and there isn't a legitimate vision in them. in some demos like good boy, which essentially gets traded out for ireland and its reprise, the tone is darker in nature and satirical of mostly other positive attributes. and in others, it's so self aware and having as much fun as possible without feeling the need to necessarily justify itself. there is a line post legally blonde pre-broadway in which kyle has a line comparing paulette to his mother, implying she hasn't undergone much growth, nor has she actually gained self respect after falling for a man again. the last thing i want to note is that the demo of what you want is apparently similar to elle's studying in the book, but i have not read it.
Im traumatized by book-Elle now, geez, i love movie-Elle so much, she is such an inspiring role model for girlhood and girl power, book-Elle is just disgusting and a disgrace for any woman protagonist
_^Never_ meet Mindy Kaling, either. Some of your sex are literally so jaded, bitter, and _never-my-fault_ that they've become literal *sociopaths* under the manicure... Make no mistake, it's not *all* women, but I _desperately_ wish for accountability at the top when it comes to bitter "satire" like these. All of _art_ suffers when these people publish & produce.
I was so surprised by how unlikeable I found Elle in the novel compared to the movie and musical where she’s one of my favourite fictional characters. I’m honestly surprised the movie managed to turn it around to have a much more positive message.
I remember reading about the book on tv tropes. The page for it was rather sparse, but it referenced a little of the blonde stuff. Just that Elle thought Brooke was innocent because of it, which turned me off of reading it (though I think I found a pdf or something and read like the first page or two, which I thought was similar to the film but I might be misremembering). I figured it was like the movie but with weird choices for the prose/internal monologue. I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be this… cruel. *Really* hoping it was just a poor attempt at satire (like a couple other comments are suggesting) because I don’t want to believe anyone could possibly be this shallow.
Wish I had seen this before slogging through the book a couple of months ago. Very well put! One of the best cases of the movie being a 1000% better than the book!
“Cynical” isn't the word I would use. She's just a brat in the book. She's constantly complaining about being asked to simply do her job. She also has some serious moral failures in the book.
The writers of the movie have my aplause. They made the book into an amazing movie, also kudos to the musical makers for adapting it into a really good musical that made some good changes to the plot.
After listening to the author it's clear that Elle is a reflection of her mean girl- condescending attitude made clear by her snide remarks at the beginning of the video. What a horrible person, I'm glad they fixed the character but the screenwriter really deserves all the praise because if it had been left up to the Arthor Legally Blond definitely would NOT have become a classic.
Revisited this musical again. (You know when u like a musical and jump to the next then revisit it every now and then which then remind u how you really love a certain art). How did u know I was thinking LB The Musical again at this moment. Thank you. Keep the videos coming. Im a fan!
Amanda Brown sounds like a horrible person. Since she looked down on literally everyone and internally tore everyone to shreds it's no wonder she had no friends. I never read the book or saw the movie. Having seen this video I'm very grateful that I haven't.
This movie is one of the most enjoyable movies I've ever seen!! Great character development for a lot of people, good & fun story, though very raw and real too in certain moments. It's the perfect mix of fun and empowering in my opinion - nothing like what the book sounds like!
The movie and musical are absolutely fantastic! Don’t worry, Elle in both of those is positive and extremely likable. Also, the MTV musical is on RUclips and it’s my favorite 🩷
A little like how JoJo Rabbit is only an adaptation of the first part of the book. Taika Waititi read the first bit, used it as inspiration, and left the crazy out.
If i had a nickel every time the movie was better than the original novel, then I'd have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. (Legally Blonde and Devil Wears Prada)
As an author, I’m always way more invested in stories that *could have* been good rather than ones that are good. Why would I want to adapt/tell my own version of a story that already did it very well? But if something has potential but fails, then there’s so much room for changes and improvement. I personally would rather have people adapt or reboot a bad story (or at least one I don’t like) then try and adapt or reboot something that was just fine on its own.
@@neonradius You know, there is that! I know I've spent more time thinking, talking, or writing about movies that made me go "But there was a good movie buried in that movie!" than movies that are just well made, but unexceptionable.
That was WILD, wtf. No one should read that book ever again, she shouldn’t get a cent. The dissonance in thinking you’re the better person in this story is scandalizing.
Usually the book is better than the movie/musical(s), but this has proven me wrong. I'm glad I didn't read the book. I like the movie, I like the musical too. But this book sounds atrocious.
In the legal field I have found the lawyers that Love (with a capital L) legally blonde are the worst overgrown mean girls from middle/high school. HUGE red flag for me in interviews
Emmett does not exist in the novel. Elle is still dating Warner up until the last few chapters, and she’s also dating Christopher Miles (Callahan equivalent). Arguably she doesn’t end up romantically involved with anyone at the end except the implication of seeing Christopher again.
No wonder they changed the character. Who would watch the original? Also, no surprise no one chose to publish the novel prior to it being changed for the movie, nor that in real life no one wanted to speak with Elle... Who and why would? An average looking girl who was told by mommy and daddy that she is the prettiest in the world and believed it, no passion, no decency, no common sense... Just being rich is not a quality!
This is one of those instances where the movie is better than the book. If this had been the movie, it would have failed, in the same era as Mean Girls where we see how damaging this type of behavior is and the importance of overcoming it. I’m curious if the author ever watching the movie or musical and sees how she wrote the worst character, and why people would prejudge someone on those types of behaviors, vs Elle from the film and musical. But, I doubt it. She probably had one of her friends watch it for her and give her a summary.
I wanted to give Amanda Brown's book a measured look since it's written from the perspective of a woman who tried to get into what was at the time a very male dominated job in most countries. And besides, I didn't want to put her down as an author just because she is a woman. That'd be counterproductive. But...ah...thank you for doing the homework for me.
to be honest if the story is true, about the Semester/Ovester, since anyone thinks to be in academia and not know it means 6 months or half the year, or was just thirsting for attention. it sounds like the real story behind legally blonde, is the story of a narcissist, but surrounded by narcissists. a perfect breeding ground for lawyers. but then again, in the film, everyone is an asshole to Elle, until they realise that she's right about everything. apart from Emmeit, who she later married. he saw her "goodness" from the start. that said i love the character, in the film but the fact she's always right, or in the end proved to be right. can be quite jarring, but i would so love and i mean this. a version of original Elle, Elle the total asshole, because well because it will be awesome. i have read this book, but the only thing i remember was that Bruiser was called "Underdog"
I actually like both versions of Elle. Movie/musical Elle is of course endearing and a great example of positive femininity, but book Elle sounds funny and more realistic. It sounds like the book is meant to be a commentary on how the law field is terrible and everyone in it is even worse, and the ones who succeed are the worst of all. Book Elle is meant to be terrible and unlikeable.
People forget that thé reason why the movie Elle Woods could survive being in Law School around so many jerks wasn't because of her positivity and femininity but the fact that she's rich, hot and privilèged so no matter how jealoused she was they couldnt harm her ( she didnt even need to work to support herself). but IRL women that are attractive and nice and sweet liké her while showing signs of intelligence get screwed Irl by jealous toxic classmates/coworkers because they dare having both brain and beauty.
I’m glad I couldn’t make it past page 1 of the book. It was poorly written and rather vapid. Glad to hear it’s not the Elle we know and love, happy to skip!!
Sounds like a vengeful lonely girl who wrote the book to make her self feel better abt her loneliness by reassuring her self she’s better then everyone else and book Elle having a friend shows that part of her wanted friends but couldn’t get any
The reminds me of the difference between the book and film versions of “The Devil Wears Prada.” I saw the movie version first, and decided to read the book afterwards. The book version of Andrea is thoroughly unlikeable, and almost nothing like the character in the movie.
I didn't read the book, and I'm glad I didn't! Novel Elle sounds terrible! Faking her way to the top sounds awful! I know that the author was trying to eviscerate her classmates through fiction, but this clearly wasn't the way to go about it. And if she really didn't care about law school, then she shouldn't have enrolled, in the first place. You attend law school because you want to defend the helpless, not because it's located near a shopping mall. It sounds like it reads like a YA novel aimed at high school students, instead of reading like a novel about personal growth, as was made evident by the movie (I didn't see the musical, but I'm familiar with it). I think the best way to write fiction based on personal experiences is write something that feels relatable, instead of turning characters into overly exaggerated caricatures of people that you didn't like. At least, that's how I prefer to write, anyway: By basing characters and stories on my own experiences, in a more realistic manner. Novel Elle is needlessly vicious and doesn't undergo any sort of character development or redemption arcs. Movie and Musical Elle it seems have always been compassionate. Thanks for the video!
![Oasis - Oasis Live '25 [Official Trailer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gol_JnuEtKM/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you all for watching my dive into the novel, 'Legally Blonde' by Amanda Brown. Originally this video started out as an appreciation post for the musical, however after reviewing the evidence I found the novel too interesting not to dedicate an entire video to.
Some differences between the novel which aren't articulated in this video include:
Warner wants to be a film-maker and feels creatively stifled by his family, Warner and Elle continue to date (behind Sarah’s back) up until really the very last pages, Bruiser is named Underdog, Josette is French and has a weirdly written accent throughout the novel, Brooke does not get liposuction in the novel but instead has a home-network shopping addiction which she goes to a support group for, Underdog gets a cute t-rex costume for the costume party, the teachers all have quite unique names like: Kiki Slaughter-Haus, Elle finds all the entry exams (plus future exams) easy and completes them without contest, Elle doesn't lead in the final court trial but rather just makes the comment about Chutney's haircare being inconsistent with the crimes timeline.
If I think of anymore then I'll edit this comment to add.
Thank you for watching, please consider subscribing and share with your secret angels!
Much love, Drama Dorks.
You should pin this!
Will do! Thank you ☺️
An appreciation post for the musical would still be very interesting!
There's definitely a part of me that suspects the author was aiming for more of a satire starring a parody of herself in some ways but didn't quite have the writing skills to pull it off.
That makes sense actually
I got that vibe when he read the passage about the Blonde Legal Defense Fund lol
Her writing style is very juvenile. I can see why it might have slightly worked back then but it’s aging like rotten milk. Thank god the character of Elle was saved
lmaoo i read the first few pages and omg her writing style is like those very first chapter books you'd read in 4th grade.
@@money4fun-cc5uy for every best seller, there are hundreds of books written by grown adults that you wouldn’t be able to differentiate between a fanfic written by a middle schooler.
As someone who was inspired to study law because of movie Elle Woods and Legally Blonde, it actually hurts that the original intent for the character and the novel was the literal opposite. Thanks for the very interesting video, my soul has been crushed
to be honest -- the book is different from the movie! ive wanted to be a lawyer since i was so little, and elle woods is one of my biggest inspirations (were so alike its insane besides me not being white) and i think its totally okay to still look up to her, shes a great role model, and not the same elle in the book. - just because she was originally based on someone awful doesn’t mean you can’t look up to her , because that’s not the elle u are familiar with, i totally get what ur saying tho
Now you know more specifically who to thank (and who not to) for the more awesome version of the character that inspired you! The screen writers.
We can still look up to Elle Woods in the movie and musical!!! Thank god for the scriptwriters
Don't be crushed that the novel's version of Elle is an asshole. Be grateful that Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith managed to turn chicken shit into chicken soup and then turned around and co-wrote Ella Enchanted together, another movie about a young woman overcoming and thriving.
As one of my favorite RUclipsrs once said in regards to Game of Thrones vs. the books it is based on, "The book is the book and the show is the show. In the books, Podrick Payne is a ten year old boy. In the show, he's a sex god who was so good when losing his virginity that the prostitutes don't take his money afterward."
Our Elle Woods isn't this Elle Woods. Sometimes it just takes an outside perspective to fix things up and make it shine.
loose tangent but ella enchanted the book was actually great imo. Was my childhood fav and I liked it probably more than the movie. As a Cinderella connoisseur she's still one of my fav Cinderellas.
Despite that I still love the Anne Hathaway one too, they did a whole bunch of cool unique stuff with the plot to adapt it to screen form.
Side note the way Elle’s written in the OG novel comes across way more like this takes place in high school and not one of the most respected universities in the country 😭 the snickering with her one friend, the shallow insults, it all just feels really immature
I mean seeing how the author talks about the women around her, seems like she peaked in highschool, the maturity probably stagnated in highschool too
@@altalt479 definitely
Believe me, there's plenty of people in law school who treat it exactly like high school.
That's university for you, sis. It's high school (part 2)
I graduated from law school a few months ago. Law school is precisely like a high school when it comes to gossip, mean girls, and bullying.
The way the author describes her experience of law school, how she _watches_ people as if they're bugs underneath her shoes reminds me intensely of onision
She so obviously thought she was better than everyone else in that class and it's so... pathetic? Like girl no wonder you made no friends LOOK AT YOUUUU 😭
^No one will remember _his..._ name...
Heard he got humbled during the years he quit youtube (although his address is exposed and his children are endangered because of one consistently insane stalker who wants him to commit s**c*de since he quit. he went back to youtube after YEARS as a last resort to put a stop to it.)
@@aureliaavalonain’t that guy a pedo tho?
This is very similar to The Devil Wears Prada in how Andy was way more cynical and mean spirited in the book than she was in the film. It's also similar in how both books are hated by people who saw the movies first.
Similar with The Princess Diaries series
I feel like my fave girly movies of the early 2000s were based on terrible books, eg diaries of a shopaholic, also
I saw the Legally Blonde movie before reading the book, and I don't hate the book, but I see how the movie is a huge success and part of pop culture, while the book is just another book.
Yup, maybe it has to do to the fact that writers in general are mean, egocentric and bad people in general lol (look for JK Rowling)
@@KawaiiStarsThe Shopaholic for me is the exception, I liked the books way more than the movie and read the whole series. Book Becky is not a bad person
This is my favorite kind of adaptation. It was the same thing with The Devil Wears Prada. I love it when there's a shitty book about women being nasty too each other and is just so full of hate but then is turned into movie of positivity and acceptance.
😘
There’s plenty of women being nasty to eachother in both of those films as well, though.
The thing that I understand least about Legally Blonde specifically is how Enid claims to be such an amazingly devoted through-and-through feminist but also continuously bullies Elle for being feminine. Shouldn’t she, as a feminist, be doing her best to dismantle stereotypes about outward femininity, rather than participating in upholding them?
@@pavladavlasRight but at the time she was demonstrating women who claim to be feminists but misunderstand being a feminist as rejecting being too feminine because being too feminine would be setting back women so women like Elle were the enemy. Is that what being a feminist is? Absolutely not but it's what ppl mistook it for
@@pavladavlasthat's actually what the film is going for. Enid believes that Elle will be vapid and brainless based on her attire due to stereotypes about femininity that she has internalised. The film is pointing out that nothing about liking pink and loud clothes makes one vapid, it is only the stereotypes and expectations pushed upon these otherwise meaningless symbols that makes them so. Enid is learning a lesson: don't judge people for how they look! She may be a feminist, but that does not automatically make her completely enlightened. Her arc is learning that you can be more stereotypically feminine by personal choice, not because it has been forced upon you.
16:37 So wait let me get this straight… the book was IN FAVOUR of quid pro quo sexual harassment??? The part of the movie and musical where Elle is sexually harassed by Callahan and feels completely betrayed that he didn’t actually respect her- it was OPPOSITE in the book??? I am boggled and baffled
Its crazy how book Elle is how other law students assumed Elle would have acted like- a vindictive self absorbed shallow woman who was dimwitted and slept her way to the top without ever caring about law
Holy cow. I see why publishers initially passed on "Legally Blonde". Book-Elle is terrible! The script writers and director deserve all the kudos for fixing that mess.
whoever saw the potential in this underneath all of... that... deserves so many awards for turning it into the iconic movie and musical. Amanda Brown sounds like a nightmare of a human who wrote a self-insert protagonist thinking she was just quirky, misunderstood, and somehow better than everyone else. I don't know how you could write a character like that and seriously root for her.
to be fair, I had the same feelings when I went to university the second time round: I had already gotten a degree in Biology and decided that I wanted to change paths and start over as a history major. At that point I was 22 and all the other first semester students were 18 and it´s just a huge developmental difference. It didn´t help that I´m a radical conservative and most of the young girls were leftists.
What I´m trying to get at is that even minor shifts in perspective like you would have through age, upbringing and political views can already alter the way you see your classmates drastically.
I couldn´t take the other gals (and boys) seriously after they whined about safe spaces, or broke down crying because they didn´t know how to use a printer or screamed at the professor because he wouldn´t let them write about how Spider man is misogynistic in a seminar about the Balkan wars of the 1990s. (all of these incidents actually happened)
So while I respected the other students there as you would respect any random human you don´t know, I still found them to be silly or morally inferior a lot of the time and eventually lost interest in having anything to do with them at all.
This improved greatly by the time I got my Masters degree, as most students in those classes were more reflected, older and more serious about our field of study. But first semester classes are an absolute cesspool of really shallow, airheaded and asocial people.
@@wolfsmaid6815good gods you sound insufferable
@@0therM0ther.01 no, actually I try my best to be very positive in interactions, smile and be polite towards people.
Being grumpy about not fitting into a group benefits nobody. I also don´t hate these other people, I´ve just been diagnosed twice in my life with being in the top 0.5% for women in terms of IQ and that makes forming meaningful bonds very hard.
(I know it´s a terrible thing to say since it always comes off as bragging, but tbh I didn´t ask for this or do anything to deserve it, it just is what it is.- and it´s relevant to the situation.)
@@0therM0ther.01 Being educated and being smart are not even remotely the same.
@@0therM0ther.01 q.e.d., have a nice day.
Basically, OG Elle had a severe case of Main Character Syndrome with Toxic Femininity up the wazoo.
This novel is low-key insane lol. I would have never imagined that the source material for the masterpiece of a film (and musical) Legally Blonde is would be so unhinged.
This makes me want to read it 🤣😂
One of the rare cases where the movie is objectively better than the book…
There are definitely a few others, but I think my go to example is Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a movie so good, the author retconned his book as a bad dream.
@@bboops23 💀
@@bboops23few still sounds like rare
@@RedK5 I can definitely think of more, but in general books are able to give more details and be more in depth.
@@bboops23 more in depth means nothing if I don’t want to read about a horrible main character
It's funny, because some of the novel's criticism of law school, both in classes and the social environment, is actually spot on. It's just filtered through such an unlikeable protagonist that you feel more sympathetic towards the system than to her. If there had been a more likeable protagonist, then some of those criticisms might have been more pointed.
And if book Elle was supposed to be satirical, then it missed the mark there too.
I’m positively scandalized… It’s funny that such a feel good girl power movie came from a book that seems like the feverish ramblings of an incel or alpha podcast host. You’re certainly right when you say thank god for screenwriters lol
C ccx
This novel sounds like a pitch-perfect look at the internal-world of a narcissist-- every waking thought devoted to assuring herself she is better than every person around her, friend or foe, morally, intellectually and physically. The other characters are not seen as people, but as objects, deemed either helpful-to-Elle or In-Her-Way.
honestly, if the original writer had even half a brain cell and it was rewritten, it would be an amazing way to teach people, especially young girls about narcissistic abusers and narcissistic friendships. something similar to the way lolita is written.
fr 😢
I love pitch perfect
I remember in 8th grade my class had to take a famous person and do a short biography about them. I decided to do mine about Reese Witherspoon because she's one of my favorite actresses. I remember reading her comments about the Legally Blonde book when she was prepping for the role (or maybe it was while they were filming...anyways, she read the book) and she commented that she HATED Elle Woods. Now I understand why.
One of the few instances where filmmakers had every right to change the book.
The reason this lady had a hard time at law school is cause she didn’t want to be a lawyer she was just following in her parents footsteps
On the bright side, I’m really happy that the screenwriters were able to adapt this into an iconic film with good messaging and something that’s much more feminist-conscious than this rather shallow source material… I find it beautiful actually that they made such an inspiring film that has spoke to our generation from that book, whatever the author’s objective was supposed to be
You know it's bad when Hollywood makes a character more empowered and kind
Not the author being a "not like other girls" girl 🤦🏼♀️😂
A “not like other girls” girl but in reverse, considering it’s usually a sort of tomboyish girl comparing herself to girly girls and judging them whereas here it’s a hyperfeminine girl judging girls that aren’t as feminine as her 😂
Trying to change "semester" to "ovester" is wild tho 😭
Like, semester comes from six, as in, 6 months - which is the duration of a semester
I don’t want to accuse the author of lying, I’m sure there really is some “crazy feminist” out there that really believes this. However, many times stuff like that isn’t actually feminism, it’s straw man arguments made to make feminist movements look bad or it’s young women (many times teenage girls) posting on the internet without a real understanding of feminist movements. Stuff like “changing human to huwoman” sounds ridiculous and gets tossed around as a reason why the feminists are out of control, but I’ve never once heard anyone seriously say this. 4chan is incredibly well known for spreading strawman feminist arguments to make feminists look bad- such as getting hashtags like “end father’s day” trending by posting exaggerated tweets pretending to be crazy feminists, or promoting movements like “free bleeding” on these same fake accounts. You can find screenshots of people planning out this misinformation on 4chan.
Again, I can’t say for sure that no feminist at Stanford made a really stupid comment, because all of the sources are just about legally blonde. But I want to encourage people to not take statements like “Wow I heard this CRAZY feminist say we should change it to overster!” at face value, especially when it’s coming from someone who already seems to have a problem with feminism. If your thought is “How could anyone genuinely believe this”…. maybe the answer is that they don’t.
My university goes by quarters.
It was like that for me in high school and I wish my college was like that @@nuclearcatbaby1131
@@nuclearcatbaby1131 we do that in schools
As someone who always prefer novels than the movie adaptation, this is like an existential crisis for me. This is the one time I thank the fuck they strayed away from the original content. 😂
Not my first ride being horrified by how bad a book is, after I enjoyed a live-action adaptation
Kind of refreshing learning that the changes from book to film made it better.
The screenwriters drew gold out of mud 😂
The worst sin of all from the novel is calling "chutney" a spice. It's a bloody condiment, a sauce if she'd have bothered to know. Would Elle call ketchup a "spice"? I guess so since chutney is way better than ketchup and as we know, novel Elle has no taste.
I mean this book seems to be committed to perpetuating every wealthy white stereotype so she probably does think ketchup is spicy
@@morbidsearch Fair point but STILL, I can't bear this insult to my country's cuisine like that. And who in their right mind would name their child "chutney"? She better not come to India or she will be relentlessly mocked for that name. I guess her parents are those kind of people who get Chinese tattoos, thinking that the words mean something cool without even bothering to check what it means.
Personally I hate ketchup and idk what Chuntey is so I wouldn’t know but also I think it would be a nice name. 100% would be those bullies fault for making fun of someone’s names. I find it sad the we live in a world where parents actually have to pick a name that’s socially acceptable if they don’t want their kids to be mocked. It’s just unfortunate.
@@bituinl Giving that name to a white child feels even more icky, again like those people who get Chinese tattoos without thinking if it means anything stupid. You wouldn't name your child "siracha" or "hummus" because it sounds "exotic" Chutney comes in a lot of different forms and eaten with different things, from sweet to sour to mouth burning spicy but the most popular ones are sweet, spicy and tangy and are mostly eaten with curries, dosas and fast food. There are a lot of versions for different purposes but that's probably the most heard / most used for. That's why it's hilarious to name your child that. I feel sorry for her if she finds out that's her name's meaning lol
Edit: if you don't like ketchup, try different types of chutney honestly. There are several for every flavour possible. I think you may like it
@@SimsyHazel i mean I think long as they know what it means (and the name it’s self isn’t an insult) I don’t see the problem. I mean some foods sounds like pretty cool names. I mean I know someone named tequila. I mean I was confused at first because like “wait that’s their name?” In a more like “I’ve never heard someone named that before” because I was genuinely confused, but I thought that was a pretty nice name.. So idk idk >_<
Though to be fair I personally don’t have a strong feeling about different cultures. I mean I find them interesting or some things weird but that’s about it. It’s honestly about the food with me, and I guess I have some nice feelings when people say my cultures food is awesome but that’s it tbh. I don’t know why I don’t particularly feel strong about culture ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also that’s pretty cool. I think I would definitely try the super spicy one because I really like spicy foods. I also love curry especially Indian curry and tbh now I want some Indian food and Nigerian food. Either way that’s definitely a win win for me. Which type Chutney do you recommend the most though? The most popular ones or something else?
Are we sure the book isn't a parady?? It honestly sounds like it should be. The idea of a unscrupulous 'heroine' being loved and applauded for everything she does. Almost like an exploration into the 'Mary Sue' trope taken to such an extreme. That even the audience can't use her as a powerfantsy and they see how ridiculous the whole concept is?
Yeah, I was thinking the same with "she cheats her way through law school, which is full of smug ineffectual losers and/or judgey assholes and then ends up with a law firm"
Thanks for this fascinating deep dive into the book! This reminds me of my shock at reading the original book "Sex and the City" by Candace Bushnell. The main character was jaded, alienated, and not very nice. Her friends were jaded, alienated, and not very nice. All their encounters and adventure were with people who were jaded, alienated, and not very nice. There were no character arcs. There were no happy endings. There was no charm, comedy, or sparkle. There was a good deal of sex, but no one enjoyed a moment of it.
There was nothing but a stream of low-key horrible moments in the lives of low-key horrible people.
I read, more recently, that Candace Bushnell was horrified by the TV adaption. She didn't like it, apparently, that the characters were given heart, soul, and the capacity to love each other and feel joy.
Most writers wouldn't like it if their dark satirical critique got turned into a shallow feel-good sugar-coated consumerist wish fulfillment work, yes.
I guess that means that they are THIS inclined on so called "realism"? I do remember studying such a movement in French literature and honestly, the books don't depict just tragedies like in romanticism as Hugo does, nor like in classical theater in which tragedies provide lessons, but more about human patheticness and the ugly facet of human nature. It's a pain to read, but it's still better than reading incomprehensible classical books in which I have to analyze and translate every line. What also kept me going is only for the drama and see the end. Apparently, people in the latter half of the 19th century seem to be all about realistic things rather sugar coated "dreamlike" (as is often the way romanticism is perceived) scenarios of the horrific world, things that would straight out make you turn away from cold hard reality were it not for the beautiful style of writing of romantic authors. The truth of human's patheticness is the lack of development, showing a nature in which humans won't ever learn from their actions. Moreover, the settings are also so mundane with no major events happening that it feels like a waste of time to read because basically, the status quo has always been there from start to finish, with nothing interesting to add
Say jaded alienated and not very nice again
@@pseudonymous9153 it wasn't dark, satirical critique. It was just bleak and dull.
@@VesnaVK if it's badly written it's badly written. Making the characters nicer doesn't make a bad story good. It just makes it a different story.
I read the book years ago and I forgot how mean Elle was, but I still remember just how *meandering* it is.
I do kind of wish Eugenia made the jump to the movies/musical. She's literally the best character in the book.
the musical has more ties to the novel than the film likely has and you can see that this is far more apparent in the demos, but was eventually dropped storytelling wise and also because it's likely related to jerry mitchell's desire to make people care for elle as a human being. he says this in the elle character study with the book author and laura. take it like a man is inherently malicious and features elle repeatedly insulting emmett's appearance, and rather than being a song that is related to the themes of the musical regarding love, both self and romantic, is extremely self centered. emmett doesn't sing or talk much until the bridge.
beacon of positivity is the earliest form of positive that i personally know of which eventually transitioned to love and war and then positive. beacon of positivity has a much more sardonic tone to them and is filled with lyrics detailing violent acts toward vivienne like shooting her and burying her in harvard yard, which the greek chorus backing her and actually existing as a form of her true inner thought underneath a facade.
i do think that the greek chorus in the final version of the musical aren't legitimately the voices in elle's head and this is supported by the fact that paulette can see and hear them. the remix also supports this and there's also a small moment where serena has a reaction to kyle's middle name being brendan which only really makes sense with context of ireland. which also has other strange implications but the musical makes it work anyway.
i think the demos try to bounce between the elle of the film who seems less like satan incarnate and the elle of the novel who is, and there isn't a legitimate vision in them. in some demos like good boy, which essentially gets traded out for ireland and its reprise, the tone is darker in nature and satirical of mostly other positive attributes. and in others, it's so self aware and having as much fun as possible without feeling the need to necessarily justify itself. there is a line post legally blonde pre-broadway in which kyle has a line comparing paulette to his mother, implying she hasn't undergone much growth, nor has she actually gained self respect after falling for a man again.
the last thing i want to note is that the demo of what you want is apparently similar to elle's studying in the book, but i have not read it.
Elle represents what I think a lot of the gen z self proclaimed "girls' girls" are well on their way to becoming without realizing it.
Book Elle or movie Elle?
@@caitlingillProbably Book
Im traumatized by book-Elle now, geez, i love movie-Elle so much, she is such an inspiring role model for girlhood and girl power, book-Elle is just disgusting and a disgrace for any woman protagonist
One is true to reality and the other a “sisterhood” fantasy
_^Never_ meet Mindy Kaling, either.
Some of your sex are literally so jaded, bitter, and _never-my-fault_ that they've become literal *sociopaths* under the manicure...
Make no mistake, it's not *all* women, but I _desperately_ wish for accountability at the top when it comes to bitter "satire" like these.
All of _art_ suffers when these people publish & produce.
I was so surprised by how unlikeable I found Elle in the novel compared to the movie and musical where she’s one of my favourite fictional characters. I’m honestly surprised the movie managed to turn it around to have a much more positive message.
I remember reading about the book on tv tropes. The page for it was rather sparse, but it referenced a little of the blonde stuff. Just that Elle thought Brooke was innocent because of it, which turned me off of reading it (though I think I found a pdf or something and read like the first page or two, which I thought was similar to the film but I might be misremembering). I figured it was like the movie but with weird choices for the prose/internal monologue. I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be this… cruel. *Really* hoping it was just a poor attempt at satire (like a couple other comments are suggesting) because I don’t want to believe anyone could possibly be this shallow.
Well I did not expect to be roasted by Elle Woods for liking Deep Space Nine today but there it is. How disappointing, I'm glad I never read the book.
^Voyager was better, anyway.
Nothing against Sisko, but Kate Mulgrew's Janeway is healing for my very soul...
Today I was assured likings Star Trek wasn’t nerdy 😂
DS9 is still the best.
Or by being brunette 😭
Book Elle sounds extremely racist
That Hitler level blonde bias
And hair-ist 😔 as a brunette, this hurt my heart
Well now I know why i've never found much info about the book... good
Wish I had seen this before slogging through the book a couple of months ago. Very well put! One of the best cases of the movie being a 1000% better than the book!
Reminds me of how the devil wears Prada Andy was alot more cynical in the books compared to the film.
“Cynical” isn't the word I would use. She's just a brat in the book. She's constantly complaining about being asked to simply do her job. She also has some serious moral failures in the book.
Thank god I've never read this book. I never will. You've saved me significant misery, sir, and I applaud you.
The writers of the movie have my aplause. They made the book into an amazing movie, also kudos to the musical makers for adapting it into a really good musical that made some good changes to the plot.
Is this satire? This has to be satire. 💀💀
More true to life than you’d like to believe
After listening to the author it's clear that Elle is a reflection of her mean girl- condescending attitude made clear by her snide remarks at the beginning of the video. What a horrible person, I'm glad they fixed the character but the screenwriter really deserves all the praise because if it had been left up to the Arthor Legally Blond definitely would NOT have become a classic.
Revisited this musical again. (You know when u like a musical and jump to the next then revisit it every now and then which then remind u how you really love a certain art).
How did u know I was thinking LB The Musical again at this moment.
Thank you.
Keep the videos coming. Im a fan!
Amanda Brown sounds like a horrible person. Since she looked down on literally everyone and internally tore everyone to shreds it's no wonder she had no friends. I never read the book or saw the movie. Having seen this video I'm very grateful that I haven't.
The film is actually amazing and worth a watch
The musical is good too
Seems like the movie & musical are VASTLY different from the novel.
This movie is one of the most enjoyable movies I've ever seen!! Great character development for a lot of people, good & fun story, though very raw and real too in certain moments. It's the perfect mix of fun and empowering in my opinion - nothing like what the book sounds like!
The movie and musical are absolutely fantastic! Don’t worry, Elle in both of those is positive and extremely likable. Also, the MTV musical is on RUclips and it’s my favorite 🩷
The movie is sooooo good! The film is such a classic that I’ve met many different types of people who love it!
A little like how JoJo Rabbit is only an adaptation of the first part of the book. Taika Waititi read the first bit, used it as inspiration, and left the crazy out.
To be fair Stanford Shopping Center really is a beautiful outdoor Mall. I loved it too
If i had a nickel every time the movie was better than the original novel, then I'd have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
(Legally Blonde and Devil Wears Prada)
So someone read the book and went "Let's do a movie of that, but also the total opposite of that"? That's very strange.
They read it and went, "But what if this was actually good"
^Rewrites, people. 👏👏👏👏
As an author, I’m always way more invested in stories that *could have* been good rather than ones that are good. Why would I want to adapt/tell my own version of a story that already did it very well? But if something has potential but fails, then there’s so much room for changes and improvement. I personally would rather have people adapt or reboot a bad story (or at least one I don’t like) then try and adapt or reboot something that was just fine on its own.
@@neonradius You know, there is that! I know I've spent more time thinking, talking, or writing about movies that made me go "But there was a good movie buried in that movie!" than movies that are just well made, but unexceptionable.
Legally Blonde was the first movie that I preferred over the book. It’s still my favourite movie now.
Novel Version Elle sounds more like a typical lawyer for me.. They can be smart and convincing but not always morally correct..
Mhm.
Lawyers are _legal_ people, not necessarily _moral_ people.
I actually did this topic for my final grade 10 English assignment! God I don't know why I put myself through reading the book
I've always wondered about this very character arc...
halfway through the video and so far instead of Woods vs Woods is giving more like Woods vs Heather Chandler if she had survived high school lmao
This is the first I’ve seen that the movie is actually better than the book. Holy shit
Novel Elle sounds like a Fox News anchor.
Honestly kind of giving Blair Waldorf/Chanel Oberlin but not witty
I could see Book Elle being a commentary on the works kinds of people, her writer just doesn't know how to make it fun to read.
That was WILD, wtf. No one should read that book ever again, she shouldn’t get a cent. The dissonance in thinking you’re the better person in this story is scandalizing.
Lord of the Rings, Starwars and Legally Blonde is part of my top 10 all time favorite movies.
Well, you’ve convinced me. I’ll go watch legally blonde the musical again.
This video is fantastic! I have been obsessed with Legally Blonde the Musical since about 2015 and this was really interesting to see! 🥰
Usually the book is better than the movie/musical(s), but this has proven me wrong. I'm glad I didn't read the book. I like the movie, I like the musical too. But this book sounds atrocious.
1:42 what is the song being played here?!? I recognize it but can’t remember 😭 please help
putting on the ritz!
@@usbook Thank you so much!
ooh...damn...ah...To put it nicely: Amanda Brown put a self-insert OC in a story....no wonder it got rejected.
She Is Not Starfire™️
So technically Elle Woods was the original Bella Cullen in a way as they're both cringey self-inserts? 😭
Wow... I wonder why no one wanted to pick up this book
Vivian really looks like young hillary clinton without blonde hair LMAO. The style,hair, mannerisms, thinking. Like it's giving 42nd 1st lady of US.
I would not make friends with people that thought "ovester" was a thing and ok either.
Then you are a book Elle.
I thought I could never have more respect for the writers of the movie than I already did. Turns out, I could. Wow.
Secret angents is my new favorite phrase!
The one time the movie is better than the book 💀
In the legal field I have found the lawyers that Love (with a capital L) legally blonde are the worst overgrown mean girls from middle/high school. HUGE red flag for me in interviews
As in the book or as in the movie or both?
You didn't mention him but did Emmett/ Emmett and Elle's relationship exist in the noval? How did Elle end up romantically?
Emmett does not exist in the novel. Elle is still dating Warner up until the last few chapters, and she’s also dating Christopher Miles (Callahan equivalent). Arguably she doesn’t end up romantically involved with anyone at the end except the implication of seeing Christopher again.
Emmet was a great addition, truly worth of movie-Elle
one of the few moments where i am _glad_ that the movie is better than the book it was adapted from. jesus christ listening to this was WILD.
The fact a women worte something so misogenic and incel-ish depressed me
Just double checking something cause I could be wrong....Didn't Warner Cheat on Elle with his new girl? at least in the movie??
No he dumped Elle before he got back with Vivian
This is wild I had no idea.
No wonder they changed the character. Who would watch the original? Also, no surprise no one chose to publish the novel prior to it being changed for the movie, nor that in real life no one wanted to speak with Elle... Who and why would? An average looking girl who was told by mommy and daddy that she is the prettiest in the world and believed it, no passion, no decency, no common sense... Just being rich is not a quality!
Now I will say that my rol model is movie-Elle instead of just Elle
I just finish doing legally blonde musical
So this goes directly on my list of “better than the book” along with Shrek.
this book seems like a parody
book Elle seems like a literal pick me, one that brings down all women for whatever reasons, wtf
This is one of those instances where the movie is better than the book. If this had been the movie, it would have failed, in the same era as Mean Girls where we see how damaging this type of behavior is and the importance of overcoming it. I’m curious if the author ever watching the movie or musical and sees how she wrote the worst character, and why people would prejudge someone on those types of behaviors, vs Elle from the film and musical. But, I doubt it. She probably had one of her friends watch it for her and give her a summary.
guys I swear I don't know this girl
I wanted to give Amanda Brown's book a measured look since it's written from the perspective of a woman who tried to get into what was at the time a very male dominated job in most countries. And besides, I didn't want to put her down as an author just because she is a woman. That'd be counterproductive. But...ah...thank you for doing the homework for me.
I did not know the film was based on a book, and what I'm getting from this video...the film was better than the book?!
to be honest if the story is true, about the Semester/Ovester, since anyone thinks to be in academia and not know it means 6 months or half the year, or was just thirsting for attention. it sounds like the real story behind legally blonde, is the story of a narcissist, but surrounded by narcissists. a perfect breeding ground for lawyers.
but then again, in the film, everyone is an asshole to Elle, until they realise that she's right about everything. apart from Emmeit, who she later married. he saw her "goodness" from the start.
that said i love the character, in the film but the fact she's always right, or in the end proved to be right. can be quite jarring, but i would so love and i mean this. a version of original Elle, Elle the total asshole, because well because it will be awesome. i have read this book, but the only thing i remember was that Bruiser was called "Underdog"
Wait you completely sold me on reading this book, it sounds incredible
Can't tell if this is sarcasm
So instead of Reese Witherspoon it's HRH Collection? ...I'd still watch it.
LMAO
I actually like both versions of Elle. Movie/musical Elle is of course endearing and a great example of positive femininity, but book Elle sounds funny and more realistic. It sounds like the book is meant to be a commentary on how the law field is terrible and everyone in it is even worse, and the ones who succeed are the worst of all. Book Elle is meant to be terrible and unlikeable.
People forget that thé reason why the movie Elle Woods could survive being in Law School around so many jerks wasn't because of her positivity and femininity but the fact that she's rich, hot and privilèged so no matter how jealoused she was they couldnt harm her ( she didnt even need to work to support herself). but IRL women that are attractive and nice and sweet liké her while showing signs of intelligence get screwed Irl by jealous toxic classmates/coworkers because they dare having both brain and beauty.
I’m glad I couldn’t make it past page 1 of the book. It was poorly written and rather vapid. Glad to hear it’s not the Elle we know and love, happy to skip!!
Sounds like a vengeful lonely girl who wrote the book to make her self feel better abt her loneliness by reassuring her self she’s better then everyone else and book Elle having a friend shows that part of her wanted friends but couldn’t get any
To be fair, I wouldn't take someone trying to change semester to ovester seriously either.
oo great video!!!
Elle is more Essex than London. The difference between California and NYC. Glam vs Grit or such …. You can tell.
Novel sounds more accurate 😂 but I prefer the movie.
The reminds me of the difference between the book and film versions of “The Devil Wears Prada.”
I saw the movie version first, and decided to read the book afterwards. The book version of Andrea is thoroughly unlikeable, and almost nothing like the character in the movie.
If she doesn’t think she needs to know the law by heart, she must not have taken the bar exam 😬
It’s the first time in history where the movie is better than the book….
I didn't read the book, and I'm glad I didn't! Novel Elle sounds terrible! Faking her way to the top sounds awful! I know that the author was trying to eviscerate her classmates through fiction, but this clearly wasn't the way to go about it. And if she really didn't care about law school, then she shouldn't have enrolled, in the first place. You attend law school because you want to defend the helpless, not because it's located near a shopping mall. It sounds like it reads like a YA novel aimed at high school students, instead of reading like a novel about personal growth, as was made evident by the movie (I didn't see the musical, but I'm familiar with it). I think the best way to write fiction based on personal experiences is write something that feels relatable, instead of turning characters into overly exaggerated caricatures of people that you didn't like. At least, that's how I prefer to write, anyway: By basing characters and stories on my own experiences, in a more realistic manner. Novel Elle is needlessly vicious and doesn't undergo any sort of character development or redemption arcs. Movie and Musical Elle it seems have always been compassionate. Thanks for the video!