It has been more than two decades since Elle Woods first graced our screens in ‘Legally Blonde’. But she still remains one of the most beloved pop cultural phenomena to this day.
The reason the film still feels so close to our hearts is that instead of becoming just another trope-filled rom-com, ‘Legally Blonde’ always put Elle’s journey of self-discovery first. But did you know that the iconic finale almost looked very different?
‘Legally Blonde’ Almost Ended With A Predictable Romance Cliché
The 2001 classic ‘Legally Blonde’ has one of the most satisfying movie endings of all time. Elle delivers her valedictorian speech and reflects on her journey through law school. All the while, she is surrounded by all her friends cheering her on.
But according to screenwriter Karen McCullah, the original ending took a much more conventional route. After successfully winning the case, Elle Woods was supposed to celebrate outside the courthouse with a romantic kiss with Emmett Richmond.
As McCullah recalled during a roundtable discussion at the 2015 Vulture Festival, “It kind of ended right at the courthouse after she won the case. She was on the courthouse steps, and everyone was coming up and congratulating her, and she had this big kiss with Luke Wilson.”
The film would have ended right there, and the focus shifted toward Elle’s budding romance rather than her personal and professional accomplishments. The relationship between Elle and Emmett was certainly charming, and we got enough of their heartwarming chemistry in ‘Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde’. But that ending simply didn’t work for ‘Legally Blonde’.
Why The Creators Had To Reject The Original Finale Of The Movie
One of the biggest reasons ‘Legally Blonde’ remains so relevant today is that it is ultimately not a romance story. Elle may have followed Warner to Harvard Law School in an attempt to win him back, but her journey quickly became about discovering her own capabilities.
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By the end of the film, she no longer needs validation from Warner or anyone else. She has earned her place in a world that constantly underestimated her. Ending that journey with a romantic kiss would have undercut everything the film had spent two hours building toward.
McCullah herself admitted that the original version simply did not work. “It was just kind of a weak ending. The kiss didn’t feel right because it’s not a rom-com; it wasn’t about their relationship. So, test audiences were saying, ‘We want to see what happens; we want to see her succeed.’ So that’s why we rewrote for graduation.”
There was also an additional epilogue attached to this alternate ending. Following the courthouse kiss, the film reportedly jumped ahead to show Elle’s future. Vivian Kensington had apparently decided to go blonde, and the two had teamed up to establish the “Blonde Legal Defense Club” at Harvard Law School.
The premise definitely sounds amusing, but it is actually great that the filmmakers ultimately decided to cut the scene. The graduation sequence ultimately gave audiences exactly what they wanted: not a romantic payoff, but proof that Elle had achieved something remarkable on her own terms.
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