Brooke Taylor, the infomercial fitness queen and accused murderer whose freedom may literally rest on Elle's head, is played by Ali Larter. Admits Larter: "It's fun to play someone everyone thinks is guilty as hell." Larter was also drawn by the wit and verve of the script. "The zinger lines just keep coming," she says. "It's kind of like Clueless at law school, with all these fabulous clothes and hilarious one-liners. It's a very fun project, but it's also about women getting what they want using what they've been given. That's what Brooke is about and that's what Elle comes to discover about herself."
One of the prosecution's most damaging witnesses, Mrs. Windham Vandermark (Brooke's murdered husband's ex-wife), is played by world-renowned bombshell Raquel Welch. Welch was attracted by the chance to work with Reese Witherspoon, whom she admired for a long time. "I wanted to work with Reese, but then I read the script and found myself just laughing out loud," she recalls. "It's one of those wonderful stories that winks at the audience the whole way through."
"I wanted somebody grand and beautiful for the role of Mrs. Vandermark," says Robert Luketic, "someone who walks in the room and commands attention. Having Raquel Welch in the role was an absolute dream come true."
Rounding out the cast is one of film's biggest new stars — and the only that can be carried in a purse: Moonie the Chihuahua, who plays Elle's constant companion Bruiser. "Initially he was just going to be a Chihuahua," says Luketic, "but he's become an actual character in the film. He's such a charismatic little pooch — a scene-stealer. I wanted him to do everything that Elle does, right down to sitting under the dryer with her — and this little guy was more than willing."
The look of Legally Blonde echoes Elle Wood's hypercolored, sweetly saturated take on life, including a portrait of California in constant bloom. Explains Luketic: "I wanted it to feel as if you're moving through a technicolor California dream. Everything has this perfect sheen to it, everything is bright and colorful, and then Elle gets to Harvard and the palette begins to fade, until the final, ultra-pink climax."
Marc Platt continues: "The film presents a slightly heightened world created by production designer Missy Stewart, who did such a great job on Gus Van Sant's To Die For. Missy really translated the comedy of Elle's over-the-top style into the overall design concept; the ultimate result is that Elle's world is incredibly fun and contrasts starkly with the cold, gray world of the Ivy League law school."
Stewart really enjoyed bringing her vision of Southern California to life, creating what she describes as a "lush tropical garden in which rare exotic flowers bloom." She envisioned Elle and her sorority sisters as vivid, graceful flowers themselves in the middle of it all. "The flower theme is everywhere in the first part of the film, with a Matisse-like effect," she says.
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