Victoria: Picture it: July 2001. According to a Google search I just did, it was an unusually cool July, though the first days of August would bring a heatwave (which I actually do remember, because my grandma's birthday is August 9 and I went to Macy's with my dad to get her what she wanted — a heated blanket — and it felt funny to do so considering the weather). I am eight years old, about to turn nine. The first season of Survivor is airing on CBS.
At the cinema, the year has already brought us amazing films like Memento, Heartbreakers, Shrek, Josie & The Pussycats, Bridget Jones Diary, A Knight's Tale, and Moulin Rouge!. But little did we know that two July releases would change our lives forever, becoming iconic favorites of millennial women everywhere.
I'm speaking, of course, of Legally Blonde and The Princess Diaries, released just 16 days apart.
My grandma brought me to see The Princess Diaries in theaters, I assume because she loved Julie Andrews. And it was such a beautiful film to see for the first time with my grandma, because it's a film about a grandma and a granddaughter and how they find common ground amidst ridiculous circumstances. I have seen it, and its sequel, approximately 1 million times.
Legally Blonde I'm sure came into my life via a Blockbuster rental. Since it was PG-13 it's possible I had to wait a year or two before my parents let me see it, but of course I fell in love with it immediately. The sequel I think I have only seen once, but I have listened to the musical soundtrack 1 million times. Both Legally Blonde and The Princess Diaries were 2000s cable staples, so bits and pieces are burned in my brain.
I wanted to pair these two movies together because it just makes me so happy that they came out at the same time! They are girl movies and they just rule. What strange magic was in the air that gave us both at the same moment?
Hayley, I know you are Princess Diaries agnostic, but please share your thoughts about both films.
Hayley: Here's the thing: As soon as I read your email I remembered that I owned The Princess Diaries soundtrack on CD and used to listen to it on the bus to and from 6th grade. In my purple Sony Walkman with matching headphones, no less. So obviously, the movie had an effect on me at the time, even though I've only seen it a handful of times since its release. I'm sure I probably saw it in theatres, I could dig through my ticket stub box to confirm, but I don't feel like it.
I very recently rewatched this with some friends on one of my first post-vaccination hangs and I was surprised by how much of the movie I...did not remember! I remember Mandy Moore singing "Stupid Cupid," obviously, but that is because of the obsessive soundtrack listening noted above. I remember Erik von Detten, Disney's dream hunk for a very specific slice of the early 2000s. This movie is fun and charming and so perfectly Disney, with incredible performances (Sandra Oh!) and I don't know why it hasn't stuck with me like similar movies from this time. I...do not think I've ever seen the sequel, which is a travesty because Chris Pine is in it!!!
Like you, I had to get parental approval before being allowed to watch Legally Blonde. My parents rented it and watched it and I laid on my bedroom floor, pressing my ear against the hardwood trying to hear what was going on in the movie. Obviously they were like "You can watch this amazing film!" or something to that effect, and I honestly haven't stopped watching it for 20 years. It is a part of me, mind, body, and soul. I am constantly thinking about specific scenes or exchanges from the movie when I need help grappling with real things in my life. If pressed, I could probably recite most of the script in order from memory. Still waiting for this skill to come in handy, somewhere, someday.
I'm so glad that we're talking about these movies together, so that you and I can wax poetic on each of them and why we love them so much. Tell me all about your love for Princess Diaries! How has your relationship to it changed — or remained the same! — over the years? What things do you notice when rewatching it now? Favorite scenes?
Victoria: Absurd confession: Only in the last like five, six years did I realize Lana was Mandy Moore? In my defense, I'm very dumb and apparently don't believe brunettes can go blonde??? Sorry Mandy!!! "Stupid Cupid" is beyond iconic, though.
Princess Diaries is, of course, a fantasy, but being a princess isn't actually the fantasy part. The fantasy is Mia's amazing life in San Francisco, where she lives in a CONVERTED FIRE STATION, with her COOL ARTIST MOM, and they go rock climbing and make COOL ART and have a FUN CAT and her best friend's cute brother has a BAND. It's really a movie about relationships — between Mia and her mom, Mia and her grandmother who's suddenly back in her life, Mia and her best friend Lily (Heather Mattarazzo is perfect), and, of course, Mia and Joe, grandma's security guard who is also in love with grandma. In The Princess Diaries, becoming a princess is a metaphor for growing up and taking on responsibility — responsibility to yourself, to your friends, to your family, and to the world. It is also very funny and goofy and light on its feet. It's got jokes!
Also Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews turn in two iconic performances. Anne is sparkling with charisma, and Julie gets to be her most regal, but still human, self. It is definitely one of the movies I quote the most ("Thank you for being here today") and the members of my group chat will often send each other voice notes of ourselves doing different line readings. They are usually Lily lines, so thank you, Heather.
"Goodbye, trolley people!" is my favorite moment.
The sequel is definitely worse, but in other ways it is better because it is kind of unhinged and weird! Julia Andrews sings a duet with Raven Symone! Shonda Rhimes wrote the story, so thank you Shonda. And Whitney Houston was a producer of both, so thank you Whitney!
Here's something fun Legally Blonde and the Princess Diaries have in common: They are both coming of age films with cute love interests who have basically the exact same nerdy cute alt boy thing going on, but the love interest is not the focus of the plot, just an important aspect. Do you agree?
Hayley: Wow it's almost like I asked you to bring up the love stories here — dear readers, I did not! But this is a crucial part that I want to talk about, and you are absolutely correct that the love interest is not the focus of the plot, which is what makes these movies unique and also able to enjoy the longevity that they have with both of us. Which isn't to say we don't like love! We are both obsessed with romance and love stories!
Legally Blonde is a balm to me after any kind of break up or loss. I think the message is that above everything else, you have yourself. Watching how Elle learns how to trust herself throughout this movie is great. And Emmett is the perfect background love interest: he's supportive and encouraging, and the way that he advocates for her is genuine and not patronizing. It's very hot! My one qualm is that I don't think Emmett should propose to Elle on her graduation night, I think that night should just be about her accomplishment, but it's very minor. And I like the way that those captions at the end reveal a promising romantic future for Elle, but it's a footnote! For a movie that uses a breakup as a genesis for its plot, it could have really fucked up the landing on this, and it didn't. I want more movies like this.
What I keep coming back to on every rewatch is how Elle thinks that simply deciding to go to Harvard will solve all of her problems and it ... .doesn't. I mean, not immediately! I think when we are in a place of upheaval, like Elle is when Warner breaks up with her, we look for something solid to grasp on to. When Elle makes the decision to go to Harvard, she has a new plan, and feels in control again. Except, the real work hasn't even started yet, and she doesn't even know what's in store. I think that oftentimes we like to delude ourselves into believing that simply making a decision is the hard part, when it's usually not: It's the work that follows.
I have always been a plan-based person. I need a plan, I need to feel in control, and like I'm working towards something. Elle is also a plan-based person. She had envisioned life with Warner, and was neatly checking off the boxes to get to that place. When that unraveled, she was distraught until she figured out her next plan. And although she hadn't quite thought through the reality of daily life as a law student, she realized that she actually had the capacity to do really well, and had encouragement along the way. And she wasn't encouraged to become anyone else besides who she truly was, which was really a breakthrough for her. She laments in one scene about no one taking her seriously — not even her parents — and you can just feel this exasperation that she has about this fact. And then she realizes that the only person who needs to take her seriously is ... herself! It feels cheesy, but it's true. She essentially becomes the person she had always been.
Both of these movies deal with change during key times in life when you're trying to figure out "who" you are: Mia is in high school, about to turn 16, and figuring out all of her responsibilities and desires. Elle is about to graduate college, trying to figure out what the next step is when she always assumed the next step would just be an engagement. Because these movies don't fall into your standard coming-of-age tropes, they really resonate a lot more.
Victoria: In the musical of Legally Blonde (which Hayley has never seen, tragically) Elle actually proposes to Emmett on graduation day and it's very sweet! But I do love the little captioned ending of the movie, though I agree proposing on graduation night is less romantic now than I thought it was when I was younger.
Again, Legally Blonde is also a movie primarily about relationships between women! There's Elle's relationship with her sorority sisters, who support her unconditionally. Elle and her law school professor (Holland Taylor, the god), Elle and Vivienne, and Elle and Brooke Windham all form great relationships which help save the day in the end. And of course Elle and Paula (Jennifer Coolidge, also a god) are the heart of the film!! In another, lesser movie, Elle would look down on Paula for being poor or trashy. But she meets her heart to heart, and they form a beautiful, lifelong bond! The scene when they save Paula's dog from her ex is so exhilarating and beautiful!
And then there's Warner. What an absolute loser. It's really a tale as old as time that Warner, a huge idiot who totally sucks, makes Elle, who is literally perfect, feel like HE is too good for HER. It's infuriating and also the world we live in!!
Legally Blonde and The Princess Diaries also feature iconic fashion moments, burned into my brain forever. Mia's dress at the end party is still perfect — timelessly elegant! Her blue dress at the dinner party is so 2000s in the most perfect way. I am always thinking about Elle thoughtfully writing with her fuzzy pen — let's bring those pens back!!
Longtime readers will remember we went long on Reese Witherspoon, but let's talk about Anne for a moment. I never understood when, in the mid 2010s, everyone just decided to hate Anne Hathaway for the while? She seems delightful. I have never heard a bad story about her. Sorry she's a good actor who takes her job seriously and gets the work done? Even in something kinda silly like Valentine's Day (also directed by Garry Marshall and featuring many The Princess Diaries cast members), she is committed and funny and brings her best to the screen. Anne is an Oscar winner, but she's somehow under-appreciated by the general public. Anne is a star!
What Hayley Recommends
- This rinse-off body conditioner that you apply in the shower so you don't have to put lotion on afterwards is amazing, I used it two days ago and my skin still feels smooth and moisturized.
- This book, On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed was a really great introduction into a lot of background information about Juneteenth, obviously, but also gave great insight into the author's own experience with integration in Texas schools.
- This book, The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He is a fascinating sci-fi YA novel that I couldn't put down. It's about two sisters in the future who are separated and trying to find each other. If you read it you HAVE to tell me, all I want to do is talk about this book!
What Victoria Loves Right Now
- Hayley and I are both obsessed with these French New Wave-inspired poster designs of iconic chick flicks, including, of course, Legally Blonde and The Princess Diaries. Please venmo me so I can justify buying seven of them.
- I've been working my way slowly through Mike Nichols: A Life, which is not just insightful and artistically inspiring, but also full of good celeb gossip.
- Here's a playlist I made for early summer. Full summer playlist incoming soon.
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