Legally Blonde (2001) - 35 mistakes

Revealing: In the scene where Reese Witherspoon is entering the elevator after being harassed by her mentor, you can see Selma Blair's reflection in the plaque right before her cue. You see her reflection right before the doors close, so you know she was waiting for the cue.

Audio problem: In the scene after Reese Witherspoon and Luke Wilson are returning from questioning the ex-wife of the murder victim at a spa, they are driving up in Luke's car. You can clearly see, as they get closer to the camera, that what you hear Luke saying isn't what his lips are saying. It was a very obvious dub over...and a very bad one.

Revealing: When Elle is talking to Paulette on the cell phone, while waiting for the water, the woman before her goes to the water fountain, and you see her. She doesn't drink any water. She just puts her mouth next to the fountain. It is extremely obvious.

Continuity: When Elle decides to quit law school and goes to see Paulette at the nail salon, when she arrives she's crying and her face is wet with tears. In the next camera angle (2 seconds later) her face is completely dry and her makeup is normal.

Continuity: In one of the courtroom scenes, you can see Paulette (the nail technician) enter with the UPS guy who has plaster on his nose - the plaster is white and has two brown pieces of tape over it. At the end of the same scene when everyone is exiting the courtroom, the UPS guy has no plaster only two, now white, pieces of tape on his nose.

Continuity: When Elle is called to the lawyer (Callahan), she holds some files and no bag. After he tries to pick her up, she leaves with empty hands. A few seconds later, in the corridor, she's walking with her bag on her shoulder. Where could she get it from? And did she have the time to put the files in?

Continuity: When Elle is walking out after she won her case her hair is a very light blonde and wavy around the face. In the next scene when Warner is begging Elle to come back, her hair is much darker and it's curled under at the ends of her hair.

Continuity: When Elle's boyfriend picks her up to go to the restaurant his hair has a parting. In the restaurant it is slicked back, after, in the car the parting is on the other side

Continuity: After Elle gets dumped by her boyfriend (near the beginning), she is walking along the street and shots switch between her and her (ex)boyfriend in the car. The shot switches to her and suddenly her hair is quite messed up.

Factual error: The first law class scene involves Reese Witherspoon getting kicked out of the room for being unprepared to answer questions regarding Gordon v. Steele, a very basic Civil Procedure case. The scene closes with the professor asking Selma Blair about the result in Gordon v. Steele. She responds that the court held that there was not diversity jurisdiction. The professor replies that Selma is correct. But, this is entirely the wrong answer. The court in that case held that there was diversity jurisdiction. Merely getting a case wrong would seem trivial, but again this is literally the first case any law student studies in Civil Procedure, a first year class. How could a screenwriter get this basic case completely wrong?

Continuity: When Elle is at the beauty salon she has 2 flowers in her hair, one purple, and one pink. When the camera angle changes, the flowers also change position from shot to shot.

Continuity: In the scene where Elle saw Warner at Harvard she talks to him and starts walking down the hallway. Her purse is on her left shoulder. The camera goes back to showing Warner and then back to Elle. Her purse is then on her right shoulder.

Continuity: When Reese Witherspoon is eating chocolates after being dumped, look closely at the box. When she finds one that she likes, there are two white ones one row in from the back. Two seconds later, just before she throws the box at the screen, there's only one white one, and it's moved forwards a row.

Continuity: Near the end of the movie, when Elle walks out with Brooke, she is holding Bruiser in her left folded arm, with her dog-carrier purse, that looks like it has something in it, on her right shoulder. A few seconds later, when Warner approaches her on the steps, she has no dog but the purse looks empty.

Continuity: During the scene where Elle finds out Vivian is Warner's fiancee, a boy with a blue backpack strap walks directly behind Warner and Vivian a couple of times.

Continuity: In the scene where Elle is at the beauty salon for the first time, she had parked right in front of the salon behind a brown car, but when she goes inside you can't see her car outside, just the brown car.

Plot hole: The rule cited to allow Elle to be the attorney (with supervision) only allows "senior law students" who have taken a class in evidence to appear as an attorney. Since Elle is in her first year, she is neither "senior" nor has she taken any classes in evidence.

Revealing: When Elle and Emmett are talking on the benches, a girl in a blue-gray shirt and red tie leaves the building twice.

Continuity: After Callahan hits on Elle, she pushes his hand off her knee and uncrosses her legs. In the very next shot her legs are crossed again.

Plot hole: In the courtroom scenes, the victim's daughter, Chutney, is examined by the prosecution. This would mean that she has been sworn in. Yet, when she is examined by the defense, she is sworn in again. Wouldn't she still be considered "under oath"?

Continuity: When Elle is visiting Brooke in jail, the magazine in the basket in front of Elle is in the back of the basket. In the next shot of Elle it's in the front of the basket, but in the next shot it's in the back of the basket again.

Factual error: We know that Elle and Warner are both in Callahan's class together, but that Warner is not in Stromwell's class with Elle. However, Harvard, like most law schools, divides its first year class into sections that take every class together. Warner should either be in all of the same classes as Elle or none of them.

Continuity: In the scene where Callahan is trying to get Elle to fess up the alibi, you can see laptops in front of Enid and Warner in the wide shot. When the characters get their close-ups the laptops disappear. This happens several times within the scene.

Continuity: In the scene where Elle gets in to the lift when she decides to quit Law, she has a big kink in her hair, however when she gets out of the lift the kink has gone.

Continuity: In the scene where Elle is talking to Emmet out on the benches, after she turns to face him you can see two people in jeans and sweater vests exiting the building twice.

Continuity: In the scene when Elle and her two friends are jumping up and down because they are excited about the road trip, one of the girl's sleeves falls down, in the next scene it's up again.

Continuity: When Elle is talking to Brooke at the jail, when they are speaking Elle's hair is under the phone and then it is over the phone. Then the hair goes back under it.

Other: When Elle is driving to Law School and the van is following her, when they drive over the crossroads, you can see 2 white vans nearly drive right into each other. They miss each other by inches.

Continuity: In the scene where Elle is going to get Brooke's alibi, in the shots of Elle her fingers change places when she is holding onto the phone.

Continuity: Just after Elle's first day at Harvard she takes off to get her nails done. When she sits down in front of Paulette she places her hands on the table and fingers in the manicure bowl. The next shot is of Elle's back and her hands are not even on the table. Then back to Elle's face and her hands are back on the table and finally, Elle's back when she finally places her hands on the table.

Continuity: When Elle firsts sits down in the CULA counselor's office, to discuss getting into Harvard Law School, her hair is in front of her right shoulder, obscuring the sleeve of her t-shirt. The counselor speaks and in the reaction shot, her hair is behind her shoulder, you can see both sleeves. Then the counselor responds and her hair is in front of the same shoulder, again obscuring the sleeve. This repeats between shots.

Factual error: By the time all the students are looking on the selected first year interns, they're looking there as though it was a big list that they have to flock around in a mess. They are supposed to be law students. I believe one glance on a four-numbered list is enough to memorize all of the names listed there.

Continuity: When Elle finds out that she was picked for the law firm she goes "Oh, Warner" and turns to the left then Warner and Vivian look as though she was coming from the right.

Continuity: When Brooke finds out that Elle is her lawyer, Elle's hair changes from the back throughout the scenes. First there are some hairs on her shoulder then a little less and then there are three completely split sections.

Factual error: In the final graduation scene, the faculty members on the stage are all wearing mortarboard caps. In fact, they should be wearing the traditional "doctors" graduation caps which resemble Scottish tam-o-shanters.