Elle (Prime Video) 

By: Rachel Brodeur

Amazon Prime’s Elle is a love letter to the 1990s. Taking its inspiration from the Reese Witherspoon film Legally Blonde (2001), Elle is a prequel series that covers lead character Elle Wood’s time in high school. She’s sixteen, ready to take on her junior year with all the pep and vigor we would expect of her Los Angeles life, but then due to a job change, her parents inform her that they’ll be moving to perhaps the one place where being a preppy blonde is not an asset: Seattle in 1996. 

Seattle is dreary, draped in flannel, and a living rebuke to mainstream culture. Like Legally Blonde before it, Elle embraces the fish-out-of-water formula, layering in the added complications of adolescence, self-discovery, parental relationships and first love. Elle, played by Lexi Minetree (The Murdaugh Murders) differs from her older Legally Blonde self, in that she lacks the self assuredness to be her own person. She tries to change to fit in, and audiences can see some of the struggles that end up turning her into the confident female icon of her college years. Show creator Laura Kittrell is no stranger to teen struggles, with previous projects of Insecure (2017-2022) and  High School (2022). In Elle, Kittrell crafts a portrait of adolescence that celebrates the optimism and possibility of youth while acknowledging the emotional and social minefield that is high school with lighthearted humor and fun.

Fans of Legally Blonde will notice episodes that parallel moments in the film, and the series walks the line carefully to not conflict with some of the established lore of the character. This series does not take away from the growth audiences celebrate in Elle Woods, but sets her up to be the young woman that believably tackles law school so fearlessly.  

Elle is a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The intro theme music is “I’m Only Happy When it Rains” by Garbage, a song that embodies all the angst and irony of the grunge music revolution that was born in Seattle. All the music of the show is pulled from hits from the 90s and in that way, it triggers the nostalgia of viewers who were teenagers at the time that the original movie came out. Elle recreates the decade with an affectionate attention to detail, from period slang to everyday fixtures like payphones and Blockbuster stores, while it may lack depth and subtlety, it captures the charm of how viewers will want to remember the era.   

Rachel’s Rating: 7/10

Elle (Prime Video) is a lighthearted coming-of-age comedy that traces the formative years of one of pop culture's most recognizable heroines, Elle Woods of Legally Blonde, by blending humor, heart, and plenty of '90s nostalgia. The series expands the character's backstory in a way that complements the original while remaining an entertaining, feel-good watch that offers something for longtime fans and newcomers alike.