1. Elle Woods

Ok, some may think I've got to be joking. But yes, I admire Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 1 Legally Blonde 1 and Legally Blonde 2. I admire her for her attitude, modern savvy, resourcefulness….and just imagine how boring life would be if all people were conservative-navy-pantsuit types! Not our Elle! Elle operates effectively in a man's world without compromising one bit of her femininity. She's obviously brilliant and capable but it's her femininity that makes her character interesting, lovable and human. It's also her feminine attributes that win the day for her. What I like most about Elle is that she is not ashamed of her femininity. She is secure as a woman. I guess my gripe is that many women today seem to think they need to become like men in order to be acceptable in the workplace, thus the grey, black or navy pant-suits and the unnatural lowering of the female voice register. Ughh! My singing teacher says women's voices today are lowered on purpose, that it is not natural, but a learned behavior. I ask, what's wrong with being a woman? Why try to act, look and sound like a man? Why not embrace femininity unashamedly even in the work place? Since women have taken to dressing and acting like men I think western society has become so drab. Women, let's add a bit of color and charm to life Elle Woods style!

2. Emma Woodhouse

I admire Emma Woodhouse in Emma (1996) for her pertness, radiance and special brand of cleverness. Emma has almost impeccable social manners and refinement flawed only by a naïve type of snobbishness we hope she will out-grow one day. Emma is witty and a clever conversationalist, is probably widely read and obviously well cultured. She demonstrates a determination that 'her way is the right way' and consequently 'falls into ditches' of her own creation. She demonstrates an independence of spirit all the while being very dependent without the self-knowledge. This makes her quite adorable (especially to Mr Knightly). Despite her human foibles of stubbornness, love of admiration and praise and a tendency to control lesser characters, Emma remains very likable. She is a young character and I like to picture what she could be like as a thirty-something with more life experience on her side. However even with the growing wisdom of years, I hope Emma never attains complete perfection. I like to imagine that she has a life-long struggle with her faults of character. Although these faults provide fodder for her enemies, they keep her life fresh and dramatic making her all the more loveable to her friends, family and husband. Personally, I don't find Mr Knightly a bore (as long as he is being played by Jeremy Northam). Mr Knightly has a quiet type of masculine charisma and is definitely very alpha male.

3. Elena de la Vega

I understand The Legend of Zorro received many bad reviews, and yes, I had to close my eyes during most of the fighting scenes! However, here's my view of the character of Elena de la Vega. It should be kept in mind that Elena depicts a woman acting during a time of crisis. Under normal circumstances I imagine her demure, thoroughly lady-like, the perfect hostess, mother and devoted wife. I also envisage she has a great sense of fun and could be devilishly cheeky at times. But we, the viewers become acquainted with Elena during a period of personal calamity. During this time her very feminine attributes of motherly protectiveness and the human trait of self-preservation come to the forefront. Of her human foibles, Elena has a venomous tongue under stress, particularly when provoked by her husband whom she loves passionately. However despite her noxious words to Alejandro during her opening scenes, I cannot imagine Elena flying off the handle all the time – I believe it's the big issues that rile her. I doubt she is petty and complaining over small issues like many fine ladies of the north-east. She is a frontier woman. Although Elena is quite the lady, she's certainly no pushover and when the going gets rough she certainly gets going. Should her child be threatened, or when it comes to standing by her man or the values she cherishes, she becomes a female dynamo. Here Elena demonstrates feminine protectiveness for her family and a strong sense of self-preservation. Elena has great moral courage and demonstrates a high level of fidelity to her husband through both the good and bad times. I think she possesses an enormous sense of dignity and self-respect which shines through in this film. On the whole I find Elena de la Vega a thoroughly admirable heroine. Definitely a woman I'd imagine requires a strong alpha male and head of the household at her side (I thought Alejandro was weak, particularly in the latter department). Is Elena a Loveawake type woman? I'd argue the affirmative although I understand this opinion could be controversial. Oh, and the other thing, the critics thought Elena showed too much cleavage. What's so wrong with cleavage? Elena would never be as petty as her critics!

4. Being feminine

I thought the 'Legally Blonde' films were quite amusing, but I understood the Elle Woods character to be a comic creation, rather than a role model for how women should be. I imagine if most professional women went around squeaking and squealing and simpering the way she does they would not get very far in real life. Why does 'being feminine' have to mean being an airhead? There is no reason why a woman should have to behave like the Elle Woods character in order to be considered 'feminine'. I couldn't go on like she does in order to save my life, and if that means I'm not 'feminine' then that's all right with me. If 'feminine' means behaving like an idiot, then I'd just as soon not be. I like Emma Wodehouse, she is an amusing character, though I can't say that I admire her exactly, she does have likeable characterisitics though. Her incredible patience with her tiresome old father is probably her most attractive characterisitc, her tiresome interfering in Harriet's life is reprehensivble, thoiugh she is not entirely to blame for it. If Harriet were not such a fool, she would be able to resist Emma's interference. It isn't entirely the fault of strong people if weak people allow themselves to be led into folly, the weak people who let themselves be led must bear some of the blame. I haven't seen 'Legend of Zorro' I saw the previous film and didn't like it much, I thought it was too gloomy. Demure and ladylike heroines don't appeal to me much, so if Elena does let rip in this film that's all to the good. I'm not much of a fan of Catherine Zeta-Jones though. Years ago, somebody told me I looked just like the actress who was appearing with her in a mini-series. In this series, Zeta-Jones eventually gets dumped by her husband for the actress who (apparently) looked like me. I regret to say I have regarded Miss Zeta-Jones with a somewhat patronising eye ever since because, poor thing, she got dumped for MY look-alike.

5. Katherine Hepburn

Katherine Hepburn in 'The African Queen'. When they're going down the rapids and Bogart expects her to be terrified and instead she's thrilled "I never dreamed any mere physical experience could be so stimulating!" she says. He's stunned with admiration for her. And again later in the film when he wants to give up the attempt to get to the lake and blow up the German battleship and she makes him go on "Nature, Mr Allnutt is what we are put in this world to rise above" she says. And Katherine Hepburn again in 'Desk Set' where Spencer Tracy is giving her an intelligence test and she runs rings around him and answere every single question correctly. "Are they goldfish?" she asks him as the answer to one question. "No" he says "They were rare tropical fish - like you". and then later in the film she manages to completely screw up his patent computer and cause it to blow a fuse - I love that bit. Kahtleen Turner in 'Romancing the Stone' the bit where she's fighting for her life with the villain and they're over the crocodile pool and she suddenly has the brilliant idea of taking his cigar out of his mouth and poking it in his eye, and he falls into the pool and gets eaten by the crocodiles. That's really quick thinking under pressure. The utterly delectable Sophie Marceau in 'D'artagnan's Daughter' she won't be left to live meekly at the convent, and wears down her father's resitance to let her learn swordfighting and become a musketeer. Trying to take on the baddies before she even has a clue how to use a sword - I admire her for that. Mulan - I admire her for triumphing over masculine prejudice, succeding as a soldier and saving China. My favourite bit in the film - possibly my favourite bit in any film, is where Captain Shang has told her to go home because she's useless and he'll never make a man out of her, and she figures out how to climb the pole with the weights round her arms, and he comes out of his tent and there she is sitting quietly on top of the pole and she hurls the arrow down at his feet, that's a great moment, invariably brings tears to my eyes no matter how often I see it. I have to say though that although I enjoyed the 'Legally Blonde' films, I really would be disconcerted if I wanted a lawyer and some girl came wiggling in squealing that she'd broken a fingernail or something. It would not encourage me to want to trust my business to her. If I wanted to hire a lawyer I'd be looking for businesslike rather than girly. 'Everyone is masculine at work' as Dr pat Allen says, and I sort of agree with her, though I would substitute 'Businesslike' for 'masculine'. I wouldn't be inclined to trust either an airhead bimbo or for that matter some macho bloke who came in swaggering about and being very 'alpha'.