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The film by the title of Erin Brockovich stars the lovely but large mouthed Julia Roberts (Stepmom) in the title role. In the movie this former Miss Wichita beauty queen (the character and not Roberts) dresses in classic trailer park trash outfits and has the mouth to match. These outfits and outbursts lead to many comedic moments in the film. Most of her exchanges are with her boss, Mr. Ed Masry (Albert Finney). Masry is a small time LA lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases, you know, an ambulance chaser. Anyway Ms. Brockovich has no job and is out looking for one so she can afford to raise her three kids, when suddenly she gets side-swiped by a doctor in a Jag who ran a red light. Brockovich then hires Masry so she can sue, but she gets nothing. Erin is now so pissed off at Ed that she goes and makes him give her a job working at his small firm. Meanwhile back on the home front she meets George (Aaron Eckhart, Any Given Sunday) the unemployed construction worker who rides a hog (the motorcycle, otherwise PETA would have a cow). Well eventually, after much mistrust, Erin falls for George who stays home and watches after her kids while Erin is at work. This eventually becomes a big issue when she starts working long hours out-of-town on a small unusual case that turns into a mammoth case. The case in question is that the people of Hinkley, California are becoming ill, and Erin suspects that the big utility PG&E is to blame by using harmful compounds to clean their compression plant in the small desert community. Erin then starts to dig up the evidence while battling prejudices by the town folk since she is an outsider while she is also battling prejudices by the law firm she works for since she has no legal training. In addition to those items she also has to deal with being away from her kids and the tension of having a neglected boyfriend. Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight) directs Erin Brockovich. The film is supposed to be a drama, and it is, but it is often a comedy with Roberts' character's sharp wit providing most of the laughs. You can thank Susannah Grant's writing for that. Erin Brockovich is based on a true story that led to the biggest settlement of its kind. Others in the movie are Marg Helgenberger (Species II) as Hinkley resident Donna Jensen, Cherry Jones (Pamela Duncan) another resident, and Jamie Harrold, Scotty Leavenworth and Gemmenne De la Pena as Erin's kids. I really liked this film. But it did not have a whole lot of drama or much suspense, and the love story between George and Erin was mainly passed over for more interactions between Erin and Ed. It is those interactions that make this movie good. It is not the best film that Roberts has put out, but it was worth watching (frankly I liked Notting Hill better). As to the About-Movies.com rating for this film, I give it eight couches. Aloha. Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:49:58 AM |
