ERIN BROCKOVICH

Erin & George
Copyright ©2000 - Universal Pictures, Inc

"Erin Brockovich" should bury any idea that Julia Roberts is a personality posing as an actress. She is in every sense of the word - a Star! - and a hell of an actress. And what makes her so damned good? It’s not just screen presence - she has that. It’s not just believability - she has that. It’s not just a smile and a good body - she certainly has that. It’s putting all of that in front of the camera and making whatever she does seem so effortless - and real. She simply is. Let’s face it. If no one had believed in her Cinderella quality as a hooker in "Pretty Woman," it would’ve bombed. In fact, if you take a look at a few of Julia Roberts’ other past performances, you should realize that Julia’s Erin Brockovich possesses the better part of each character, from the survivor in "Sleeping with the Enemy" and the compassionate caregiver in "Dying Young," to the intrepid law student in "The Pelican Brief" and the loving mother in "Something to Talk About." Add the sass-is-class, shoot-from-the-hip, take-no-lip deportment of the real life single mother whose story inspired Susan Grant’s script, and you have one complex - I use the word reverently - bitch. And to top it off, "Erin Brockovich" is probably director Steven Soderbergh’s biggest crowd-pleaser outside of his breakthrough movie "sex, lies, & videotape" in 1989 and "Out of Sight" from 1998. Except possibly for "King of the Hill" "Erin Brockovich" has a lot more heart and soul than many of his other films, thanks to its great story and Julia Roberts’ knockout performance.

Erin is first seen dumping her kids in the baby sitter’s lap and prepping for an interview. She needs a job. She’s smart and she knows it. Her problem is convincing others. Her optimism is shattered by… (see the movie - it’s too good to give away). An attempt to exploit an accident to get some bread money to keep her family going doesn’t pan out. Destitute, Erin bulldozes her way into the law office of Ed Masry (Albert Finney) and demands a job as compensation for his losing her case. It isn’t long before she sticks her inquisitive nose into an inviting stockpile of paperwork and sniffs out a lawsuit against the multi million dollar corporation, Pacific Gas and Electric, for contaminating the water supply of the community around the power plant. She uses her hot looks to melt the resolve of some desk jockeys, her intelligence to recognize the evidence of criminal neglect, and her grit to mobilize the victims for a class action suit. They are her people. They come from the same background. She has been slighted and underestimated by others, as these people have been. Like her, many have kids. Almost everyone has some form of incurable cancer. Others may not live long enough to see a settlement. Some have already died. She will not let them down. She cannot let them down. Erin becomes subsumed by their needs. She has to make sure her own kids understand, that what she is doing for these strangers who have so willingly given their trust, she is indirectly doing for them.

As far as the outcome of the actual court case goes, it’s an established fact that Erin Brockovich helped win the largest settlement of its kind in this country. Much of the human drama of "Erin Brockovich" comes from the all too real push and pull of family life that never registers a false note. The integration of Erin’s everyday concerns, from being flat broke to finding a baby sitter once she becomes entrenched in her job, into the complex web of corporate deceit, give the movie a reality based edge all too often lacking in lesser hands than Steven Soderbergh’s. Even the depiction of Erin’s reluctance to enter a relationship with George, the temporarily unemployed biker who lives next door and who adores her kids, has an element of suspense suggested by the compromises each will have to make to accommodate each other’s needs. Thanks to a wonderfully relaxed performance by Aaron Eckhart that goes against the grain of his earlier roles ("In the Company of Men" and "Your Friends and Neighbors"), the delicate playfulness of his George and Erin finding their way into each other’s lives has its own rewards and reinforces the notion that, like everything else in life, there are no simple solutions.

I’m not sure what came first the director and the script, or the actress and the script. Either way, it doesn’t matter, everyone involved has left their imprint on "Erin Brockovich" in their own particular way. It’s a wonderful movie and one of the few I long to see again.

Copyright 2000

"Silkwood" (1983) - Meryl Streep plays the title character who was posthumously a cause celebre after becoming a victim of harassment for her attempt to expose a cover up at the nuclear parts plant where she worked. Slow going but worth it, with terrific performances from Cher, Kurt Russell, and an ominous Craig T. Nelson among others.

"A Civil Action" (1998) - John Travolta heads a stellar cast as the lawyer willing to sacrifice everything he ever worked for to bring justice to a community whose kids died from contaminated water caused by toxic waste.

"The Toxic Avenger" (1985) - The Herz/Kaufman team responsible for late night schlocko UP ALL NIGHT movies scored a minor miracle with this spoof of super heroes, monster movies, and man’s failure to care for the environment. A loser falls into a toxic waster dumpster and is transformed into a likable Hulk! H & K provided the outline but a New York A.C., Joe Ritter, wrote the screenplay. Three Sequels followed. A Director’s cut of the original t is available on video.

"King of the Hill" (1993) - Steve brought author, A.E. Hochner’s memoir about growing up poor, hungry and bright during the Great Depression when people did what they could to hold the family together and economics tore them apart. This wasn’t a big hit. I can only guess that Soderbergh put his money into the amazing period detail instead of the pocket of a star.