Reel News - Erin Brockovich

by Esmerelda Quackenbush

Erin Brockovich is one of those feel good movies. It is the true story of a former beauty queen taking on a corporate giant. Starring Julia Roberts, as a single mother of three, in the title role. The legendary actor Albert Finney plays her lawyer and then boss. The movie leads you through the story of a woman who by accident happens upon Pacific Gas and Electric's attempt to avoid blame for a family getting ill. As she asks Mrs. Jensen, (played flawlessly by Marg Helgenberger) why her medical records were in the legal file of her real estate case, she learns the utility paid for her family's doctor's visits, this begins the journey through a case that made legal history. When Brockovich goes off to examine the weirdness of the happenings around this case, she comes back only to find she has been fired; Finney tells her it is because they believe she has just been gone for a week off having a good time.

When a phone call from a toxicologist at the university comes into the office, you see Finney knocking at her door asking for answers. She tells him, "first I want my job back, with a 10% raise AND benefits."

This movie is sharp and smart, with dialogue so funny you can lose your breath. The interaction between Roberts and Finney is beyond funny. When he asks her just how she intends to get these water analysis documents, which have a way of disappearing when people seem interested, she looks sideways at him and replies, "they're called boobs, Ed".

The rest of the cast was just as well done. Her fight for some respect in the firm is hit hard by one of the secretaries, and their banter is one that we all wish we could have gotten away with at some job or another. You want to cheer as she takes on the staid legal dept of P G & E, her colorful language shocking them and making them speechless.

This movie was an unexpected surprise. I expected it to be okay, with some cute parts and some witty banter. I was not expecting a well-written movie with a message. We walked out giggling and yes, for those who think it is important...Roberts' hemline nearly met her neckline in every outfit she wore.