IMDB Rating: 7.20, 33948 votes |
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Erin Brockovich is an unemployed single mother, desperate to find a job, but is having no luck. This losing streak even extends to a failed lawsuit against a doctor in a car accident she was in. With no alternative, she successfully browbeats her lawyer to give her a job in compensation for the loss. While no one takes her seriously, with her trashy clothes and earthy manners, that soon changes when she begins to investigate a suspicious real estate case involving the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. What she discovers is that the company is trying quietly to buy land that was contaminated by hexavalent chromium, a deadly toxic waste that the company is improperly and illegally dumping and, in turn, poisoning the residents in the area. As she digs deeper, Erin finds herself leading point in a series of events that would involve her lawfirm in one of the biggest class action lawsuits in American history against a multi-billion dollar corporation.Actors
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32 Comments
Bad editing and script ruin Julia Roberts’s charming performance
I didn’t care about the story or characters…
And the visuals were very lame considering this was a Soderbergh film.
Worth seeing
Plot: 8
Originality: 5
Visuals: 6
Acting: 9
Overall: 7
Julia Roberts is the queen of the world!
"Erin Brockovich" was one of the better movies of 2000, and deservedly received its Best Picture nomination. It’s hilariously funny (she fires off one-liners like you wouldn’t believe), amazingly quotable ("Bite my ass crispy cream"), and touchingly serious (when you see how she’s affected these people’s lives). The acting is some of the best I’ve ever seen (made evident by her Best Actress win), the script is one of the most clever I’ve ever read (those quick zingers resulted in a Best Original Screenplay nomination), and the entire film just flows from start to finish. Outstanding in more ways than one.
Really Good
I thought this movie was great, I felt the story and it felt "real" I would reccommend this to anyone. It’s worth checking out and Julia Roberts is outstanding.
i liked it. i liked her. i liked that it came across as real.
Julia was great in this
I was really suprizerd i liked it.
Julia Roberts does a great job, A must see.
julia roberts is great
Cool, Julia Roberts is awesome at acting.
Good Movie
That SMILE…
That smile…
Many men can be tempted to see a Julia Roberts flick, even if it is a guaranteed "chick flick" like Runaway Bride and Notting Hill. And why do they go to see the film princess of the last decade? Because of THE smile.
In Erin Brockovich, however, Julia turns over a new leaf. The film that originally made headlines for paying Roberts $20 million dollars to star (the top number ever for an actress) is now making headlines for a definitie Oscar nomination for Roberts, and a probably Oscar win.
Under the direction of Steven Soderbergh, who is having a banner year in 2000, Roberts trades the smile in (well, we do see it from time to time) for a foul mouth. That’s right, the woman who you’ve grown to love in My Best Friend’s Wedding, Notting Hill and Runaway Bride sports a potty mouth in Erin Brockovich. The irony is that you’ll be sporting your own smile by the time this film is over.
Julia Roberts plays Erin Brockovich, a frank woman who comes to work at a law office during her frantic search for a job. Erin comes to meet her new boss, Ed Masry (Albert Finney), after a car accident that nets Erin no money. Erin comes across one case that catches her attention, and she investigates it further. Soon enough, the case balloons into a $30 million dollar lawsuit.
With Erin Brockovich, Steven Soderbergh continues his slow rise to stardom. With Brockovich, however, Soderbergh is hardly reinventing cinema. In fact, most directors out there (including CN’s much-maligned Mimi Leder) could have helmed this and it would have been a pretty good flick. Soderbergh’s subtle touches, however, make it a great film. The film is shot very lightly, with no vivid colors. This style gives the film a very laid-back attitude. One of the major problems with true stories (which this is) is that if the story takes itself too seriously, the film is doomed. Soderbergh avoids this, and with it, puts together one of the best films of 2000.
While Albert Finney and Aaron Eckhart provide solid support in Erin Brockovich, this is clearly Julia Roberts’ film. Soderbergh adds his subtle touches to the film, as stated above, but without Roberts, he is back to the drawing board. Roberts has drawn critical praise and Oscar buzz for her performance as the spunky Brockovich, and rightfully so. I have not seen a performance this inspired, touching and energetic in quite a few years. Roberts radiates in Brockovich, even if her trademark smile is not as prevelant as in the past.
At the end of Erin Brockovich, you cannot help but feel inspired. The ending is a tad cheeky, but with such a great 125 minutes preceeding it, you can take the ending in stride.
Just make sure you SMILE.
Soderbergh rocks.
This flick is better than Traffic, but because it’s more mainstream won’t get as much street cred from the cinerati in the press and at the water coolers.
It’s a great movie, and everybody involved does a fantastic job. Nice to see Marg Helgenberger still getting work, although I see she’s graduated to mother roles.
Check out the seemingly seamless opening shot where Julia Roberts gets into her car and drives away. It looks like there are no cuts. Sounds boring as I describe it here, but that’s for your own good campers. See the movie to unigma the enigma.
Rock-solid screenplay, fascinating plot with lots of details to pay attention to, realistic cinematography that still makes Julia beautiful (and she can be ugly, you know), great acting all around, and just the best attitude I’ve seen in a film so far this year. It’s inspiring and ennervating. Go see this wonderful movie.
Well done.
Good story . . .
Julia Roberts as the character, Erin Brockovich - OK. Julia Roberts as a Mom - a stretch.
Erin Brockovich was one of the best movies ever. Not only is it based on a true story but it was very funny. Julia Roberts did an excellent job. Even though there was a lot of swearing it was still very good. Aaron Eckhart who played George did an excellent job also. I would definetely recommend this movie. Just not for kids under 13.
one of Julia Robert’s best in my opinion!
Absolutely amazing. Julia was perfect. The movie is a must to see.
A great little story with a great actress..makes you think about what you can do
Julia Roberts - simply outstanding… take her out and nothing is left
Julia Roberts at her best.
Watch it! she bites!
Well, what to say.
A movie that’s not only very smart and based on a true story, but is really fun too.
With snappy comments that really sinks into the bone and a charisma that could make the sun blind, it moves the everyday person (especially women).
This Movie has already market a spot in the classical corner.
What Erin is doing is probably what every woman want’s to do, but don’t have to nerves to do it.
I strongly recommend this movie, it’s really something else.
Inches from a 10!
OK but not great
A real life, real power movie–finally!
Finally, a movie that depicts a strong, intellectual woman in everyday circumstances. I am a single mother, and the way reality is shown is so truthful. This movie gave me the feel of Thelma and Louise, but even better, it is a true story.
Drama, yes- boring, No! Julia delivers an awesome performance!
What a good show- and to think it’s based on a true story! I won’t go into telling you much about the film, as Faust667 has all but given it away already. But it is indeed a good show, and unexpectedly surprising and refreshingly different from the same-old genre of late. And yes, there is plenty of Julia’s cleavage to go around for your average male - but don’t let that be your sole motivator for seeing this film. She does a wonderful job as Brokovich, and likewise Albert Finney does as the [levelheaded] Ed Masry. Full of real-person comedy, this show has several lines you may just want to steal and use for yourself. : )
this movie has much more than just Julia Robert’s cleavage
i know one of the biggest selling points of this movie is the fact that it shows off Julia Robert’s cleavage. the trailers show her breasts as the only supporting cast. and i know it may look like that is much the case when you look at the ratings and who’s rating the movie (all men as of now and all good marks for the movie), but it is a pretty damn cool movie. not really the plot so much, but more the smart-ass lines. it’s very cool and very funny.
Julia Roberts gives her best performance in this realistic bind of work and life
ERIN KICKS MAJOR CORPORATE BUTT!
There is no other female star as watchable as Julia Roberts - no matter what film she is in, she is indeed the sparkling star we can’t take our eyes off. She sometimes makes good films ("Notting Hill," "My Best Friend’s Wedding") and rotten films ("Runaway Bride," "Sleeping With the Enemy"). Count her latest "Erin Brockovich" as one of her best, a conventional but unquestionably spirited and entertaining romp showcasing Julia’s qualities to full flowering effect. She burns on screen with such radiance, beauty and toughness that the film will leave you beaming in phosphorescent delight.
Julia stars as Erin Brockovich, a real-life crusader who went against all odds and came back as a winner of justice. At the beginning of the film, Erin is desperately trying to get a job and uses her persuasive, feminine skills to get one (she fakes resumes to obtain interviews). She fails, ends up in a car accident, and gets a lawyer (Albert Finney) who fails to get her compensation for her neck brace. Erin is so overwhelmed with anger that she confronts the lawyer, Ed Masry, and convinces him to give her a job in his shabby L.A. office. She is after all a divorced, single mom with starving kids, but her attitude and flashy clothes, not to mention excessive cleavage, causes her fellow employees to take notice. After sifting through a pro bono case involving the company Pacific Gas & Electric in a nearby town named Hinkley, Erin discovers that deposits of a lethal substance called chromium had been placed in the water causing various tumors and other afflictions in the townspeople. She investigates and questions the townsfolk, and before you know it, she is knee deep in the water literally pulling a dead frog out as evidence.
Erin’s personal life has its ups and downs. She reluctantly has a babysitter named George (Aaron Eckhart from "In the Company of Men"), a biker with multiple tattoos, a bandana and a big grin, but he is also a very nice guy and falls in love with Erin - the character is refreshingly cliche free of what we expect to see from hardcore bikers. After a while, George becomes the caretaker rather than the boyfriend since Erin is on her endless adventurous crusade against PG&E. Will Erin realize that her work is less important than her family, or will she fight to the bitter end and lose the multi-million dollar court case? This may be the stuff of a Lifetime TV drama, and I only wish that writer Susannah Grant devoted a little more attention to this inevitably fractured relationship. There is an uneasy balance between Erin’s case and her home life, especially since George almost disappears from the story.
What makes "Erin Brockovich" special is Julia, and she cuts a dazzling figure out of this character. She is tough, funny, sexy, charming, rude, obnoxious, warm, caring, tender, flirtatious - my goodness, what a delight to see such a real, intoxicating woman on screen for once! Julia disappears into the role so well that we forget it is Julia, the movie star. For the first time in years, Julia acts with tremendous, dramatic force.
Albert Finney is also pleasurably engaging as the haggard Masry, and his double-take reactions to Erin’s behavior and inappropriate language are priceless. Another miraculous performance is by Marg Helgenberger as Mrs. Jensen, one of the Hinkley townspeople afflicted with cancer - her porch scene with Julia is as moving as one can expect.
Director Steven Soderbergh, known for nonlinear puzzles like "The Limey" and "Schizopolis," effectively taps into Julia’s high-wire act to keep things afloat. If the screenplay took more chances with such a conventional storyline, it might have been a more winning character study. As is, Soderbergh allows for some occasional jump cuts during Erin’s frantic moods, and a burnished glow to the desert scenes in L.A. that makes one feel the heat and humidity. And Julia creates an inspiring character - an uneducated, strong, honest woman who used her brains and beauty to uncover corruption and to save people whom she cared about. Inspiring indeed.
Great acting/ OK Movie
More than meets the eye…
I saw a free showing of this movie, and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was more than just movie featuring Julia Robert’s breast, but it showcased (once again) her talents at taking a non-romantic comedy film and making it work for her.
I have to say that I missed parts of the dialogue because the audience was laughing so loudly at times that it was impossible to know what was going on…
Oh, well…
I think that you will like this movie even if you are not a Julia fan. I know that I am not but I really like this one…