Review: Julia Roberts dazzling in 'Erin Brockovich'

March 16, 2000
Web posted at: 11:49 a.m. EST (1649 GMT)

By Reviewer Paul Clinton

Julia Roberts' star has shone brightly since the Smyrna, Georgia, native first exploded on the scene at age 22 in 1990's "Pretty Woman." She's had her hits -- "My Best Friend's Wedding" (1997). She's also had her misses -- "Mary Reilly" (1996). Regardless, Roberts' winning smile and saucy attitude made her an international star and the goddess of romantic comedies.

She makes $20 million per picture, and has recently been named by Forbes Magazine as the most powerful person on the planet in the entertainment industry.

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Theatrical preview for "Erin Brockovich" Windows Media 28K 80K

Roberts is beloved by millions, but that doesn't necessarily translate in being a great actress. However, over the last decade, we've watched the neophyte performer grow; now, 21 feature films after "Pretty Woman," Roberts has stepped into the spiked heels of "Erin Brockovich." With them, she's strolled into the upper ranks of America's finest actresses.

Under the direction of Steven Soderbergh, Roberts showcases her formidable comedic timing -- accompanied, this time, in a tour-de-force dramatic performance. The combination is a thing of beauty. "Erin Brockovich" has cast Roberts in a whole new light.

In the spirit of other films named for female title characters -- "Norma Rae" (1979) and "Silkwood" (1983) spring to mind -- "Erin Brockovich" is based on the real-life story of a woman who overcomes amazing obstacles to expose a huge injustice.

A clerk makes a discovery

In the early 1990's, Brockovich was a single mom who favored cleavage-baring, flashy outfits and the liberal use of the F-word. Working as a legal file clerk in a small California town, she discovered medical records in a real estate file. Brockovich, under educated but very bright, became suspicious. After some research, she learned that a major utility company was poisoning a town's water system with toxic waste.

In the film, the lawyer for whom she is working, Ed Masry (played to perfection by Albert Finney), enters the action. The result is a crusade that ends with a class-action lawsuit involving hundreds of millions of dollars, the biggest in United States history.

Sounds rather cut and dried, doesn't it? Think again.

The casting is excellent. Every role, right down to the lowest extra, is perfectly filled. The script by Susannah Grant has spun a web of words that hits all the emotional buttons, from laughter to tears, from jeers to cheers. Then it adds the talents of Roberts, Finney and Soderberg, and the mix is complete. "Erin Brockovich" becomes a completly involving movie that will grab you from the first frame of film to the closing credits.

There is one other major contributor to this film that must be recognized: Roberts' industrial-strength push-up bra. In keeping with the spirit of her character's fashion choices, the actress wears an undergarment that brings to mind images of Anna Nicole Smith or Pamela Lee Anderson (before she took out the silicone).

Bountiful use of assets

The title character knows how to use her assets, too. In a scene where she plans on talking her way past a young man working at a local water board's file room, she's asked by Finney's character, "Why do you think you can just waltz in there and get what you want?"

Her reply? "They're called boobs, Ed."

In fact, Roberts' entire wardrobe resembles the flashy, too-tight outfits favored by Ivana Trump -- if Trump shopped at the Salvation Army. They are complemented by parking-deck-tall shoes Roberts teeters on throughout the film. Red, purple, clear plastic, mostly backless, with killer nine-inch heels, these shoes would make even Imelda Marcos pause.

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It all works. This docudrama is deeply engaging and satisfying.

"Erin Brockovich" is mainstream filmmaking at its best, with a satisfying twist: Look for the real Brockovich in a restaurant scene where she wears a nametag that says "Julia." The real Ed Masry is sitting in the next booth in the same scene.

Hollywood is under attack for taking too much creative license with the truth in such based-on-real-life films as "Hurricane," which stars Academy Award nominee Denzel Washington in the title role of a man wrongly imprisoned for murder. The same criticisms have been leveled at "The Insider" which depicts the story of real-life tobacco industry whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand.

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By contrast, "Erin Brockovich" is getting high praise for its authenticity. Many of the people portrayed in the film say they are satisfied with the final results, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Academy voters, while you're contemplating who should be best actress for 1999, take time to see "Erin Brockovich." Place Roberts on your short list for next year's deliberations.

"Erin Brockovich" opens nationwide on March 17 and is rated R (mainly for adult language) with a running time of 131 minutes.

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Official 'Erin Brockovitch' site
Universal Pictures

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