2000
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Written by Susannah Grant
Starring Julia Roberts
With Aaron Eckhart, Albert Finney and Marg Helgenberger
Some movies age well--others beg the question, "Why was this successful?" Erin Brockovich rests in the latter category. Feel-good movies are a tough genre to begin with, ones based on real-world situations are even more difficult. The sentimentality and satisfying conclusion required often turn feel-good movies into exercises in false endings; one is to believe that depressing and sad circumstances can be resolved by the final 15 minutes, usually accompanied by swelling music and tables-turning justice. David has to beat Goliath for these films to work--putting these films into the context of reality makes this an even more difficult task, as Goliath (in the films case, a giant corporation) is what continues to succeed in the real world. So, of course, Erin Brockovich takes liberty with the real world situation it portrays: the real Erin is a rather toxic woman, the real victims portrayed in the film aren't as grateful in the real world, and corporations continue to poison local towns, regardless of the extensive payouts at the close of the movie. All this aside, the film is a vehicle for a star who learned a long time ago that no one enjoys watching her act like anything other than the goofy smiling quirky beauty. (Witness Mary Reilly to see the last time Julia Roberts attempted being "unpredictable" or "creative.") That's not a nasty criticism, plenty of today's film celebrities aren't welcomed by American viewers when they perform outside of their comfort zone. A big reason for Julia Roberts Academy win for Erin most likely comes about for her copious use of cursing in the film--watching the Pretty Woman star throw out four letter words is as exciting as when Tom Cruise later did the same in Magnolia, as if no one anticipated that these people could perform unlikeable characters so well--of course, in their case, unlikeable means "still pretty likable." After six years though, Roberts, like Cruise, have so far reverted to their former genre performances that Brockovich seems less like a risky turn, and more like a woman showcasing her now complete unwillingness to explore the world of acting. In Steven Soderbergh's case, Erin Brockovich came so close on the heels of the brilliant Traffic that, at the time, this sudsy turn into melodramatic Lifetime style story seemed acceptable; he had, after all, made one of the most darkly experimental and cynical American films in recent memory, if anybody was allowed a vacation from work, it was him. Taking Erin Brockovich out of context of the time in which it was released, it seems like a waste of a filmmaker--although it contains brilliant touches of dusty cinematography, Erin Brockovich is such a knee-jerk portrayal of un-realistic "American values" that the film could've been directed by any of the hacks who handled the filming of the NBC's former TGIF lineup. Of course, then the film would've been forgotten by now, relegated alongside K-Pax, A Civil Action, and My Stepmom's Best Friends Wedding as "one of those feel-good pieces of garbage that my girlfriend made me watch."
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