As a movie, Erin Brockovitch is not at all interesting, but it is fascinating to note the reception to it. I can think of few other films that were as popular as this in its time, both among critics and audiences, that have now plunged with both. Why was this completely generic movie so popular?
I think it mostly had to do with the odd turn of the century personality cult of Julia Roberts, who was at the time at the apex of her popularity. Roberts is not a bad actress, and I've never seen a her give a poor performance, but she's not particularly versatile either, playing variations on the same character in each movie, which also happens to be her persona to the public (whether that sweet, down-to-earth image she projects is accurate I have no way of knowing). And for some reason, that character meant a lot to a lot of people. The cover of Time magazine in 2001 proclaimed her "America's best movie star", whatever that means, and I can fondly remember a conversation I had with my high school English teacher around the time of the 2000 Academy Awards. She told me that she hoped that Roberts would win for her performance in Erin Brockovitch. I asked if she really thought Roberts gave a better performance than the other nominees, which included Joan Allen, Julliette Binoche, Ellen Burstyn and Laura Linney. "No", she conceded, "but I want her to win. Sentimental favorite". She was too cute to lose.
And it's that cuteness that's the final nail in the coffin that is Erin Brockovitch. This is a movie that is virtually a cliché from beginning to end-"based on a true story", the titles tell us, it follows Erin as she convinces Ed (Albert Finney) the head of a law firm, to give her a job in a spectacularly unconvincing way, and then investigates claims that a water plant deliberately put a harmful chemical in the water. Erin alienates almost everyone at the office except Ed by dressing suggestively and acting rudely, but manages to make the water pollutions victims feel at ease. She also enters a relationship with a biker guy named George (Aaron Eckert) who is really good with kids and has a heart of gold.
Roger Ebert once stated that if a movie makes a big deal about being based on a true story, it's usually a sign that the filmmakers are using to a cheap tactic to get away with implausible material, and that's certainly true here. I know that there is a real Erin Brockovitch who did indeed play a part in this case (although some have argued that her part was much smaller than she and the movie would want us to believe) and that she did dress suggestively. I haven't done much research into this, but I didn't believe the scene where Ed hires Erin, where Ed rehires Erin, or virtually any scene between Erin and the biker, or the endless scenes in the film where she gets her way and gets people to like her with an impassioned but cute speech laced with profanity.
What is also hard to believe is that the film is directed by Stephen Soderbergh. There are few directors whose films I have such varying opinions on. He's made at least one masterpiece, Bubble, and he's also made on of the worst films I've ever seen by a major director (Full Frontal), and lots of shades in between. Although the experience of watching Erin Brockovitch is better than Full Frontal, in retrospect, it can be considered to be worse. Frontal was horrifically self-indulgent, yes, but it was at least an honest attempt. This movie is so by the numbers and average it seems like the director was merely cashing a paycheck and not even trying to make a good movie.
And as I said earlier, Robert's performances sinks the last chance the movie had at being something different. Maybe if Soderbergh had cast someone who could play a character who might actually be a bitch or unlikable (such as Jennifer Tilly) the movie might have been made interesting in parts. But it's too easy for the audience to root for Roberts, because the meanness everyone shows her is either unmotived or over the top, even when she's been rude or irresponsible. Why this movie caught on in such a big way in 2000 is beyond me (not only did Roberts win an Oscar, it was unbelievably nominated for Best Picture, as well as making big bucks). But time has shown the movie to be the empty exercise in formula that it is.
A few years ago, my mother bought this movie on VHS, and I watched the beginning, and uninterested, turned it off after a few minuets. Watching the film all the way though, I am sure I made the right choice the first time.
Erin Brockovich (2000)