Erin Brockovich - dull on paper, great on screen

COUCH POTATO PICKINGS

On Five tonight at 9pm

Erin is a gutsy single mother who talks her way into a secretarial job at a law firm. Once there, she becomes interested in a lawsuit involving a large utility company being blamed for water contamination. Determined to get to the truth, Erin decides to investigate the case herself.

This hardly sounds like the stuff of a great movie does it?

But, this film has two things going for it:

1)    It's based on a true story. Judging by the amount of reality TV shows in the weekly TV listings and the fact that there are entire channels devoted to fact-based movies, one could confidently say that real people and fact-based tales get the public's juices flowing. Read about Erin Brockovich's true story here on her website, and make sure to watch out for her when watching the movie - she has a cameo appearance in the film as a waitress named Julia.

2) This film stars Julia Roberts. Thanks to Robert’s Oscar-winning performance, (and her big name) this small-town story is now known all over the world.

Many people argue that Albert Finney (as lawyer Edward L Masry) out-acts Roberts in this film. What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imxq5UzHs4c&fs=1