Intermission: 'Erin Brokovich|quot| worth viewing despite clichés

"Erin Brockovich"

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart

Rated: R

My dog-eared, trusted copy of "Webster's New World Dictionary" defines "ambivalence" as "simultaneous conflicting feelings toward a person or thing." That's a fairly apt description of my reaction to Steven Soderbergh's latest film, "Erin Brockovich."

There are many things to love in the film: It's a compelling true story, the acting is fine, and Soderbergh even manages to chip away at a few Hollywood stereotypes. On the other hand, the director seems all too willing to embrace a number of movie clichs, and content that "Erin Brockovich" becomes just another "David and Goliath" tale.

When the film is good, it's very good, and when it's bad, one begins to notice that the whole is somewhat less than the sum of its parts. Occasionally the dialogue is laughable, and while I'm sure a great part of the population will never tire of looking at Julia Robert's cleavage and backside, the gimmick gets a little distracting after a while.

On the up side, Roberts (tight skirts and plunging necklines aside) has never been better and Soderbergh (who directed "sex, lies and videotape," "Out of Sight" and last year's criminally underseen "The Limey") shows again that he's a director who can change styles without losing the personal touches that give him his unique signature.

Roberts, in the title role, is an unemployed, twice divorced mother of three young children. While looking for a job, she's involved in a car wreck. Her attorney, Ed Masry (Albert Finney), loses her case but soon finds Brockovich at the door of his law practice demanding a job. Despite her uncensored mouth and the fact that she dresses like someone who saw "Pretty Woman" too many times, Masry hires her as an office clerk.

Erin discovers that the huge power company, Pacific Gas and Electric, appears to be covering something up and buying off folks who might be in line for a class-action lawsuit.

Investigation shows a great number of the residents of Hinkley, Calif., are afflicted by a myriad of diseases caused by exposure to hexavalent chromium, a substance that PG&E claims it was not using at its Hinkley plant.

As Erin digs deeper into the case, she finds herself spending less time with her kids. Throughout the setup we come to know with certainty that this woman is a good mom and wants only the best for the kids. Taking on the role of nanny and boyfriend is a biker guy named George, played by Aaron Eckhart. It's with this character that Soderbergh plays with stereotypes the most.

When we first meet George he appears to be the same old sort of motorcycle dude with raucous behavior, wild friends and ramblin' on his mind. Despite one of his tattoos that says "Dirty," we find out that at heart, George is a sweet homebody that really enjoys kids and family life. It's Erin here who fills the role usually reserved for workaholic men: She begins putting her family on the back burner to concentrate on her career.

Despite its clichs, Soderbergh infuses a number of scenes with humor and warmth, and Eckhart alone is worth the price of a ticket. Pay note to the waitress at the diner Roberts takes the kids to. Her nametag reads "Julia." She is, in fact, the real life Erin Brockovich, who is still pursuing lawsuits against corporate giants.

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)