History Film / ErinBrockovich

* ItsPersonal: Charles finally gets up the nerve to share what he knows with Erin after his cousin dies of multiple cancers, contracted while he worked on the holding ponds at the Hinkley plant.

* ActorISTheTitleCharacter

* BreakThemByTalking: Averted. The young mail clerk sent by PG&E to offer a measly $250,000 to one family tries to impress on Ed how hopeless his CrusadingLawyer actions will be as PG&E is worth $28 Billion dollars. Ed guffaws awe at this before exploding in the office with Erin at how insulting the offer was.

* FallenOnHardTimesJob: Ed Masrey's law practice is portrayed as a small-time study in diminished expectations.

* LadySwearsalot: Erin. The real Erin Brockovich admits on her website that this part of her portrayal is accurate: "Yes, I had a potty mouth in the movie and I still do."

Erin Brockovich (Roberts) is a single mother without a job and with thousands of dollars in hospital bills from a car accident she was in (and unsuccessfully sued the other driver to pay). Desperate, she persuades her lawyer Edward L. Masry (Creator/AlbertFinney) to take her on as a legal assistant. While everyone else is very professional, Brockovich dresses trashily and is rather crude. Then one day, she begins to investigate the Pacific Gas & Electric Company and discovers they're dumping toxic waste into the water supply of Hinkley, California (about 125 miles northwest of Los Angeles by Interstate). By using her... [[IHaveBoobsYouMustObey considerable assets]]... she begins a legal battle that would end up the largest class action lawsuit in American history. Yes, this is BasedOnATrueStory, and Erin Brockovich is a real woman. She gets a cameo as a waitress in a GreasySpoon restaurant (and, in a cute little bit of irony, her name tag reads "Julia").

* ForegoneConclusion: Anyone who is familiar with Brockovich's story will know that her lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric will be successful.

** Judge Le Roy A. Simmons, is the actual judge that presided over the arbitration pre-trial hearing scene, came out of retirement to cameo as himself and gave the same decision.

* WhamShot: Erin's $2 million check.

** Brockovich. The movie portrays her as a tireless activist purely because it's The Right Thing To Do. It leaves out the fact that she was after a ''very sizable'' cut of the settlement as well and made millions of dollars that way... or at the least, it portrays this as a "happy side effect".

* OhCrap: Donna Jensen realizing her kids are swimming in contaminated water that was contaminated by PG&E.

* RealPersonCameo: The real Erin Brockovich plays a waitress (lampshaded, as the waitress's name tag is "Julia R.").
** Judge Le Roy A. Simmons, is the actual judge during the arbitration pre-trial hearing scene, came out of retirement to cameo as himself and gave the same decision.

* TheNotLoveInterest: Erin and Ed.
* OhCrap: Donna Jensen realizing her kids are swimming in contaminated water.

* OscarBait

* RagsToRiches: Erin goes from having $16 in her bank account to landing a steady job, getting raise after raise, a $5,000 bonus plus a new car, and finally, a $2 million check. The citizens of Hinkley count too. Although the way the PG&E settlement money was distributed is not known, it's likely that they're all better off financially then they were before.

* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: "They're called boobs, Ed."

* RaceLift: The RealLife man on whom George is based is Mexican-American.

* WhamLine: "Would it be important if, when I worked at the plant, I destroyed documents?"

* FallenOnHardTimesJob: Albert Finney's law practice is portrayed as a small-time study in diminished expectations.
* ForegoneConclusion: Anyone who is familiar with Brockovich's history will know that her lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric will be successful.