History Film / ErinBrockovich

Erin Brockovich 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 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. 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").

Erin Brockovich 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 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. 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.

** [[http://www.salon.com/2000/04/14/sharp/ And the real-life Brockovich.]]

* BittersweetEnding: A meta-example that borders on DownerEnding. The movie ends at Erin successfully suing PG&E. But what wasn't shown was Brockovich being [[HeWhoFightsMonsters just as bad as PG&E]], as she and her firm withheld the money that should've gone to the residents of Hinkley for months getting big bonuses as people were still sick or dying. Along with people getting seemingly random amounts of money, Brockovich managed to cross the MoralEventHorizon by taking a 1/3 of cancer-stricken children's settlements, despite the fact that it's frowned upon to take more than 25%. And she's immortalized through an Academy Award winning movie, arguably making her a real life example of a KarmaHoudini.

** [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19564_6-based-true-story-movies-with-unpleasant-epilogues.html And the real-life Brockovich.]]

** The real Brockovich and her team of lawyers was also less than above-board in how they distributed funds to the Hinkley residents (see [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19564_6-based-true-story-movies-with-unpleasant-epilogues.html here]]).

* BittersweetEnding: A meta-example that borders on DownerEnding. The movie ends at Erin successfully suing PG&E. But what wasn't shown was Brockovich being [[BlackAndGreyMorality just as bad as PG&E]], as she and her firm withheld the money that should've gone to the residents of Hinkley for months getting big bonuses as people were still sick or dying. Along with people getting seemingly random amounts of money, Brockovich managed to cross the MoralEventHorizon by taking a 1/3 of cancer-stricken children's settlements, despite the fact that it's frowned upon to take more than 25%. And she's immortalized through an Academy Award winning movie, arguably making her a real life example of a KarmaHoudini.

''Erin Brockovich'' is a 2000 film directed by Creator/StevenSoderbergh and starring JuliaRoberts in the title role.

The film was nominated for five Oscars, but won only one: JuliaRoberts' only Oscar win for Best Actress. AFI lauded Erin as one of its "Heroes" (#31), and the film as one its most inspirational (#73).

Erin Brockovich 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 gets her lawyer to take her on as a legal assistant. While everyone else is very professional, Brockovich dresses rather 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. 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.

Erin Brockovich 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 gets her lawyer to take her on as a legal assistant. While everyone else is very professional, Brockovich dresses rather 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. 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.

* DirtyOldMan: Erin thinks a old guy who keeps lurking around is one of these. Although he does express some interest in her, it turns out he was just working up the nerve to tell her some sensitive information.

** As well as the guy representing the doctor who hit Erin's car and injured her, trying to make her look like a money-grubbing liar.

The film was nominated for five Oscars, but won only one: JuliaRoberts' only Oscar win for Best Actress.

** And the real-life Brockovich.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: While the court battle itself happened, there's not actually been any strong correlation shown between hexavalent chromium in water and cancer, and especially not the exceptionally wide array of cancers this film suggests. There's an interesting, but very different, story about underhanded industry lawyers hiring gumshoes to illegally invade the privacy of common citizens versus a pair of lawyers with an uncomfortably close relationship to the arbitration judge.

* HotMom: Erin

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: 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.

* HappilyMarried: Some deleted scenes establish Ed and his never-seen wife as this.

* DisappearedDad: Erin's two ex's. Paired with DeadbeatDad also, as it's implied that she's receiving no financial help from either of them.

** The real Brockovich was also less than above-board in how they distributed funds to the Hinkley residents (see [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19564_6-based-true-story-movies-with-unpleasant-epilogues.html here]]).