Star power, snappy 1-liners, "T&A", & the hassles of poor, single Moms meet "A Civil Action"

Rating: Null/10 (20 March 2000)

Inevitably, EB will be compared to "A Civil Action" since it's based on true David v. Goliath stories; one (of several) is of a small law firm taking on a giant corporation over an issue of toxic waste -- and winning. But the movie gives a little less than that in some ways and a great deal more in others.
The courtroom side and many of the legal machinations are less emphasized and of more prominence we see: (1) the battle for respect between the lawyer (Masry/Finney) and the single Mom (EB/Roberts), (2) the difficulties of being a poor single Mom (or her kids) (3) the struggle to balance the present needs of children against what performance in this job could do for their future, (4) if children are to be adequately cared for, who's the SOMEone who makes what sacrifice, (5) the battle between being one's self (even if unconventional) vs. what the corporate world demands, (6) the conflict between responsibility to one's family vs. responsibility for the plight of others, (7) how much should we get involved with fighting the system?
All worthwhile themes to explore.
For some of us, it might have been a better movie if the EB character was played by a star less prominent than Roberts. While it's her best job and most complex role so far (in her view, mine, and many others), I never lost the feeling of watching JR, the star, play this part (at least not in the way I do when seeing Robert Duvall, or Daniel Day-Lewis, -- but that asks too much). And I suspect that her millions of fans wouldn't want to lose that much sight of her. So, fortunately, this movie -- showing so much of JR's T&A and laced with zingy repartee -- will draw in far more people and get millions more thinking about some really worthwhile issues than with any other actor in the EB role, no matter how good they might have been.
The film does make some into caricatures as short cuts (e.g., a suited female attorney) but no one expects accurate characterizations of _all_ dramatis persona (after all, even The Bard used buffoons for spice). Finney is superb opposite JR and the interplay between the two is great. All the supporting roles are well-cast and played -- JR's biker boyfriend is especially good.
While it's easy to see PG&E as an "evil empire," I found myself thinking (1) isn't it fortunate we have such a well-developed legal system in the US? Similar things happen in Russia, or perhaps Indonesia or Mexico, e.g., and what recourse do people have? And (2) will this movie inspire those of us who work for the PG&Es of this world to thread our way between the demands of our personal security, on the one hand (to not jeopardize our promotion, retirement, mortgages, paying for our kids' college, the profit of PG&E's shareholders, etc.) vs. doing right by the people our own PG&E might have injured on the other hand?
I hope so -- wouldn't that be great?