"You Go Girl"

Rating: 3/10 (11 June 2000)

Erin Brockovich - single mom, sexy, unscrupulous - the classic 90s hero (let's face it, this movie is definitely in the 90s genre of feminist films). What is this film really about? On the surface, it's about a courageous woman who stands up to a large corporation in defense of some three hundred clients who she cares for very much. How touching. But what is it really about? This conventional film was trying to show that justice can and should be brought about in unconventional ways. Nothing wrong with that, right? Of course not. That's what heroism is about - doing that which is extraordinary to achieve good ends. But what exactly was the extraordinary thing that she did? Was it the fact that she used her body as an object? Or was it that she sacrificed precious time with her already-neglected children? Or was it her rude and often dehumanizing way of interacting with other people? What kind of hero is this?

Erin Brockovich may have achieved heroic ends, but did they justify the deceitful, cruel, and unseemly means? The answer is not for me to say, but rather for the viewer to think about.