Once a Beauty Queen and at the top of her world, Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) is now out of work and mother of three young children from two failed marriages. And things just got worse.

An ER doctor ploughs through a red light and rips Erin's fender right off with his Jaguar. The thing is, nobody believes an unemployed mother of three without vehicle insurance over a reputed doctor in a fancy car. Now, out of work and $17,000 in debt, Erin seeks the help of Ed Masry (Albert Finney), an ageing, small-time attorney to fight this civil injustice.

Erin's uncontrolled temper and language in court loses her case. However, through this she has the opportunity to meet one of the sweetest, kindest and most understanding yet scruffy men in her life. Ed Masry, her attorney. Out of luck and out of money, she practically begged Ed for a job in his already full office so she could feed her family.

As luck would have it, Erin stumbles upon an unopened real estate file which, curiously, held blood samples and medical reports amongst other things. With Ed's permission, she digs deeper and does research into what is uncovered as PG&E's dark secrets, cover-ups and lies. Within the small community of Hinkley, the incidence of cancer and illnesses related to 'hexavalent chromium' exposure are so pronounced that the only explanation would be a leak of the highly toxic and carcinogenic chemical from the holding pools of PG&E's plant close by, into the soil, water and food of this small, simple community.

In the search for answers, Erin's charm and friendliness for 'normal folk' became well known as she gained the trust of other residents from Hinckley, past and present to reveal themselves and stories of related illnesses and PG&E's big cover-up.

To this day, the 1996 PG&E settlement with the people of Hinkley is the largest ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in U.S history, at over 300million US Dollars and with over 600 plaintiffs.

America's sweetheart Julia Roberts plays a rather uncouth, foul mouthed lower class society single parent in what is described by many as her best role ever, worthy of an Oscar nomination. Together with Albert Finney, they bring the characters of Erin and Ed to life in what can only be described as a prickly and funny relationship. Aaron Eckhart plays the unenviable small role of George, Erin's roughneck biker neighbour who turns babysitter and later lover and boyfriend. Marg Helgenberger (from the acclaimed China Beach) is Donna Jensen, who's family file was what started the whole suit and who staked one of the largest claims of the $300million total, at just over $5million.

The story line is unwittingly predictable and not unheard of. However, fuelled by the knowledge that this is a docu-drama, in that everything witnessed here happened in real life. and yes, Erin Brockovich is indeed a REAL person, fires the dimensions of this movie into one of awe and respect.

But of course what makes this more than 'just watchable' is the humour, which at times border on hilarious as this raw, untalented and uneducated woman verbally attacks her attorneys. especially those working with her on the same case!

Just as a bonus, if you want to spot the REAL Erin Brockovich, she makes a brief appearance as the waitress taking Julia's and her three kids' orders near the start of the movie.