FU m e .................................................. a B rockovitch Roberts, Albert Finney by Steven Soderbergh is no formulaic, fragile, fine-boned Julia Roberts role. As the title character in this inspiring drama, Roberts proves she can do than flash that megawatt smile. This is a story about an undereducated woman who onto a cause, sets out to save an town full of people and saves her own in the bargain. At first glance, Brockovitch the character off as a classic victim— a twice-divorced with three small kids to raise on her her desperation for a job reveals her grit. After a seedy, down-on-his-luck (brilliantly played by Albert Finney) to win her some money after an auto acci- Brockovitch turns around and demands a from him: “I’m smart, I’m hardworking and do anything— and I’m not leaving here a job.” Then she whispers, “Don’t me beg." Though she has absolutely no apparent to qualify her for work in a law office, Brockovitch does have a self-confidence bom the unexpected richness of the script. Roberts has a ball playing this fast-talking, no-nonsense gal who’ll do just about anything to achieve her goal. As she begins to make progress with the case, her self-esteem grows accordingly. “For the first time in my life I’ve got people respecting me,” she tells George as she tries to make him understand why she can’t quit, even though her kids are suffering from her long hours away from them. This is a complex story, yet Erin Brockovitch conveys the huge scope of its plot in an involv­ ing manner. Roberts’ heartfelt performance as a strong woman of amazonian proportions should win her new respect. It’s scheduled to open March 17 at area theaters. — Oriana Green Party M agic Productions Presents r-re s e rm » Dance Dance Dance with D J . Lauren A Benefit F op Swan House A New Adult Foster Care Home 8erving People With HIV/AID8 Located in Milwaukie, OR April 22, 2000 At The Echo Theater 8 :0 0 p m -l:0 0 a m 1515 8.E. 37th Portland Tickets $10 In Advance $15 At The Door Tickets Available At It's M u Pleasure + In Other W ords This Is A N on-Sm oking Non-Alcohol Event Refreshments Available T he B randon T een a S tory Directed by Susan Muska and G reta Olafsdottir randon Teena— a young biological female who lived mentally, physically and emo­ tionally as a man, and who was brutally raped and murdered along with two other peo­ ple in Nebraska in 1993— has fascinated movie audiences for the past several months through Boys Don't Cry, the excellent 1999 fictionalized film about the incident. But what about the real people involved in this horror story? The documentary The Bran- don Teena Story, released in 1998 to underground and festival acclaim, has recently been made available on videocas­ sette and DVD. Unlike Boys Don’t Cry, which portrayed Teena s life and death in vivid, gut-wrenching firsthand detail, The Brandon Teena Story is retrospective. Filmed after the demise of its subject, it is unable to show us the real Teena. Instead, we get to know Boobs away! Julia Roberts gest busty in Erin Brockovich his story through snap­ shots, letters and the people around him. of a mother’s need to feed her kids. She also There are interviews with Teena’s girl­ rather dramatically lacks a proper wardrobe or friends, all of whom describe him as a perfect even the desire to attain one, and that too gentleman who ingeniously hid his biological eventually works to her advantage. (Lest you sex. There are interviews with his family, who think the miniskirted, streaky-haired Roberts talk about a daughter-son and sister-brother with her hydraulically-engineered cleavage is they seem to genuinely love. And there are exaggerating the look of her real-life counter­ transcripts of the police interview with Teena part, pay close attention to the waitress in the after he had been raped; the leering indiffer­ restaurant scene and you’ll see the real Erin ence of the interviewing cop is chilling, espe­ Brockovitch, who is even more buxom than cially in retrospect. Roberts and, as she admitted on Oprah, wears John Lott and Tom Nissen, the two young her skirts even shorter than Roberts does in the men who raped and murdered Teena, were film.) interviewed in jail. Even in front of the cam­ In spite of her wardrobe, which turns this era, neither is able to muster genuine remorse. movie into a breast fest, Brockovitch clearly is Instead, they’re defensive, sullen and seem con­ a bright woman who traded her potential for cerned only with avoiding the penalties for much-too-early motherhood. There are their heinous crimes. poignant moments when she recalls her youth­ Lana Tisdel, Brandon’s girlfriend up to the ful hopes: “I was Miss W ichita. I still have my time of his death, is interviewed extensively. tiara— I thought it meant I was gonna do Though she comes across a bit less heroic and something important with my life,” she tells more human than her saintly counterpart in • her love interest in the film. Boys Don't Cry, she recalls Teena with respect The guy, George, comes off as a skanky, and affection. unappealing, rough-trade sort of guy but turns The Brandon Teena Story offers a real-life out to be a Harley rider with a heart of gold— portrait of society’s still commonplace discom­ and a willingness to baby-sit. W hen George fort and ambivalence toward sexually “differ­ tells Brockovitch that she has great kids, she ent" people. It is an essential piece of docu­ replies with hardheaded realism: “I’m sure I’ll mentation, the complex reality behind a story fuck ’em up eventually.” that has taken on legendary proportions. What she doesn’t fuck up is her job at the — Christopher McQuam law firm. Her natural curiosity uncovers corpo­ rate environmental rape of epic proportions ■ C hristopher M c Q uain is a Portland'based and sucks her into a relentless search for the writer and tireless observer o f pop culture. truth. The wonderful surprise about this film is • '¿J?**. t/ ^ * •* by Constance Congdon February 25 - March 26 Thursday - Saturday: 8pm Sunday Matinee: 2pm Preview: February 25, 26, 27 fc March 2 Opening Night: March 3 Mat Chat Sunday: March 5 The first female President engages in political skullduggery of a most unusual kind. Hailed by The New Yorker as "'practically a miracle: a political satire that is funny and leaves its audience with something substantive to think about." 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