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."
All Performances
At Theater! Theatre!
3430 SE Belmont Ave., Portland
Reserve tickets now!
242-0080
ju s t r m