Erin Brockovich

Um... You have no actual medical training?

No. I have kids. Learned a lot right there.

I mean, I've seen nurses give my son throat cultures...

And, what is it? You stick a giant Q-tip down their throat and wait.

Or a urinalysis, where you take a dipstick to

see whether or not the white count's high.

Yes, I understand.

Yeah, yeah. And I'm great with people.

You'd have to observe me to know for sure, but you can trust me on that.

Yeah. I'm an extremely fast learner.

You show me something in a lab once, and I've got it down.

Mmm-hmm. I always wanted to go to medical school.

You see, that was my first interest really,

but then I got married and had a kid

too young and that kind of blew that but...

When I was first out of high school,

I got a job with Fiuor Engineers and Constructors in Irvine.

I fell madly in love with geology.

Geology? Yeah.

I learned how to read maps. I love maps.

Yeah, but I lost my job because

my boy came down with the chickenpox, had a 104 temperature,

and my ex-husband was useless, so...

That didn't really work out.

Uh-huh.

You got a really nice office.

Thanks.

Look...

AW, fuck.

Goddamn it.

Good morning, Mr. Masry. Good morning, Rosalind.

How are you doing today?

Fine, thanks. And you?

Very well. Thank you for asking.

Good morning.

Good morning.

How ya doing? Hi, Donald.

Did you see it last night?

Ah, I was out, but I taped it.

Don't tell me what happens.

It was so good. Your 9:00's here already.

Remind me.

Erin Brockovich.

Car accident. Not her fault, she says.

She was referred.

Yeah. All right?

Erin, hi.

Hi.

Ed Masry. Sorry you had to wait.

That's okay.

Here, sit, sit. Sit down, sit down.

Thank you.

Oh.

I never thought just standing could

take it out of you, but ever since that shithead hit me,

I feel like my whole body's put together wrong.

You poor thing.

Uh, did anyone ask if you wanted coffee?

Yeah. I'm fine.

Good.

Listen, whoever did this to you made one hell of a mistake,

and, you and me, we're gonna make him pay for it.

So, uh, why don't you tell me what happened?

I was pulling out real slow and, out of nowhere,

his Jaguar comes racing around the corner like a bat out of hell.

They took some bone from my hip and put it in my neck.

I don't have insurance, so...

I'm about $17,000 in debt right now.

I couldn't take painkillers because

they made me too groggy to take care of my kids.

Matthew's eight and Katie's almost six and Beth's just nine months.

I just want to be a good mom, a nice person,

a decent citizen.

I just want to take good care of my kids, you know?

Yeah. Yeah, I know.

$17,000 in debt?

Is your ex-husband helping out?

Which one?

There's more than one?

Yeah, there's two. Why?

So, you must have been feeling pretty desperate that afternoon.

What's your point?

Broke, three kids, no job.

A doctor in a Jaguar must have looked like a good meal ticket.

Objection. JUDGE: Sustained.

What? He hit me.

So you say.

He came tearing around the corner, out of control!

An E.R. doctor, who spends his day

saving lives, was the one out of control?

That asshole smashed in my fucking neck.

Open and shut. Open and fucking shut!

That is exactly the kind of language that lost the case.

Oh, please, it was over long before that.

I told you the questions might get a little personal.

No, you told me I'd be set!

I never said that.

You told me I had a good shot. I had no shot!

Let's try and settle down here.

Fuck "settle down"! I've got $74 in

the bank. I can't afford to settle down.

I'm sorry, Erin.

Do they teach lawyers to apologize?

Because you suck at it.

Hello?

Hi, Erin. Hi.

You've come so soon. Yeah.

Oh, were you a good girl, huh?

You're my little baby.

Oh.

What is that, a little cough?

She's got a little cough.

I sat in the steam with her to try to loosen it up, but...

I think I've got some cough medicine.

Ah, bueno.

Um, listen... Yeah?

I didn't want to tell you before, you know, with your worries.

What?

My daughter, she bought a big house with a room for me.

I'm moving in with her.

When? Next week.

Next week? I know.

But it's good for me.

Now I can help my daughter take care of

my grandkids. And it's good for you, too.

Now you have money, you can hire a good baby-sitter, eh?

Not the old lady next door.

Thanks.

Matthew? Katie, you back here?

Yeah.

Okay, come on in, would you?

Hey, get in the house. No dripping.

Okay.

Sweetie, please, don't get sick on me. Please.

Let's fix some dinner.

Look at the water.

Oh, gosh!

Damn it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Matthew! Katie! We're going out.

You kids go ahead and order.

Okay, I'm gonna have a cheeseburger deluxe with a Coke.

Okay.

Mommy, can I have a cheeseburger deluxe with no cheese and no bread?

Did you get that? Yeah.

And she will have a cup of chicken broth and a few crackers, please.

And for you? Just a cup of coffee.

Okay.

Mom, you're not eating?

Well, my lawyer took me out to a fancy

lunch to celebrate, and I'm still stuffed.

How about that?

Ah, yes, I'm calling about the job ad in the paper.

Yes, I'm calling about the job ad.

...the great personality, good voice.

I don't have any actual sales experience.

I don't really have a resume, but I can...

No, I don't have any computer skills, but...

Oh. Well, I thought it was the local store.

Okay. Thanks anyway.

Okay, bye.

Ed Masry, please.

Yes, I'm holding for Ed Masry.

Well, is he ever in the office?

No, but I've called about a dozen times.

Yes, I'd like to leave another message.

Brockovich. B-r-o-c-k-o-v-i-c-h.

I'm a client. I want him to call me. It's as simple as that.

Okay.

Goddamn it!

Brenda! Brenda!

Yeah?

Who put that there?

Those are the files you asked for.

I didn't ask for you to put it in the middle of the floor.

I mean, look at me.

Get a towel, will you get...

Hey, hey...

Hey, what's she doing here?

Who?

Donald.

What's she doing here?

She works here.

Erin, how's it going?

You never called me back. I left messages.

You did? Well, I didn't know that, eh...

Donald seems to think that you...

There's two things that aggravate me, Mr. Masry,

being ignored and being lied to.

I never had.

You told me things would be fine.

They're not. I trusted you.

I'm sorry about that, I really am...

I don't need pity, I need a paycheck.

And I've looked,

but when you've spent the past six years raising babies,