Notting Hill/Erin Brockovich Double Feature DVD Review (2008)

A double feature from Universal with Julia Roberts as its hook.

In "Notting Hill," Roberts is Anna Scott, an unhappy, unloved, long-suffering movie star who itches to get away from the media and find happiness with a regular guy.

Hugh Grant is that regular guy, a dapper bookstore owner named William who unwittingly falls for Anna when she happens into his store.

As Anna and William grapple with the hurdle of Anna’s celebrity, the script gives each surprising depth, with Roberts and Grant enjoying jolts of chemistry that lift the production.

Heavier fair awaits Roberts in "Erin Brockovich."

Based on a true story, the movie is about one woman’s crusade to find herself and her place in this world while fighting a $28 billion conglomerate knowingly dumping deadly carcinogens into the ground water of Hinkley, Calif. Roberts is Brockovich, a smart, uneducated, pretty tough woman who takes on corporate America in a padded bra and six-inch stiletto heels.

Perfect casting? You bet.

But to director Steven Soderbergh’s credit, his film only treats Erin as the world treats beautiful women--as sex objects whose respect must be earned.

For her trouble, Roberts earned a $20 million paycheck and the Academy Award.

"Hill": B+. "Brockovich": B+

View the trailer for "Notting Hill" below: