The John Grisham Adaptations of the 90s (and Beyond)

[Traveller519]

My 90s Movie channel did a Grisham Marathon this week with A Time to Kill, The Client, the Firm, and The Rainmaker.

I loved Grisham's books in the 90s as a teenager discovering longer novels. They romanticized being a lawyer enough that it was what I thought I was going to grow up to be through most of middle school. 

I know I had watched the movies after I read the books (never before), but certainly hadn't gone back and watched them in a long while. Rewatching them this weekend was incredibly enjoyable. I couldn't get over how talented so many of the casts were, with now incredibly recognizable faces way down the credits. Octavia Spencer has maybe 2 lines in A Time to Kill, Cynthia Nixon didn't have much more in the Pelican Brief, a young and very thin Bradley Whitford is hanging around, and I'm pretty sure if you wanted to remake the Firm today you would need a budget of $90 million just for salaries (Cruise, Triplehorn, Hackman, Harris, Straitharn, Martindale, Holbrook, Brimley)

The Rainmaker was my favourite of the novels, and in retrospect it's probably the best movie letting the characters do as much work as the plot. And also follows one of the more grounded plots. Plus it's got Francis Ford Coppola's noir-ish touch.

These movies were all quintessentially 90s, and pretty good rewatches. The score for the Firm is pretty funny as it's trying to capture the tone and beat of a Beverly Hills Cop or Fletch caper score, without the 80s-ness of doing it exclusively on a synthesizer. 

[Bill1978]

I remember watching The Firm and being enthralled by it. So much that I had to go out and find the book. And suddenly I had an author I wanted to read. A void that had been in existence since the death of Roald Dahl. I remember re-watching the movie after finishing the book of The Firm and I lost a lot of love I had for the movie because of the dramatic differences from the book. I still enjoy the movie, but as a book adaptation it is disappointing

[Traveller519]

Okay, After dipping my toe in last weekend. I got through the majority of the films this weekend. Note, I only did rewatches.... nothing I hadn't previously seen. I've identified the main setting location(s) for each film, since they play a large part of the scene in Grisham's works and have put the director in italics.

The Rainmaker (1997); Memphis - As I said in my initial post this film emerged as probably the best of the bunch and is based on my favourite of the novels. The plot is a bit more grounded and the story is really driven by the characters. The power cast here (Matt Damon, Danny Devito, Jon Voight, Claire Danes, Danny Glover, Mickey Rouke [during that elusive period between Barfly and Sin City], Mary Kay Place, and Viginia Madsen) ground all their characters as believable people. This was also when Grisham seemed to finish his novels with a joyful climax followed by the sad fall-out, which played well. The "jury tampering" scene was probably my favourite of the film. Francis Ford Coppola was an interesting choice to direct an adaptation of a pulpy writer for a film set in the south, but it was great. I never quite liked how the movie started about a third of the way through the book, but I get it in a film that's already around 2.5 hours.

The Client (1994); Memphis, New Orleans - A great Susan Sarandon vehicle. I think if you set this up against Erin Brokovich, this is the more entertaining tough as nails female lead legal drama. Of course, it's pure fiction, so take that for what it is. The plot is very caper-ish, and a bit ludicrous, but it's sure entertaining. The nail the characters from the book in my opinion, especially Mark. Again, another cast of heavyweights (Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony Lapaglia [enjoying the hell out of himself], Anthony Edwards, Bradley Whitford, William H. Macy, Will Patton, Kim Coates, and JT Walsh). It's always fun seeing Tommy Lee Jones mix some comedy into his performances, and you felt the character here. Joel Schumacher's first of two Grisham adaptations and before he became most famous for the Batman films he directed.

The Firm (1993); Memphis - So. much. Cruise. running... in a legal thriller. Some major deviations from the book, but definitely a thrilling plot. They had to give Hal Holbrook a dastardly mustache, and he still comes off as an grandfather you can count on. He's not evil, just...disappointed. In fact everyone does a good job of humanizing what could have easily been evil caricatures. Gene Hackman's Avery is a bit of a dick, but he's also playing that guy that you know in every office. Brimley even makes you feel like he's on your side during the drive out to the country. Holly Hunter is the obvious scene thief here, but David Strathairn, Gary Busey (sigh), Jerry Weintraub, Steven Hill, and Paul Sorvino and Joe Viterelli all make their cases too. Seeing cue-ball Ed Harris get screwed over is an enjoyable little benefit as the plan unravels, as in Jeannine Triplehorn's girl power undercover work. The Cayman Island shots are beautiful, great work by Sydney Pollack, though I would have liked to have seen Mitch and Abby join Ray in sailing away like in the book.

A Time to Kill (1996); Rural Mississippi - I only saw this one for the first time recently. It's Schumacher's other Grisham adaptation. In light of many good Southern race relation movies that have come since, it feels a little melodramatic now, but that opening scene still is enough to shake you to your core. McConaughey's first true leading performance is pretty well done, even if it's a bit convenient throughout. He's an easy guy to root for, and you feel his odds. When mid-90s Kevin Spacey is your fourth lead, you know you've got a solid cast (rounded out with Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Donald Sutherland, Keifer Sutherland, Ashley Judd, and some blink and you'll miss it scenes from Octavia Spencer). Not to mention KKK leader Red Foreman was a sight to behold. I felt the relief that all the characters emote at the end of the movie.

The Pelican Brief (1993); New Orleans, Washington - I mention The Client vs. Erin Brokovich above. This film feels a bit like Julia Roberts' audition for her Oscar winning role. The drama never quite catches here, and in a film with Roberts and Denzel Washington evading Stanley Tucci playing a world-class assassin, that's a shame. I feel like John Lithgow was the most memorable performance for me, but I also feel that way about a lot of his performances. The mystery doesn't unravel quite as well as it does in the book, despite some good performances from the leads. I feel like that's on Alan Pakula, who's best days were behind him at this point. It's definitely not "All the President's Men." The Supporting Cast also isn't the strongest in the series, but Sam Shepherd and Cynthia Nixon are fun side characters in Darby Shaw's life.

[The] Runaway Jury (2003); New Orleans - I loved this book, it was probably close to my second favourite after The Rainmaker, as I really enjoyed how it focused on the courtroom drama, and the manipulation and fall out is fun. Thus, the movie was a big letdown to me. "The Insider," coming out a couple years earlier obviously scared the producers off doing a tobacco litigation legal drama and it looked like they decided the ride the press of "Bowling for Columbine" with the gun angle, which required a lot of manipulation of the plot. The performances are great, Hackman and Hoffman in the bathroom is a showdown between two heavyweights, but the movie really plays as a race to the finish. It's got a secret reveal it's so eager to let you in on the reset of the plot can't really breathe, which is a shame with another incredible cast (Hackman and Hoffman are joined by John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Jeremy Piven, Bruce Davison, Bruce MacNeil [the exotic double Bruce "that guy!" pair up!], Jenn Beals, Bill Nunn, Nora Dunn, Orlando Jones, Dylan McDermot and a personal underrated favourite in Leland Orser). This was a studio film that was obviously produced top down. I think looking at the rest of Gary Felder's resume would support that.

Christmas with the Kranks (2004) [Skipping Christmas]; Chicagoland - I didn't read the book caveat, and not technically a legal thriller, but there's two things Tim Allen was put on this planet to do. Play a Dad on ABC, and make simple enjoyable Christmas movies. It works in what it is. It's not a classic, but it's some silly fun. Jamie Lee Curtis is adorable and again a pretty kick ass supporting cast helps (Felicity Huffman, Dan Ackroyd, Cheech Marin, Caroline Rhea, that young kid from Malcom in the Middle, and Emmet Walsh who Allen played off for years on Home Improvement).

The Chamber (1996); Jackson and rural Mississippi - Grisham sold the rights to this one before he finished the book, and the book and movie both show it. Everyone involved seems to have a story about what a terrible process it was and how bad the final result turned out. Hackman, a Grisham adapation regular it seems, plays his role well, but unlike the other movies, the only notable part of the supporting cast here (besides Faye Dunway's third lead) is Bo Jackson... Chris O'Donnell is very much mid nineties Chris O'Donnell. Unlike "Glengarry Glen Ross," James Foley can't let his actors carry this picture.

Not watched

A Painted House (2003) [CBS Television Movie]

The Gingerbread Man (1998) [Based off never published manuscript.

[VCRTracking]

I saw The Rainmaker recently and liked it. Mary Kay Place and Virginia Madsen especially were great. Teresa Wright is one of my favorite Golden Age of Hollywood actors and her last role was as the eccentric Miss Birdie. Country singer Randy Travis has a hilarious scene. This was released just before Matt Damon would become a star with Good Will Hunting. If it had come out after it would have been a bigger hit but I think the public had gotten tired of John Grisham adaptations by 1997. Coppola has a great commentary on the DVD. He told Dean Stockwell, playing the initial judge of Rudy's case to be like the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland "Off with his head!". He also had technicians rig the ceiling of the courtroom so it could be lowered and raised so the audience could subliminally feel claustrophobic during certain scenes. It's such a costly thing for something people would barely notice that it's no wonder some of his productions go overbudget!

The thing I always remember about The Firm is the score by Dave Grusin which is all bluesy and jazz piano. I also realized recently is Tom Cruise, the current Mission: Impossible leader in the films, got to share a scene with the original one from the TV show, Steven Hill!

Edited December 12, 2016 by VCRTracking