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The Rainmaker (1997)
Released By: Paramount Home Video   Rating: PG-13   In Theaters: N/A
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Studio: Paramount Home Video
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Language: English
Official Website: N/A
Theatrical Release: N/A
Home Video Release: N/A
Cast: Danny DeVito, Jon Voight, Mary Kay Place, Matt Damon, Virginia Madsen, Claire Danes
Published ID: 7328
UPC: 097363350378, 097361223926, 097361223940,
Plot: Francis Ford Coppola is both scripter and director of this drama adapted from the John Grisham novel about broke, inexperienced Memphis law-school graduate Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon), ready to take any job he can find. Signing on with slimy Bruiser Stone (Mickey Rourke), he learns ambulance-chasing tactics from Bruiser's leg man Deck Schifflet (Danny DeVito) and meets battered teen Kelly Riker (Claire Danes), abused by her husband (Andrew Shue). Baylor has his own clients -- friendly Miss Birdie (Teresa Wright), who has a large estate to dispose of, and desperate Dot Black (Mary Kay Place), whose son Donnie Ray (Johnny Whitworth) has terminal leukemia. Medical intervention could have spared his life, but the Great Benefit Insurance Company denied coverage, preventing Donnie Ray from getting a life-saving bone marrow transplant. Rudy finds a place to live in the apartment behind Miss Birdie's house. Deck and Rudy split from Bruiser to start their small firm. When they take on the Blacks' case, they go up against the insurance company's high-priced law firm and are continually thwarted by slick lawyer Leo F. Drummond (Jon Voight). Rudy's voiceover narration was scripted by Michael Herr. Filmed on location in Memphis. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
kind of boring and shallow, great acting tho
Added 2/5/2010

maybe this is why my favorite movies are x-men and pirates of the caribbean. maybe movie-writing has changed for the better in the past 10 years. it just seemed platitudinal--either 'good guys' or 'bad guys' and plenty of obvious heart-tugging, even if for valid reasons. just seemed like a hallmark special, and i'm not a fan of matt damon's southern accent most of the time. can't fault the acting, but it was so slow!

plat·i·tude (plt-td, -tyd)
n. 1. A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant. See Synonyms at cliché.
2. Lack of originality; triteness.

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Damon, not Lancaster
Added 11/1/2009

Good revenge movie, and more darts thrown at the legal profession and the insurance business.
Damon gives his ususal lackluster performance, but the plot is gripping enough to hold attention. Danny Glover plays a liberal judge, who helps guide the Damon character to victory.

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
One of the better Grisham adaptations
Added 10/26/2009

The Bottom Line:

Though this version of John Grisham's 'The Rainmaker' benefits from the fact that the book is one of Grisham's best, it cannot be denied that the film resists the temptation to screw things up that strikes so many such adaptations; realizing instead that Mr. Grisham's novels barely need any adapting, Coppola sticks closely to the book's interesting story and produces a film that zips through its 135 minute running length, engages the viewer, and emerges as a pretty decent piece of entertainment.

3/4

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
An Argument for Government Health Insurance
Added 10/5/2009

This is a story about a young new lawyer in a southern town in Tennessee. He takes the case of a young man who is dying of leukemia because his private insurance company refused treatment (a bone marrow transplant). This dramatic story tells how a powerful established law fiem can use tricks like wiretapping or bugging to sabotage a legal challenge. Their son dies, the parents continue the suit. [The film shows little of the personal lives of the people in this story.]

Matt Damon, the young lawyer, does all he can to gather the information needed to win his case against the privately owned insurance company. Why did a claims examiner suddenly "resign"? Was she sickened by her work in the insurance company? [Alcoholism just doesn't happen, its an industrial disease caused by corporations.] Jon Voight, the power in the corporation's law firm, shows his acting skills in the accented speech of that area. [All speakers of English have an accent, you don't notice your own.] The facts brought out in the dramatic trial result in a verdict for the plaintiff, plus $50 million in punitive damages. Is this too good to be true?

The private insurance company preys upon the working poor by using door-to-door salesmen to sell policies. These high costs drain money from the premiums. Are they only selling "peace of mind"? Will this private insurance company declare bankruptcy to get out of paying? Was the owner looting the firm? Was it all a scam to oppress working people and cheat them out of needed health care? Some may claim this is only a work of fiction, but these things will happen as long as we do not have government-run health insurance that is well-managed and affordable to avoid a tragedy like this. [Read the book "A Civil Action" for facts.]
You know what happened in the financial industry since the New Deal regulations were abolished over the last thirty years. [Could this story happen in Canada or England?] John Grisham wrote the novel "A Runaway Jury" that was changed by Hollywood and turned into a big flop. Was the book changed for this movie?

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
no truth here?
Added 9/19/2009

Insured people die in the USA without getting the treatment they
are insured to get. Films like this may make some people feel
good, but the facts are that the big law firms win more cases
than they lose. The movie is the blue yonder of wishful thinking
of a guy/ author who makes his money selling popular novels that please people.
Giving people hope in the legal system that is stacked against them
is probably a cruel thing to do?
Poor people continue to die of things rich people live through.

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
kind of boring and shallow, great acting tho
Added 2/5/2010

maybe this is why my favorite movies are x-men and pirates of the caribbean. maybe movie-writing has changed for the better in the past 10 years. it just seemed platitudinal--either 'good guys' or 'bad guys' and plenty of obvious heart-tugging, even if for valid reasons. just seemed like a hallmark special, and i'm not a fan of matt damon's southern accent most of the time. can't fault the acting, but it was so slow!

plat·i·tude (plt-td, -tyd)
n. 1. A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant. See Synonyms at cliché.
2. Lack of originality; triteness.

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Damon, not Lancaster
Added 11/1/2009

Good revenge movie, and more darts thrown at the legal profession and the insurance business.
Damon gives his ususal lackluster performance, but the plot is gripping enough to hold attention. Danny Glover plays a liberal judge, who helps guide the Damon character to victory.

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
One of the better Grisham adaptations
Added 10/26/2009

The Bottom Line:

Though this version of John Grisham's 'The Rainmaker' benefits from the fact that the book is one of Grisham's best, it cannot be denied that the film resists the temptation to screw things up that strikes so many such adaptations; realizing instead that Mr. Grisham's novels barely need any adapting, Coppola sticks closely to the book's interesting story and produces a film that zips through its 135 minute running length, engages the viewer, and emerges as a pretty decent piece of entertainment.

3/4

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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