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The Rainmaker (1997) 6.9
Ratings:
6.9/10 from 29,513 users
Metascore: 72/100
Reviews: 121 user | 88 critic | 19 from Metacritic.com An idealistic young lawyer and his cynical partner take on a powerful law firm representing a corrupt insurance company. Director:Francis Ford Coppola |
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Matt Damon | ... | ||
| Danny DeVito | ... |
Deck Shifflet
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| Claire Danes | ... |
Kelly Riker
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| Jon Voight | ... |
Leo F. Drummond
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| Mary Kay Place | ... |
Dot Black
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| Dean Stockwell | ... |
Judge Harvey Hale
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| Teresa Wright | ... |
Colleen 'Miss Birdie' Birdsong
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| Virginia Madsen | ... | ||
| Mickey Rourke | ... | ||
| Andrew Shue | ... |
Cliff Riker
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| Red West | ... |
Buddy Black
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| Johnny Whitworth | ... |
Donny Ray Black
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Wayne Emmons | ... |
Prince Thomas
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Adrian Roberts | ... |
Butch
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| Roy Scheider | ... |
Wilfred Keeley
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Edit
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Rudy Baylor is a jobless young attorney. However, he is also the only hope of an elderly couple whose insurance company will not pay for an operation that could save their son's life. In this judicial drama, Rudy learns to hate corporate America as he falls in love with a battered young married woman. Will he be up to the task? Written by Steve Richer <sricher@sympatico.ca>
Taglines:
They were totally unqualified to try the case of a lifetime... but every underdog has his day.Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for a strong beating and elements of domestic abuse | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See more »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
21 November 1997 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
John Grisham's The Rainmaker See more »Box Office
Budget:
$40,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
£339,465 (UK) (24 April 1998)Gross:
£823,492 (UK) (8 May 1998)Company Credits
Production Co:
Constellation Entertainment, Douglas/Reuther Productions, American Zoetrope See more »
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
[everybody laughs except Rudy]
See more »
Did You Know?
Goofs
There are multiple other continuity discrepancies during the fight. See more »Quotes
Leo F. Drummond: I may not be 100% today but I'm here in spirit.[everybody laughs except Rudy]
See more »
A story about an aspiring young lawyer who tries to break down an insurance company, Matt Damon plays Rudy Baylor, a Memphis St. Law School graduate who can't seem to find a job anywhere, until he meets "Bruiser" Stone (Mickey Rourke). Stone is an ambulance chaser, who does whatever it takes, legal or not, to win a case. Rudy, as most law students are when they graduate, wants to take the high road, do everything by the book, and win. What he finds is that sometimes you need to get down and dirty to help your client. In this case, his client is a young boy, dying of leukemia.
Seems the insurance company won't pay for a bone marrow transplant that would save his life. Rudy sets out to help the young man and his family, in what turns out to be one of the biggest cases Tennessee has ever seen. Along with his partner Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito), Rudy sets out to try and prove to the world that the insurance company is nothing more than a big time scam artist. Along the way Rudy meets (and falls in love with) a young woman (Clare Danes) who gets beat up regularly by her husband. This part of the story seemed somewhat strange to me. I couldn't figure out what it was there to do. Was it to give Rudy a love interest? Was it just to give the movie another case so the entire film wasn't centered on the insurance trial? I feel it gave the movie some heart, and showed that Rudy would fight for what he believed in, both in court and in life. But I think the movie could have been done without it.
I enjoyed the trial scenes and all the grunt work that went behind it (being a future lawyer myself (I hope)). And the cast was wonderful. Each person added a little more to the movie, and each gave a great performance. Danny Glover as the (2nd) judge gave a little humor to the movie, but also made you feel good about Rudy's chances in court. He was going to play fair, but hew as also going to give Rudy the benefit of the doubt. Jon Voight played the insurance company's lead lawyer, and he played his character to it's swarmy best. He is what people think lawyers are like, out only for money; win at all costs, no soul (I know attorneys like that). And he was convincing. And of course DeVito and Damon carried the film.
I had my doubts about Damon playing a lawyer, but the more I watched, the more I realized that he looked like people I see at work everyday. He had the same fear in his eyes that we all do, but also that dog-eat-dog determination to prove to the world that he could do the job. The Rainmaker was more about the performances than the story. And the performances won me over. Give it a shot, it's worth it.