THEY WERE TOTALLY UNQUALIFIED TO TRY THE CASE OF A LIFETIME… BUT EVERY UNDERDOG HAS HIS DAY.

Young law school grad Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) joins forces with an unconventional, older paralegal (Danny DeVito) for a case against an insurance giant in Tennessee. There are those, including the author himself, who feel that this was the finest of all 1990s John Grisham adaptations. Damon and DeVito make a very enjoyable underdog team, and Jon Voight is splendid as an arrogant hotshot lawyer. Francis Ford Coppola and his collaborators stage a handsome and emotional drama, a David versus Goliath case… but the romance between Damon and Claire Danes often feels like a distraction.

1997-U.S. 135 min. Color. Widescreen. Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Novel: John Grisham. Music: Elmer Bernstein. Cast: Matt Damon (Rudy Baylor), Danny DeVito (Deck Shifflet), Claire Danes (Kelly Riker), Jon Voight, Mickey Rourke, Mary Kay Place… Danny Glover, Teresa Wright, Dean Stockwell, Virginia Madsen, Roy Scheider.

Trivia: Co-produced by Michael Douglas. Wright’s last film. 

IMDb