On my dad’s bookshelves, there are many books by many authors, both fiction and non-fiction. On the fiction side, the three most prevalent names are Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, and John Grisham. I’m sure many of you can relate. Dad books, many of them legal thrillers by John Grisham, used to get movies all the time. Films like The Rainmaker (starring Matt Damon) are respected as middlebrow entertainment. It’s been almost 28 years since that movie and USA Network has decided it’s time for a new adaptation.
Why is now the time to adapt The Rainmaker as a TV show?
If we look at the USA properties that have done the best on streaming, Suits is the clear cash cow. To USA, any opportunity to recreate that success is worth taking, even with the disaster that was Suits LA. The Rainmaker ordinarily lacks the sexiness of Suits, so USA reconfigured it.
Many book characters appear in the series as revamped versions. Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan, Dune: Prophecy) is still the protagonist. New to the show is lawyer girlfriend Sarah Plankmore (Madison Iseman, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), who’s working for the rival firm. They share passionate scenes together to add that sexiness. The show changes Rudy’s boss Bruiser Stone (Lana Parrilla, Once Upon a Time) from a sleazy male lawyer to a snappily dressed female lawyer, though the change doesn’t match the firm’s location, a former Mexican restaurant.
The most important change is the Donny Ray Black (Loré Adewusi, 500 Miles) case. In the show, Donny dies in the hospital after being admitted for the flu. In the source material, Donny Ray was dying of leukemia because insurance wouldn’t pay for a bone marrow transplant. He dies later in the story. The evils of medical insurance companies were on full display, and it was powerful. This new version suggests a homicidal nurse (Dan Folger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) killed Donny Ray. This is a bizarre change. It doesn’t help that the actor playing the nurse is hard to take seriously, since he mostly does comedic roles.
There are some bright spots in the series premiere. Rudy gets into a verbal sparring match with his boss, Leo Drummond (John Slattery), on the first day at the top firm. Since the debate that gets Rudy fired is over domestic violence, I wonder how this will factor into Rudy’s relationship with Kelly Riker (Robyn Cara, Bodkin) when she’s introduced. I’m not sure how much Slattery is channeling Mad Men, but he commands attention. He has a weird scene though where he keeps dropping his French fries on the floor to make a point.
John Grisham usually sets his stories in the South. The show changes the setting from Memphis, Tennessee to Charleston, South Carolina. Rudy and many other characters speak with a generic American accent instead of their previous Southern twang.
For all its faults, USA’s The Rainmaker is better than I anticipated. Callaghan’s performance is true to the character and Slattery is a highlight. It also resembles the book more than I expected. But as an adaptation, it pales in comparison to the film. It’s unfair, since the movie was directed by Francis Ford Coppola (before he tarnished his reputation with Megalopolis). It was also superbly cast. Danny DeVito completely outclasses P.J. Byrne as Deck Shifflet.
I might watch the next few episodes to see where things go. I’ll be curious if the show lives up to its name and becomes a rainmaker for USA.
