| Actor |
Production Team |
|
|
| Director |
Francis Ford Coppola |
|
| Plot |
| When viewed from a cranky perspective, this by-the-book David vs. Goliath story doesn't offer any surprises, and it's a bit sad to watch director Francis Coppola (who also adapted John Grisham's bestseller) squandering his once-glorious talent on such conventional Hollywood fare. In a more charitable light, however, there's great pleasure to be found in Coppola's intelligent, no-nonsense handling of a plot that's every bit as involving as it is formulaic. Coppola also knows how to bring out the best in a stellar cast, and this is the movie (released in November 1997, just a few weeks before Good Will Hunting) that signaled Matt Damon's arrival as a major-league star. Damon plays Rudy Baylor, a young rookie lawyer in Memphis (location of many Grisham stories) who takes on a powerful insurance company (led by a sharklike lawyer played by Jon Voight) by representing the family of a boy who was denied potentially life-saving treatment for leukemia. Rudy also comes to the rescue of an abused wife (Claire Danes) and learns the tricks of the legal trade from a seasoned paralegal (Danny DeVito), who sees Rudy as his ticket out of the sleazeball practice run by a shady lawyer (Mickey Rourke). There's no mystery about where this plot is going, but Coppola takes us there in high style with a sharp script, and Damon strikes just the right note of naivete and strategic intelligence. When Goliath inevitably falls, this courtroom David wins fair and square. --Jeff Shannon |
| Movie Details |
| Country |
 USA
|
| Language |
English |
|
| Audience Rating |
PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) |
| Movie Release Date |
11/21/1997 |
| Color |
Color |
|
| Personal Details |
| Format |
DVD |
| Seen It |
Yes |
| Index |
78 |
| Collection Status |
In Collection |
|
| Product Details |
| Region |
 Region 1 |
| UPC (Barcode) |
097363350378 |
| Release Date |
1/7/2003 |
| Nr of Disks/Tapes |
1 |
|
|
Extra Features
|
| Color Closed-captioned Widescreen Dolby |
| Links |
|
|
