Matt Damon’s ‘90s Legal Drama Is a Perfect Companion to ‘Suits’

Rarely do shows become even bigger after their original run, but Suits has enjoyed such success. The legal drama series received an immense surge in popularity after it became available for streaming on Netflix and Peacock. Data from Nielsen reveals that the New York-set show was watched for a total of 57.7 billion minutes on Netflix in 2023, making it the most-streamed series that year. As expected, NBCUniversal began thinking of expansion. The studio developed a new spin-off series, titled Suits LA, starring Stephen Amell (better known for his work in Arrow), which is currently airing.

Regrettably, Suits LA hasn’t been a major hit with critics. The offshoot currently has a 37% Rotten Tomatoes score, while the parent had 91%. That’s something to worry about, but things can always change. A few characters from the original are rumored to show up down the line, so the quality might improve. In the meantime, there are other gems for Suits fans to watch, notably a captivating 1990s movie starring Matt Damon and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The Rainmaker uses the cutthroat legal world as a canvas and has a few things in common with the USA show.

‘The Rainmaker’ Covers a Rookie’s Journey to the Top

Movies based on John Grisham novels are always great and so is The Rainmaker, a vivid, well-plotted legal drama that examines the fleeting nature of innocence in morally bankrupt professional landscapes. In it, Memphis State University Law School grad Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) dreams of a six-figure job after graduation but ends up with no prospects. He thus surrenders to a job at a Memphis bar. Luckily, the establishment’s owner, J. Lyman “Bruiser” Stone (Mickey Rourke), happens to be a wealthy ambulance chaser (a lawyer who seeks accident victims) and proceeds to take in Rudy as his latest recruit.

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At Bruiser’s firm, Rudy is mentored by office paralegal Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito), an unethical former insurance adjuster who has a law degree but failed the bar exam a whopping six times, hence he cannot practice. Rudy is also revealed to have passed the Tennessee bar exam, but is not yet fully licensed to argue a case as an attorney in court. Damon and DeVito are equally excellent in their respective roles, with the latter’s aggressive approach providing a solid counterpoint to the former’s more delicate aura.

Rudy’s job description involves him hunting for potential clients at local hospitals and signing them up to personal injury lawsuits. But we can always expect an ambitious young man to do more than is required. When Bruiser goes absent one day, the confident Rudy attempts to stand in on his behalf. This causes the judge to scold him.

Later, Rudy discovers that the FBI has turned Bruiser’s office upside down, and that the veteran has disappeared. Luckily, he left them $5500 each before skipping town. The two thus use the money to start their own firm, but bigger problems await. Rudy is about to face the biggest challenge of his life in the name of the star lawyer, Leo Drummond (Jon Voight). On top of that, he’ll fall in love with a potential client and things will turn ugly.

‘Suits’ Has a Few “Rainmakers”

The Rainmaker is perfect for Suits fans because it not only has characters who deal with complex cases but also find themselves in trouble with the law. All three main characters mirror Mike Ross in a way.

Rudy reminds us of the character by standing next to plaintiffs and defendants despite not being qualified to do so. He is in some sense a reflection of the modern legal drama hero, a relentless ruin of a man whose only pleasure in life stems from the dangers inherent in his profession. Deck also reminds us of Ross because… well… he’d rather not talk about law school. Such conversations trigger migraines. Then there is Brusier, who finds himself on the wrong side of the law, just like Ross did. Bruiser is also like Harvey Specter when he looks at him from a “boss” angle.

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Beyond that, Suits has several “rainmakers.” These are lawyers who land huge clients and win spectacular cases, attracting huge sums in damages. Rudy proves himself a rainmaker later in the movie and Leo F. Drummond is already an established one. On the show, there is Harvey Spector, Robert Zane, and Daniel Hardman, among a few others.

Mentorship is also a key aspect in the Francis Ford Coppola movie, the same way it is in the legal drama. Rudy learns his tricks from the seasoned Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito), and expertly weeds out the good advice from the bad, enabling him to become much better than his tutor. Before that, he benefits from Bruiser’s generosity. The well-meaning law firm owner, having witnessed the flailing young man’s desperation, fishes him out of the sea of hopelessness, resuscitates him, and installs him in his firm. On the small screen, Mike Ross is mentored by Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), allowing him to grow into a top closer in the industry.

Francis Ford Coppola Seemingly Fell Off After ‘The Rainmaker’ While Matt Damon’s Star Continued to Rise

The Rainmaker is more remembered for the impact it had on Coppola and Damon’s careers rather than as a flawless courtroom drama or an excellent John Grisham adaptation that broaches important ethical issues. The legendary director has only made four movies since this ‘90s gem and all of them have been flops. There has been much commentary as to why the man who gave us The Godfather has failed to make much of an impact in recent years. Is it down to the pitiable quality of the screenplays and the generally slovenly direction of his films?

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Coppola doesn’t see it that way. He feels his recent fate is all by design.Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he said:

“People don’t understand that after I made The Rainmaker, I sort of quit for 14 years. I literally said, “I’m going to stop being a professional director, and I’m going to just be a student for a while. I’m going to try to understand what making movies is.” And I did that by self-financing some very small, low-budget movies. The one I made in Romania, Youth Without Youth — I made that for under a million dollars. Then I went to Argentina and I made Tetro, same thing.”

So, Coppola doesn’t think he fell off the map. According to him, his unsuccessful films were not meant to be successful. They were experiments meant to teach him new things and make him experience different sides of the moviemaking process. Even Megalopolis was an experiment. And he admits that he has learned a lot about acting.

For Matt Damon, The Rainmaker marked another high point in his career trajectory. With three good movies in 1997, the others being Chasing Amy and Good Will Hunting, Damon properly established himself as a member of Hollywood’s royalty. He could take on just about any kind of role and handle it well. The next year, he starred in Saving Private Ryan before finding even more glory with the Bourne movies.

For now, Suits fans can enjoy the film, and if ‘90s films feel too old, there is good news. A Rainmaker TV show by Michael Seitzman (Quantico) is in development at USA. This will mark the network’s first new scripted drama in a long time, following the conclusion of its hit shows Suits and White Collar. Hopefully, it’ll be as good as (or glossier than) the big screen adaptation and won’t be subjected to endless comparisons.