Some John Grisham adaptations are better than others

In the broadest sense, John Grisham has written the same story over and over. It goes like this: A decent person finds themselves the David in a David and Goliath story where the opposition is the government, or a shady criminal enterprise, or a huge corporation. That person finds a way, at some cost and compromise, to get what is usually only a partial victory. It has worked, many times over.

His books have been adapted both for film and for television. A new series adaptation of The Rainmaker is arriving tonight on USA (and streaming later on Peacock), and, well, it's no Francis Ford Coppola movie.

But a lot of them are really pretty good. How good? Today we published my highly opinionated list that ranks them and notes, among other factors, their "Grisham score," which reflects how much they feel, entirely subjectively, like Grisham stories. (Disclaimers: I did not include his nonfiction or his non-legal novels, nor did I get my hands on the unsuccessful TV pilot for The Street Lawyer, starring Eddie Cibrian, or the 1995 TV adaptation of The Client, starring JoBeth Williams. (Contrary to the way it often seems, everything is not available to stream somewhere.) I also stuck to the novel adaptations, so I omitted The Gingerbread Man, an adaptation of a story Grisham had written but never published as a novel.)

Here are the top three titles on the list — the adaptations that are, to me, the best ones, including that score for pure Grisham-ness. You can read the full list here.

3. The Firm (1993, directed by Sydney Pollack)

Plot: New associate Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) discovers that his fancy law firm is up to its eyeballs in organized crime and murder and so forth. You know how it is.

Notable supporting cast: Gene Hackman (who also appears in Runaway Jury and The Chamber) as a tragically compromised attorney, Ed Harris as an FBI guy, Jeanne Tripplehorn as Mitch's wife, Wilford Brimley as the firm's dangerous enforcer

Bad guys: Mafia and their lawyers

Bottom line: The Firm was the book that made Grisham a superstar, and the movie is solid. It does change Grisham's ending, making it easier for Mitch and his wife to continue in a relatively normal life. That either sells out Grisham's repeated theme of sacrificing the life you've built to do the right thing or makes considerably more sense in real life, depending on whom you ask. Also, if you think Tom Cruise has a quirky running style in the Mission: Impossible movies, wait until you see him running in The Firm.

Highlight: Tom Cruise beating Wilford Brimley unconscious with a briefcase

Lowlight: Tom Cruise (or, as it would appear, Tom Cruise's stunt double?) doing gymnastics on the sidewalk while out on the town

Grisham Score: 12 (yes, 12 out of 10)

2. The Rainmaker (1997, directed by Francis Ford Coppola)

Plot: Newly minted Memphis attorney Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) takes the only job he can get, working for a flashy ambulance-chaser named Bruiser (Mickey Rourke). But when Bruiser skips town, Rudy is left alone with paralegal Deck (Danny DeVito) to represent a family whose son died after his insurance company denied coverage for a bone-marrow transplant.

Notable supporting cast: Jon Voight, as the insurance company lawyer, has never been more slimy (even while being eaten by a snake in Anaconda). Roy Scheider briefly appears as an executive so heartless even his folksy blue cardigan seems to hate his guts. Also features Claire Danes as a young woman whose abusive husband (Andrew Shue) has put her in the hospital.

Bad guys: Insurance company and their lawyers

Bottom line: The most successful of the courtroom Grishams, The Rainmaker perfectly captures the writer's vision of the scrappy lawyer outmatched by wicked profiteers, as well as his vision of the law as a grind of depositions and discovery. Here, the biggest drama comes not from chases or guns or even courtroom speeches, but from finding the missing section that's vanished from a company handbook. Damon is excellent and may have the best take on the quintessential Grisham underdog that an actor has come up with so far.

Highlight: A violent outburst from Randy Travis, playing a potential juror

Lowlight: A violent outburst from Andrew Shue

Grisham Score: 10

1. The Pelican Brief (1993, directed by Alan J. Pakula)

Plot: Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) is a law student who stumbles upon the answer to who killed a pair of Supreme Court justices. When those responsible figure out that she's onto them, they come after her, and she goes to journalist Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) for help.

Notable supporting cast: Stanley Tucci, as an assassin, has never been more evil. Also on hand are a young Cynthia Nixon as Darby's friend, John Lithgow as Gray's editor, and Sam Shepard as Darby's doomed boyfriend. (Sorry, doomed boyfriend; you're doomed.)

Bad guys: Oil magnate and his lawyers, corrupt president and his toadies

Bottom line: The most successful of the non-courtroom Grishams, The Pelican Brief doesn't just bring together two very charismatic leads at the height of their powers. It is carefully plotted and well-paced, and it reveals its larger conspiracy piece by piece. It is a great ride.

Highlight: A parking-garage chase that lets Pakula wink at All The President's Men

Lowlight: Some of Tucci's disguises, which are (intentionally) unattractive

Grisham Score: 10