DON’T JUDGE A BOOK: Josh Lucas stars as Mitch McDeere, the role originally played by Tom Cruise in the new series, “The Firm.” (
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Poor Mitch McDeere, no matter how hard he tries to be a good, decent and honest lawyer, he’s always too busy ducking assassins to build his career.
If Mitch’s name sounds familiar, it should. The character was played by Tom Cruise in the 1993 Sydney Pollack film of John Grisham’s novel, “The Firm.” He was a good guy in a bad situation.
Some things never change.
Back then, McDeere was a young lawyer when he was scooped up by a big white-shoe firm that was up to no good. His choice was to secretly work for the feds or stay loyal to the law firm — even though associates there were getting murdered.
Fast-forward 10 years to NBC’s new series, “The Firm,” and Mitch (Josh Lucas) and his wife Abby (Molly Parker) now have a daughter. He and his family are just coming out of the witness-protection program after being placed there for their own safety.
He hopes to start anew by opening up a small practice in Boston and live a normal family life. Yeah, well, good luck with that, Mitch.
His brother Ray (Callum Keith Rennie), an ex-con turned PI, and Tammy, Ray’s sassy, semi-banged-up girlfriend (Juliette Lewis), a secretary with a wise-ass mouth, both work in the office.
The series opens with Mitch, who has moved to Washington, DC, being chased through the US Capitol by two men who need to kill him. Yes, need.
He outdistances them and calls his wife from (yes, I swear!) a working pay phone on the street and says, “It’s happening again.”
Actually, a lot is happening again to trouble-magnet/brilliant lawyer Mitch.
He’s got two cases assigned to him for pennies from the court. He’s defending a 14-year-old boy who stabbed a classmate to death. There’s a 27-year-old woman accused of killing a 71-year-old woman. Then, there’s the possible big payoff case against a medical firm that manufactured defective stents.
Meantime, Mitch is being wooed by yet another giant white-shoe law firm. Hint: No big law firm in TV or movies is ever honest. And, yes, they all have paid assassins on their payroll.
Oh, and then there’s the Mafia who wants Mitch McDeere dead, as well. Don’t ask.
“The Firm,” I’m happy to say, eschews the insanity of modern technology — and better, so far there hasn’t been even one giant pyrotechnic display — for old-time, courtroom drama.
“The Firm” is a modern, old-fashioned lawyer show — and that’s a good thing.
TV show vs. movie
How does the plotline of NBC’s “The Firm” differ from the 1993 movie starring Tom Cruise?
Let us count the ways:
1.) Timeframe: The story is fast-forwarded 10 years.
2.) Locale: In the movie, Mitch McDeere, played by Cruise, moved from Memphis to Chicago to escape the evil clutches of his former law firm. In the NBC series, he’s now living with his wife in Washington, DC — after leaving the Witness Protection Program.
3.) New alliances: Mitch is more closely aligned with two people who were also in the movie — his brother, Ray, and Ray’s girlfriend, Tammy, who’s also Mitch’s assistant.