Abby McDeere

Abigail Sutherland "Abby" McDeere is a fictional character in John Grisham's 1991 novel The Firm. Abby McDeere is a Western Kentucky University–educated elementary school teacher,[1] and the wife of Mitch McDeere, a Harvard graduate and tax lawyer who has certified public accountant credential. The character was portrayed by Jeanne Tripplehorn in the 1993 film adaptation of the novel, and most recently by Molly Parker for Entertainment One Television's show also titled The Firm.[2]

Abigail Sutherland McDeere
The Firm character
First appearanceThe Firm
Created byJohn Grisham
Portrayed byJeanne Tripplehorn (1993 film)
Molly Parker (2012 TV series)
In-universe information
NicknameAbby
GenderFemale
OccupationTeacher
FamilyHarold Sutherland
(father)
Maxine Sutherland
(mother)
SpouseMitch McDeere (1988-present)
RelativesMr. McDeere
(father-in-law)
Eva Ainsworth
(mother-in-law)
Ray McDeere
(brother-in-law)
Rusty McDeere
(brother-in-law, deceased)
ReligionMethodist
Alma materWestern Kentucky University

Background

The novel sold 7 million copies and the movie starred Tom Cruise.[3] The film grossed over $158 million ($280 million in 2019 dollars[4]) domestically and $111 million internationally ($196 million in 2019 dollars).[5][6] Additionally, it was the largest grossing R-rated movie of 1993 and of any film based on a Grisham novel.[7] The film was released while Grisham was at the height of his popularity. That week, Grisham and Michael Crichton evenly divided the top six paperback spots on The New York Times Best Seller list.[8]

Abby McDeere is described as the "blue-blood wife" by Mike Hale of The New York Times.[9] She earned her degree in elementary education at Western Kentucky and then taught at a private kindergarten in Boston, while Mitch, her high school sweetheart, attended Harvard Law School. After she and Mitch graduated from college, they married.[1] At the time of the novel, her parents resided in Kentucky, which she regarded as her home.[1] Her family did not like Mitch and boycotted their wedding.[1] In "Chapter Seven" of the television version, she says that her parents were both born in Danesborough, Kentucky (father in 1948 and mother in 1951).

She follows Mitch to Memphis, Tennessee after he signs on with Bendini, Lambert & Locke, a small tax firm. She is initially intrigued by their new-found affluence—a low-interest mortgage on a house, a Mercedes, and a salary far more than what Mitch was offered in New York and Chicago.[1] She takes a job teaching third grade at an exclusive private school in Memphis.[10] Her dreams come undone, however, when Mitch tells her that his firm is part and parcel of a massive money laundering and tax fraud operation operated by a Mafia family.[11] She works with Mitch to bring down the firm, even feigning that she and Mitch have separated so she can slip out of Memphis and help copy documents for the FBI without attracting suspicion.[12]

Critical review

Film

Joe Brown of The Washington Post described Tripplehorn's performance as the increasingly suspicious, resenting and brooding Abby as "a welcomely elegant and alert presence."[8] Todd McCarthy of Variety says that the film role expands upon the character in the book with "an added mission that creates some extra suspense and pathos".[13] He described her performance glowingly: "At times uncannily resembling Genevieve Bujold, Tripplehorn gets to do a bit more than hold down the home front and express doubt and fury at her husband's long hours."[13] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly notes that Abby "has worldlier intuitions than he [Mitch] does",[14] while Empire's Matt Mueller describes her as Mitch's "more intuitive, earthy wife".[1] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times says that one late scene between Gene Hackman and Tripplehorn "is like a master class in acting."[15]

Television

The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman describes Parker's portrayal as dutiful.[16] Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara describes Parker's role as thin, saying she "is given less than nothing to do save offer her husband contradictory pep talks".[17] Mike Hale of The New York Times also claims that Parker is "stranded in a part that looks like a drag so far" in his early take on her role.[9]

Notes
  1. "The Firm Excerpt". Doubleday, Random House, Inc. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  2. "Molly Parker Joins The Cast of THE FIRM". ChannelCanada. July 29, 2011. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
  3. Hibberd, James (April 29, 2011). "NBC in talks for John Grisham's 'The Firm' TV series". CNN. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  4. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  5. "Movies: 'The Firm,' with $31.5 million for the weekend, leads the way. Total movie receipts for the four-day holiday are an estimated $120 million". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  6. "Weekend Box Office : So Far, This Is Summer to Beat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  7. The Firm at Box Office Mojo
  8. Brown, Joe (July 2, 1993). "'The Firm' (R)". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  9. Hale, Mike (January 6, 2012). "A Lawyer Leaves Witness Protection Because Everything's Fine Now. Right?". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  10. Grisham, John, The Firm. New York: Random House, 1991. ISBN 0-385-41634-2. Nook edition, p. 89.
  11. Grisham, p. 184 (Nook edition).
  12. Grisham, p. 252-253 (Nook edition).
  13. McCarthy, Todd (June 27, 1993). "The Firm". Variety. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  14. Gleiberman, Owen (July 9, 1993). "The Firm (1993)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  15. Ebert, Roger (June 30, 1993). "The Firm". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  16. Goodman, Tim (January 6, 2012). "Review: 'The Firm' Still Average 20 Years Later as a Television Series: NBC makes law procedural from old book, film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  17. McNamara, Mary (January 7, 2012). "Television review: 'The Firm' is now just another legal thriller". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
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