Maximum Bob (1991) by Elmore Leonard

Ad for the ABC version of Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard- it bombed. Leonard specifically described the main character as looking like Harry Dean Stanton, and he was not casted.

Book Review

Maximum Bob (1991) 

by Elmore Leonard

   Despite it being a late career success- winning the first Hammett Prize when it was released and inspiring a seven episode television miniseries on ABC, best-seller, etc. I think Maximum Bob is one of Leonard's worst, and a clear indication that after the success of Get Shorty, he began to "go Hollywood" as they say.  Here, the strong evidence is Leonard's repeated characterization of Judge Bob Gibss- dubbed Maximum Bob by Newsweek (!) for his strict sentencing policy, as "looking like Harry Dean Stanton."  That is a pretty specific reference point, and a weird one, considering Stanton's status as a muse for David Lynch during his most productive period.

  Beyond that, the plot is classic Florida-period Leonard, with some particularly cringey details beyond the repeated references to the main character looking like Harry Dean Stanton.  Specifically, the wife of the Judge is a spiritual channeler who is frequently possessed by the spirit of a 10 year old African American girl who lived before the civil war.  She is the only African-American in the book.  It's...awkward.