Must Have
Added 10/17/2009
Nicholas Cage at his BEST! You MUST own this one if you are his fan.
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Guarding Tess
Added 9/24/2009
Nicolas Cage either shines completely or sometimes gets cast into dismal characters and roles. I personally like less the "Gone In 60 Seconds" tough guy side of his roles and extremely appreciate his soft tender side; roles like "Family Man" and this movie, "Guarding Tess".
This is an endearing role of the dynamics between two individuals, Tess [Shirley McClaine - former President's wife] and her retirement secret service detail - headed by Cage. Like I was taught about flying - its usually 99% boredom followed by moments of sheer terror - their detail that guards Tess has the same dynamic. Always on guard - to walk the dog or get her lunch, etc . . . . . The point in the story where danger is immenent is a vital part of the plot - but in a sense it's almost anti-climatic in comparison to the wonderful bantering that exists between Cage and the former First Lady. The points where the current President gets his calls from Tess if Cage doesn't behave - are to me the funniest parts of the film.
Great movie - a classic that I would rate with the likes of "The African Queen", "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" or "The Old Man & The Sea". This is a keeper that I almost had forgotten existed.
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Great Movie
Added 9/16/2009
I am not a Shirley MacLaine fan. I watched this movie because it had Nicholas Cage in it. Well, let's say that I loved her performance in this movie. The interaction between her and Cage was very impressive. You could just sit there and forget you were watching a film. It seems reasonable that the head of her security team would become very fond of his charge. It also seems reasonable that she would come to feel as if he was her son. Eddie Albert plays the perfect bad son so well. This is a movie well worth watching with all the twist and turns, never knowing but always expecting something to happen. Don't want to spoil the whole movie for you but you'll greatly enjoy this one. It's definitely worth the money.
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Tess, the best!
Added 4/12/2009
Wonderful, feel-good story about a secret service man guarding a former fist lady. Great cast, great movie.
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Guarding Tess
Added 5/3/2008
THis is a favourite and a fun movie. Shirley MacLaine does a wondeful performance of an ex-First Lady who knows she is in the middle of nowhere with not much of a life. Nicolas Cage is great as the annoyed head of her security detail. The DVD arrived quickly and in great shape.
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White female as the only acceptable feminity
Added 9/30/2009
This is an extremely unfortunate film. People need to be extremely careful what messages they are willing to accept as good messages. This story really falls apart when you analyze Bridget Fonda's character and recognize that she has very few qualities worth identifying. Her character is presented as the ultimate victim. She is supposed to be down on her luck, but that became obnoxious when you recognize that she is does not have a difficult life. The worst thing that has happened to her through the entire film is that her career as an actress flopped and she is mildly in debt because of a poor first marriage. Her seriousness about her debt is supposed to somehow make her a victim that needs to be saved by the right man. Her life isn't difficult. All she has to do is wait tables and she cannot manage that without being depressed; she has no responsibilities beside going to work and she cannot even find a job that she likes. Her character also has the annoying habit of trying to make her own ignorance cute. She doesn't understand what killed her beloved dog and never finds out. Poor Bridget...her dog died when she was a little girl.
The more serious implication of this film is that it reaffirms racial stereotypes. The film's underlying message is that a white man should never be with a minority woman and is justified in committing adultery if his current wife is non white. Fonda's character is childish, but somehow portrayed as the right mate for Cage. It is really sickening when you analyze Fonda's character and notice that beneath her constant complaining she is not ultimately sweet but greedy and deliberately engaging in an affair with another woman's husband. She has an apartment and a job--she does not need the lottery ticket and should not have taken it. Credit card debit is not an excuse to take money from a married man and is so selfish it is sickening. She does not feel bad about this at all and does not refuse the money because the other woman is colored. She feels like she is entitled to the belongings of a white male.
This movie contains the worst stereotype against a Latino female that I have ever viewed. Muriel is mean, greedy, childish (all the women in this film are extremely childish), and reduced to her body--she gets breast implants even though she is already physically beautiful. Within the first few minutes of the film Muriel explains that she is the kind of person that "needs money." She is domineering and yells at her husband. She wears beautiful outfits not because she has a love of beauty but because she is vain. When given money she puts a picture of herself on the wall further degrading attractive minority females. She supposedly lived with her husband for long periods of time but cannot understand him. She is stupid and disloyal. She dreams of winning the lottery not because of her economic situation (a minority female stuck in poverty) but because she is so greedy. She is so childish that she shrieks like a banshee when she wins the jackpot.
This movie does not resemble what it is like to be a minority female in the United States and ultimately portrays the life of a simple white girl as being more tragic. Then follows suit this case for the justification of a single white female stealing back the white male that accidentally married the wrong woman (a minority). By degrading the relationship of the married couple all interracial marriages are degraded.
As far as intercity life is concerned, this movie is pathetic. As a decent guy Cage has no material wants; this is portrayed by his willingness to raise children in the inner city without seeing a problem with it. Let's consider just why it might be a problem to raise children in the inner city and why love and humility will not make up for poor economic conditions. It is nothing more than a white woman's fantasy and justification for her own jealousy and belief in her ultimate superiority over other women. We are supposed to believe that females are so stupid that they cannot understand what poverty is really like and think that it can be solved by kissing aids patients and giving soup to the homeless. We get the typical black cop, who is ultimately useless but a dutiful side kick to the white man who is the actual hero. This role is reproduced in so many films that it is downright the hallmark of a bad film. Another hallmark is the dishonest Arab taxi driver who makes his appearance and the Arab that robs the mini mart. Asians are portrayed as racist work alcoholics(another common stereotype). It is amazing how every negative human quality appears in the character of a minority while the white Cage pleads for people to be reasonable.
As far as the divorce between Muriel and Cage is concerned, Muriel is somehow twisted into being wrong. Her husband insults her and parades the affair that he is having with another woman in front of her and the news, and somehow she is not entitled to the winning ticket and only gets it because of a ruthless lawyer. Nothing is mentioned about how no decent man would take his lottery earning and split it with some bimbo he met the day before (and Fonda is a bimbo) rather than with his wife. I am ashamed of this film and it isn't romantic.
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relax and enjoy
Added 1/11/2009
This movie is simply about two nice people who end up with crappy marriage partners and find each other. They fall in love and live happily ever after. Their "exes" get what they deserve. Hardly a complicated plot.
After reading the good and bad reviews on this movie, it is disheartening to see how many people seem to think every movie must be neck deep in reality to be enjoyable. This movie is based on a true story - but it is only a movie! It's not a documentary nor intended to be. The critics must think that writers, directors, and actors are idiots because they can't see what's *wrong* with the script.
It's the kind of movie you watch if you're a romantic or just want to believe the world isn't as crappy a place as it treated you today. So open a bottle of your favorite drink, take off your shoes, and sit back to see two good actors put a smile on your face.
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A nice story well presented
Added 11/28/2008
This is a kind of story you can relate to. The two main characters seem to have a good chemistry, and hot Perez is wonderful as the awful character she is expected to be. Not very far from the typical romantic comedy though.
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