If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Guarding Tess (1994) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Tess Carlisle (Shirley MacLaine) is a former First Lady who requests that Secret service agent Doug Chesnic (Nicolas Cage) is put in charge of protecting her. She does this even though he can't stand her and she plans on making his time as miserable as possible.GUARDING TESS isn't the most original comedy out there but if you're a fan of the cast then you should find enough entertainment here to make it worth watching. The film is certainly a throwback to the days when these type of films were rather common. The unlikely relationship between two people who hate each other but overtime things begin to change.The film's screenplay is pretty simple as you've got the straight-arrow Cage who is very committed to his job but slowly begins to lose his mind because of the picking from the First Lady. As far as the MacLaine character, she's pretty much a version of GRUMPY OLD MEN but of course with a woman. She's cranky, mean and willing to do whatever it takes to drive people crazy.I honestly didn't find the film to be overly funny but there's no question that the two stars are very good in their roles and they also share some nice chemistry. The film also has its heart in the right place and it's certainly worth watching.

Everyone pays attention to former presidents, but what about former first ladies? Guarding Tess shows audiences what happens when the spouses leave the White House.Shirley MacLaine is a widowed former first lady, guarded for the rest of her life by the Secret Service. She gives her usual wonderfully gruff performance with touches of sensitivity and heart when it matters. She's just lovely. Nicolas Cage gives an equally brilliant performance as her main agent, frustrated by his boring assignment and Shirley's grouchy disposition.The two play off each other beautifully, and the audience is given an unusual but touching love-hate friendship to watch. Guarding Tess is a really fantastic movie, with great acting and a memorable theme, and it's really knowledgeable, too! Pretty much all the information I have about the Secret Service I learned from this movie.

A very run-of-the-mill picture but not without charm. An odd-couple movie with the concept twist of high office this film sits somewhere in the orbit of Driving Miss Daisy and The Bodyguard. Nicholas Cage's Doug Chesnic is aghast to discover that his stint of personal duty towards the former first Lady is being extended indefinitely. Shirley Maclaine can see that this is a thin idea and really works the slow-burn heart of the film only softening her stubborn, lonely widower by increments. There is no attempt made to really work the issue of duty vs individual need - of statutory vs sentimental guardianship - but the film makes its point elegantly enough. 4/10

Doug Chesnic is a secret service agent who happily welcomes his final day guarding Tess Carlisle, the crotchety widow of a former US President. Doug returns to Washington having just about managed to deal with her even when she is at her most difficult – however he has no regrets when it becomes his time to rotate back onto active duty in another assignment. However it transpires that Mrs Carlisle has already called the President and requested that Doug be returned to work her protection duty permanently. Unable to say "no" to a Presidential request, Doug begrudgingly returns to a role that is more butler and nursemaid than it is protection.A very average little affair this film. At first it seems like an amiable if totally unremarkable comedy with the lead two actors bouncing off one another if an enjoyable enough way. This makes up the majority of the film and, although it is instantly forgettable, it is quite pleasing. Cage and MacLaine work it well enough in their respective characters and they have an uneasy chemistry that suits the material. However in the final third it suddenly all goes to pot.It was always going to have a dramatic ending of sorts and I think, given the protector/protected dynamic that it was predictable that Tess was going to be in some sort of peril that Doug needs to save her from. However the way it does it really sucks the life out of the film and the very light touch of the majority means that it can't cope with even a slight knock. Suddenly it becomes all melodramatic and soft, like it has just flopped down to the floor and lost what little spark it did have; it is a really disappointing way for the film to turn out. The support cast add vague interest with faces such as Pendleton, Griffiths and a few others but mostly there is nothing for them to work with.Overall then, an amiable enough film in the main but nothing that you will remember for very long. Sadly what you will remember is the way the final third plummets into mediocrity and melodrama, extinguishing any spark or enjoyment that it may have had in the first part.