Review of Guarding Tess (1994) by Christine R — 26 Nov 2008

Guarding Tess is about a secret service agent (Cage) who has been assigned to protect a former First Lady (Shirley MacLaine). Unfortunately for this secret service agent, Doug, he doesn't get to see any action in his duties there. No gunfights, no wiretaps, no nothing. And if that weren't bad enough, the titular Tess that he's guarding is an irritating old woman who curtails protocal, insiting that he and his men leave their guns on a table when they come into her bedroom, among other things.

It's easy to feel that Guarding Tess is somewhat slight. The bulk of the movie is a back-and-forth between Tess and Doug as they struggle for dominance. It never devolves into a slapsticky affair, though, and although the movie could probably be classified as comedy, there are not really any broad laugh-out-loud sort of moments. The plot is driven by the two characters' small struggles with each other.

It does take a little while to fall into the routine that the movie creates. At first, it seems as though the film is going nowhere at all. As time elapses, though, it becomes clear that the focus of the movie is not going to be on some big kidnapping or something silly like that -- instead, it's simply about two people who have a love/hate relationship, both used to being in charge and unsure how to deal with the other. The film is about the chemistry between Doug and Tess, nothing more. So, again, it's easy to feel that the movie is a little bit simple. But the push and pull between the two main characters becomes enjoyable as we begin to know them better.

Guarding Tess is by no means profound. It has no moral to tell, no ultimate ruminations on the meaning of life or art or whatever other abstract idea movies tend to leap onto. Instead, it's just about two people -- being with one another, and being themselves. The film is comfortable in being just simply a nice movie.

SPOILERS FOLLOW...

That is, until it starts nearing the end. Suddenly, everything that you thought the movie wasn't becomes what it is. Tess is kidnapped and it is up to Doug to rush to her rescue. He's following the clues, whipping out his gun and threatening people with it, interrogating suspects and digging through the dirt. He is finally the secret service agent that he always wanted to be.

It's a little disappointing that after all of this slow building, the plot explodes in this bright fireball of shrapnel and cliches. What had become engaging due to the characters now is relying on fabricated suspense. It comes full circle at the end, which helps somewhat... but still. What the heck happened here? Was it really important to have an actiony final act? I don't know for certain, but I don't think that I'm alone in believing that this sort of betrayed the mostly positive emotions that the film had garnered previously.

And then there's the whole 'brain tumor' thing, which ends up being completely irrelevant to the plot.

MacLaine did a fine job as the cantankerous yet lively older woman, even if the character has been done before. Nicolas Cage is kind of hit-or-miss here, sometimes playing Doug's professionalism a little too close to wooden, but then managing to breathe life back into it before the final count.

Guarding Tess was never supposed to be a life-changing film, but it could have been a lot better if it had managed to swerve around the bumps near the end. A good movie, sure, but nothing spectacular.