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Guarding Tess on DVD (1994)

Guarding Tess cover art
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Average rating: 63%
1218720131225
3.0
from 629 members
 
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Nicolas Cage, Richard Griffiths, Edward Albert Jr., James Rebhorn, Edward Albert, Austin Pendleton
Director: Hugh Wilson
Studio: SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time: 91 mins
Certificate: 12
User collections: Worst Films
Genres: Drama
Languages: English
Dubbed: French, German, Italian, Spanish
Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Released: 14/01/2002
Also Available on: Also Available on: DIGITAL

Brief synopsis of Guarding Tess

Tess Carlisle (Shirley MacLaine) is the widow of a former United States President. A quarrelsome older woman, she's known for her belligerent manner and her blatant disregard for protocol. For Doug Chesnic (Nicolas Cage), the Secret Service agent assigned to the widow, standing watch over the cantankerous old lady is more than he can tolerate. After three long years as her bodyguard, Doug finally gets a new assignment. But before he's had the chance to celebrate, Tess has him brought back to her Ohio home for yet another go at being her bodyguard. Tess and Doug may be like oil and water together, but they'll soon realize that they've needed each other all along.

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Critics Reviews

Rating of 3 stars out of 5 Radio Times

In this comedy drama, Shirley MacLaine does almost too good a job of playing cantankerous president's widow Tess Carlisle — a former First Lady from hell. MacLaine is so believable in the leading role she's almost unendurable to watch, while Nicolas Cage, as long-suffering secret service minder Doug Chesnic, displays the same sure comic touch he brought to 1998's City of Angels. It's attractively staged by Police Academy director Hugh Wilson and remains entertaining until it finally lurches into melodrama.

Rating of 1 stars out of 4 Halliwell's Film Guide

Likeable comedy of conflicting personalities, played with a lightness and charm by its two leads; its later plunge into melodrama is a mistake.

USA Today

"...Nicolas Cage keeps his eccentricities in check and gives a nicely subtle though no less intense performance..." -- 3 out of 4 stars

See all 6 Critics Reviews »

Members Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Rated - 5 starsExcellent

A customer from norwich ,england , 26/01/2005

What a lovely film,the acting by nicholas cage and shirley mclaine was brilliant,How a hard heart can be softened by someone caring unwittedly.I loved this so much im going to buy it .

  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 1 starsAwful film

A customer from London, England , 23/06/2004

Not remotely funny or interesting - Yawn!!

  4 out of 5 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 5 starsMy first ROM-COM-DRAM

A customer from Bury St. Edmunds , 04/09/2008

Brilliant character acting. My first Romantic-Comedy-Drama. SUCH a great film, fabulously portraying all these emotions. Everyone performed amazingly In Charater.

HIGHLY recommended.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 1 stars

Srimathi#1 from EDGWARE , 03/02/2004

This flim has small moments of heart warming comedy but in whole is very much dull, and typical. Nicholas cage plays his character not all too well, and the story runs very slowly, with very little effective character developements.

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Most Recent Reviews

Rated - 3 starsA Cage film I actually liked!!!

Melisa Tupou from Harrow, UK , 14/03/2006

I don't usually like Cage films...he tends to annoy me after about 10 mins...but this was quite watchable...and how good is Maclaine???

She's the President's widow and he's the uptight Secret Service Agent assigned to guard her....the first half of the movie deals with their love/hate relationship...which is both entertaining and likeable.

The second half is supposed to be the 'gritty drama' bit...and it's just painful...the two leads try, but are let down by dodgey plot and even worse dialogue.

It's entertaining...but lightweight and strained toward the end.

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Rated - 3 starsGuarding Tess

MedTech from LITTLEHAMPTON , 26/06/2008

This is a film about an ex-Presidents wife who has the Secret Service protecting her.Nicholas Cage becomes her bodyguard but they do not hit it off as she is very demanding,bossy and rude.In the end,after he is fired by her,he becomes the only person she can trust.A very good film about pressures on America's security departments protecting high profile people.

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