The Age of Commercialism

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

hyped garbage

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Special Agent In Charge Doug Chesnic (Nicholas Cage), is very fond of his assignment guarding former First Lady Tess Carlisle...as long as it's over.The movie starts with Doug literally floating out of Tess's Ohio home after a hasty farewell to her, and her staff, and smiling all the way back to Washington. Then, in his boss's office, the bomb drops that Tess Carlisle has contacted the President of the United States, asking him to please send Doug back...he's indispensable to her guarding detail.Devastated, Doug tries to get out of it, only to be reminded that the President himself is asking him to do this..."What if I say no?" "I'm going to give you a minute to think about that." his boss replies.And 24 hours later, Doug is back in Ohio, taking breakfast up to Mrs. Carlisle, after just having ripped off the rosebud from the stem in her flower vase, as a way of showing his rage at his reinstatement.Later, after Mrs. Carlisle feels the urge to play a game of golf on a snow covered winter afternoon, Doug decides it's time to lay down the law.He informs Mrs. Carlisle that from now on, the Secret Service intends to do their job by the book which means, no caddying, no running errands, and no making snacks.He's still bragging about straightening Tess out, as he sits in a pub with his colleagues, when the waitress walks up announcing a phone call for Doug which turns out to be none other than...the President who informs Doug in a not-so-pleasant tone that he is to submit to everything Mrs. Carlisle wants.Chastened, with no other choice but to do his job, Doug bites the bullet.But when the former First Lady is kidnapped, Doug and his subordinates go on a desperate quest to find her, resulting in an unlikely filial bond between Doug Chesnic, and Mrs. Carlisle.This movie is a real diamond. Nicholas Cage, and Shirley McLaine are terrific in it, as is all the supporting cast.Hugh Wilson does a great job -not just with this film- but also as the voice actor for the President of the United States.Originally, Review #142Posted On: November, 19, 2011

I know that when most movies start (or for that matter, most books), it takes time to "set things up". But honestly, this film is downright boring for almost the first half. After all, we all know where this film is going...at least generally; either there will be an assassination plot against her or a kidnapping, or some life-threatening event.Once we reach that point, then things get darned interesting. Although with more time for this part of the film, it could have been done much more nicely. The sentimentality was crucial to the film, but more time should have been given to the action; there could have been a better balance.Can I believe Nicholas Cage as a secret service agent? Yes. Can I believe Shirley MacLaine as a feisty First Lady? Yes. Both of these two main actors do very nicely here.The slightly creepy Austin Pendleton is so good here, as he almost always was. You kinda know he's a suspect, and he plays it perfectly. Edward Albert seems rather superfluous here.The other supporting actors all do well here, although none stand out.It's a decent film, but not outstanding. But Shirley MacLaine is a joy and a treasure.

A different take on the White House porn of the 1990s, "Guarding Tess" stars Nicholas Cage as a secret service agent tasked with protecting Tess Carlisle (Shirley Maclaine), the wife of a former US President. The problem? Tess is a demanding, obnoxious and seemingly irrational elderly woman. She's also been kidnapped by "bad guys". The climax? Workingman Cage learns to respect, sympathise with and pledge his life to Tess, whose rescue depends on Cage resorting to some good ole fashioned US torture.Like most films starring Nicholas Cage, "Guarding Tess" is elevated by Cage's magnificently madcap performance. A giant middle finger to Method Acting, and with the magical ability to make any ole crap watchable, Cage's body of work ages like the finest of laxatives.6/10 - Worth viewing only for the Cage.

Having just read a section of the book Camera Politica, the idea of reaction against feminism has been on my mind. Some of the movies of the early eighties was much a reaction against feminism and the rebuilding of the patriarchal society. Guarding Tess is a movie that falls into this category, though it was released in the early 90's. Guarding Tess is a reaction to is the woman's desire for individuality.Guarding Tess is about a former first lady Tess Carlyse (Shirley McClaine) and a secret service agent (Nicholas Cage). The agent finishes his duty looking after Tess and returns to Washington but is pulled back straight away because Tess trusts him. Tess is a very strong willed, dominant woman that does not like people pushing her around. She has mostly male servants and secret service agents, and likes to try and break away from their watching every so often. Tess is portrayed as a typical feminist who wants to be independent of male support.Tess' character goes deeper though for she also takes the role of the dominant gender. She is not happy unless she dominates the male sex, such as the seven secret service agents in her employ. The President, who sounds like a cowboy, is also very much dominated by her, and we see from the couple of phone calls she has with him (actually only one at the end) that she has him under her control.This movie though goes to undermine this dominance of the female to show the need for the woman to rely upon the male. Tess is not only dying of a brain tumor, but she is placed in a position of helplessness that without her secret service agent, she would die. She is a very strong woman, but she needs a male to survive. This is played out in the kidnap scene, where Cage digs her out of her grave.Tess treats Cage like a son. This becomes apparent when we meet her son, an ambitious, but failing, real estate salesperson. He comes to visit her but only to try and win her support on a development program. We realise that what Tess really wants is a relationship, one of equals and friendship rather than business associates.In some ways this is a relationship movie, and the theme music reveals this. The break in the relationship caused by the kidnapping is a sorrowful part of the movie, not an exciting part. It is about relationships and dependence. It is a lash at feminism to say that even if the male cannot do anything else, we need them for companionship for that is the fundamental aspect of our nature: relationship.