Guarding Tess (1994)

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 #142

Posted On: November, 19, 2011

Fmovies: Guarding Tess is a light, likable film that has good intentions and is easily entertaining. However, it is pretty forgettable and this film has similar themes and plot points as the much better film, Driving Miss Daisy. Both films are about a younger guy and an older woman going at it with each other before their relationship improved. But all in all, this is a good, light-hearted film.

Hugh Wilson's film is about a Special Agent Douglas who has been trained for the very best. Instead, he is assigned to keep watch over former First Lady Tess Carlisle. We realize that these two people have nothing in common and is very hard to get along.

The acting is solid. Shirley MacLaine is one of Hollywood's best and rumor has it that this role is very similar to her real-life persona. But, she was magnificent here. Nicolas Cage is also good and his role is very restrained for once. There are other wonderful 90's character actors that take up the screen including Richard Griffiths and James Rebhorn.

Overall, this is a delightful, mild-mannered film about two people with nothing in common defying odds so that they begin to respect each other. This is labeled as a comedy, but I can't see why. I hardly laughed, but this works very well as a drama. This film reminds me greatly of Driving Miss Daisy and I think that's a good thing. I rate this film 8/10.

This should not be a spoiler except in terms of flavor; this fine film brings me back to "Driving Miss Daisy." A reluctant secret service agent (Cage) is forced to renew his term for "guarding" a moody, very bright, usually difficult former first lady. From an infinite number of quickly subdued facial expressions, inhalations, and rare comments, we see that Tess (the former first lady) is a complicated character, built of far more complex material than that which has created simply a tiresome, demanding and spoiled lady finding herself in old age without having prepared for the life she has now.

Rather quickly, we see her aloneness in the world. Less quickly, Cage too sees it and exhibits an understanding that far transcends the many funny moments in this serious work.

See it. If you understand how close to the soul its scratches are, your eyes won't be dry at the end.

Guarding Tess fmovies. Nicholas Cage is "Guarding Tess" in this 1994 film starring Shirley MacLaine, Austin Pendleton, Edward Albert, Richard Griffiths, and James Rebhorn. Shirley MacLaine is a much beloved ex-first lady who has Secret Service protection, and one of her protectees, Doug Chesnic (Cage) is thrilled when his round of duty is over. However, Tess makes a request of the president (her husband's vice president) to let Doug stay on a little longer. Annoyed, Doug starts standing up to her more, bringing on himself the wrath of the President of United States, who's sick of hearing from her. Doug and Tess finally start bonding - she in a way she could never do with her own son - and then something happens that threatens both of them in different ways.

I love Nicholas Cage in comedy - "Honeymoon in Vegas" comes to mind - and he has some hilarious moments in this as Tess and his situation become more aggravating to him. He does a terrific job. Shirley MacLaine is wonderful as Tess - feisty, annoying, vulnerable, and sad.

This is a very sweet and funny film and not at all cloying. It's a little contrived; however, the performances really make it a good rental.

When this movie was bought, I at first wasn't keen on watching it except because of Nicolas Cage I thought it might be alright.

Well when I sat down to watch this movie I was quite surprised to how entertaining this movie actually was.

There were funny parts that would put a smile on my face and some that made me laugh out loud. There were also great drammatical parts later in the film that just added to the fine touches of making a great film.

The chemistry between Nicolas Cage and Shirley MacLaine worked so well and their performances entertaining and often funny.

A great movie about learning to appreciate what is given to you and not wasting energy on what you cannot get. A gem of a movie, I recommend it.

This movie is a refeshing pause in Cage's over the top acting. He plays the foil for the ex first lady well- respectful but not cowering. this is a film about loyalty and duty and most of all about having compassion for someone who is lonely.