GUARDING TESS takes a crochety, ailing, widowed former First Lady (MacClaine) and one very reluctant Secret Service agent (Cage) and pairs them on a path that spells almost certain doom for one of them. She can't get along with anyone, including her grown son who ignores her. And Cage just can't get along with her. Naturally, over time, they form a strong bond. Then the unexpected happens. Their world is turned upside down when she is kidnapped. The movie shifts into high melodrama at this point and never lets up until the end. The music begins to thunder down on us, Cage badly overacts, mostly yelling and bellowing, and the film almost goes off the rails. Austin Pendleton hams it up as the First Lady's neurotic driver, and frankly he's not very good in this one. A mostly entertaining little movie that soon enough gets too big for its britches. See it and decide for yourself.
Review of Guarding Tess
