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Bodyguard (1992)

Plot In A Paragraph: Frank Farmer (KC) a former Secret Service agent takes on the job of bodyguard to a singing superstar Rachel Marron (Whitney Houston)

Whilst I do not rate The Bodyguard as high as some people do. It is an enjoyable movie, I happen to have watched it a lot in recent years, and I always like it, but I can go years without feeling the need to revisit it.

It is hard to say what I don't like, as it's nothing in particular, I just find the directing a bit flat, and at times the actors are poorly framed. I remember I loved it when it was released, but by the time I watched it again on video, my opinion if it, had dropped considerably.

The soundtrack is very effective, all the new songs are catchy and for the second year in a row, the single to a KC movie dominates the charts. I knew the song I Will Always Love You from the Burt Reynolds/Dolly Parton movie The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. And whilst I still call it a Dolly Parton song, I know many call it a Whitney Houston one, and think of her version as the definitive one.

Of the cast, in her first movie Houston is very good. I'm surprised she didn't make more movies (she only made 4 more) as the talent was there. It's another less is more performance from KC, similar to his performance in The Untouchables, but it's still effective here, and he has some good, witty lines. All the supporting cast are fine too.

The film had to undergo some hasty re-cutting when test audiences hated the original ending with Farmer dying after saving Marron. I remember KC saying in an interview, that he didn't even understand the new ending to the movie.

Sadly for me the tacked on happier ending ruins things a bit!! As Farmer is clearly shot in the chest and gut at Oscars, but he turns up at the airport with his arm in a sling.

It was another $100 million plus grosser for KC as The Bodyguard finished the year the 7th highest grossing movie of 1992, with a domestic gross of $121 million.

8/10 for this reviewer.

The Bodyguard is fundamentally a love story between two contrasting characters with their own idiosyncrasies. The plot is intriguing enough to carry the film through and the romance between Costner and Houston builds steadily and realistically.

With some decent action scenes, a decent cast and a great soundtrack, i found the Bodyguard to be an enjoyable movie.

Clearly this film is not for everyone, it doesn't have enough action to satisfy the action fans, it isn't thrilling enough to be a thriller and as a pure romance film it is fairly weak; but i have to admit it does balance between these 3 genres quite well without excelling in any one of them.

7/10

Why do people trash this movie? It's not high art but it's thoroughly entertaining. WH's performance in this movie is better than all her others...just watch the scene when she asks Frank Farmer to take her on a date. Natural, unaffected and charming. Kevin Costner underplays his role and I enjoyed watching him. I just bought the anniversary DVD and it has great backstage footage and very interesting tidbits. For example, it was Kevin Costner's idea, against a lot of protest, to have WH sing the first few bars of 'I will Always Love You' acapella. Smart man. And it is interesting to listen to the comments of Costner about this movie. He was a major star but he waited and held up production of this movie a year so he could get WH. He didn't want anyone else and was willing to wait for her. He refused to interject a story line that would 'explain' the Black/White thing (Bravo). And although Black/White pairings are fairly common now, THEN, for a major star to have a real black love interest ( and an untested actress at that) was a bold move. And it paid off. I don't know why he has not been as successful recently. The DVD interviews were done about 2 yrs ago and WH was still drug crazy (so no interviews with her) but Kevin Costner's last words in the interviews are about her and he said, among other things, that he would always love Whitney. Their chemistry was spot on. I WILL ALWAYS LOVE THIS MOVIE.

The Bodyguard is a movie with many flows and one redeeming factor: the WH factor. People went to see this picture because they wanted to see Whitney singing and she delivered some of her most passionate vocal performances before the mesmerised eyes of her millions of fans on the big screen. Let's face it, who wants to see her acting when she can sing so beautifully?

The unrelenting criticism by couch 'drama experts' of her acting seems a tad over the top. She never claimed to be an actress and despite this being her film debut, she did not disgrace herself. She did the best she could with what she was given: a patchy character with very little to say. What else could she do to play this role? Well, just what she did, sing her heart out.

The best thing that Kevin Costner did was to insist that Whitney was the only one he wanted for this part. He knew he had a winner, but he also tried to do too much with the story: a romantic thriller with patches of 'comedy', a study in professional-personal conflict and 'who done it' thrown in. That's the reason for the plot's erratic turns and the non existent character development. The glue that holds the whole mess together is Whitney, the singer, looking stunning and sounding like an angel.

This could have been a gigantic flop and instead it was a massive hit. It will remain a phenomenon in popular culture because it delivered what the vast majority of its audience wanted: escapism, a couple of hours away from their own reality and a look inside the glamorous life of a superstar. They were entertained by a great pop singer, who had made a huge video clip for her songs and they did not mind paying for the privilege. Those who hate The Bodyguard, went to see it with some unrealistic expectations of 'serious cinema and acting'?! Hey, go to see foreign movies with subtitles for that and come down from your pretentious cloud.

I have watched many action movies but this one makes one think: what happens next? This material could have been handled badly, but it comes out refined and elegant.

Both Whitney Hustoun and Kevin Costner stay true to their types, yet sharing a common purpose giving a spiritual dimension to the movie as observed by a commentator.

This is not a conventional romantic movie and that is why many are disappointed. It is a throwback to old concepts of chivalry and knighthood. The remarkable point to observe is that it is a modern story about an independent woman and her child.

This is a movie which feels good and genuine in the end.