The Bodyguard
2/4
Starring: Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Bill Cobbs, Mike Starr, Michele Lamar Richards, Gary Kemp
Rated R for Language
I have a unique history with "The Bodyguard." It's the first movie I knew of that had an R rating (the first PG-13 movie I heard of was "Greedy," still yet unseen), and thus I had a strange fascination with it. In a way, it was like a forbidden fruit (despite the fact that I've been able to see R rated movies for over a half decade). Unfortunately, it's not that good.
Frank Farmer (Costner) is a retired Secret Service agent who now freelances as a bodyguard to famous people when they're in a pickle. His latest client is pop superstar Rachel Marron (Houston), who is the victim of an obsessed fan. Farmer is married to the job, and leaves once it is over. He doesn't want a personal connection to mess with his focus. But he finds an attraction to Rachel, one that is mutual. Is Frank willing to let his guard down enough to take advantage of what's right in front of him?
By design, romances are not complicated endeavors. If that is a film's focus, the plot must be kept on the back burner (if one is necessary at all). The point of seeing a romance is falling in love with the characters as they fall in love with each other. "Prime" is a good example. Apart from a hilarious first act revolving around the fact that Meryl Streep knows that her patient, Uma Thurman, is dating her son, the plot becomes almost non-existent as the film concentrates on developing the fledgling romance between Thurman and Bryan Greenberg. Writer Lawrence Kasdan, one of Hollywood's most popular and beloved screenwriters, forgets this. There are too many scenes of angst and posturing (mainly by Costner), and we only get a few scenes where he and Houston make a connection.
Apart from the cliched script by Kasdan, the film has a bigger problem: Costner and Houston have no chemistry. Costner is good, but he relies on his charisma and star power to get him through. The late Whitney Houston, in her first film performance, is also good. But while they are interesting to watch, spending two hours with him quickly turns into a trial because we have no investment in their relationship.
The film is also far too long. There's barely enough material to last the required 90 minutes, but Kasdan and director Mick Jackson stretch it out to two hours. Therefore we get too many repetitive scenes that have Frank fighting his feelings for Rachel, and Rachel yelling at him for being too interfering. We get it.
Of greater success is the subplot of Rachel's stalker, which is moderately engaging. The "twists," if you can call them that, are so obvious that I figured them out a half an hour before they happened (there are two). It contains some suspense, but it's certainly not enough to save the film.
The best thing, in fact the only good thing, about this movie is hearing Houston sing. She has a great voice and Jackson shows it off at every opportunity (there may have been a contractual obligation to do this, but even if, it's worth it). My advice? Buy her albums and skip the movie.
Starring: Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Bill Cobbs, Mike Starr, Michele Lamar Richards, Gary Kemp
Rated R for Language
I have a unique history with "The Bodyguard." It's the first movie I knew of that had an R rating (the first PG-13 movie I heard of was "Greedy," still yet unseen), and thus I had a strange fascination with it. In a way, it was like a forbidden fruit (despite the fact that I've been able to see R rated movies for over a half decade). Unfortunately, it's not that good.
Frank Farmer (Costner) is a retired Secret Service agent who now freelances as a bodyguard to famous people when they're in a pickle. His latest client is pop superstar Rachel Marron (Houston), who is the victim of an obsessed fan. Farmer is married to the job, and leaves once it is over. He doesn't want a personal connection to mess with his focus. But he finds an attraction to Rachel, one that is mutual. Is Frank willing to let his guard down enough to take advantage of what's right in front of him?
By design, romances are not complicated endeavors. If that is a film's focus, the plot must be kept on the back burner (if one is necessary at all). The point of seeing a romance is falling in love with the characters as they fall in love with each other. "Prime" is a good example. Apart from a hilarious first act revolving around the fact that Meryl Streep knows that her patient, Uma Thurman, is dating her son, the plot becomes almost non-existent as the film concentrates on developing the fledgling romance between Thurman and Bryan Greenberg. Writer Lawrence Kasdan, one of Hollywood's most popular and beloved screenwriters, forgets this. There are too many scenes of angst and posturing (mainly by Costner), and we only get a few scenes where he and Houston make a connection.
Apart from the cliched script by Kasdan, the film has a bigger problem: Costner and Houston have no chemistry. Costner is good, but he relies on his charisma and star power to get him through. The late Whitney Houston, in her first film performance, is also good. But while they are interesting to watch, spending two hours with him quickly turns into a trial because we have no investment in their relationship.
The film is also far too long. There's barely enough material to last the required 90 minutes, but Kasdan and director Mick Jackson stretch it out to two hours. Therefore we get too many repetitive scenes that have Frank fighting his feelings for Rachel, and Rachel yelling at him for being too interfering. We get it.
Of greater success is the subplot of Rachel's stalker, which is moderately engaging. The "twists," if you can call them that, are so obvious that I figured them out a half an hour before they happened (there are two). It contains some suspense, but it's certainly not enough to save the film.
The best thing, in fact the only good thing, about this movie is hearing Houston sing. She has a great voice and Jackson shows it off at every opportunity (there may have been a contractual obligation to do this, but even if, it's worth it). My advice? Buy her albums and skip the movie.
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