The Bodyguard ** (1992, Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Gary Kemp) – Classic Movie Review 7119

Director Mick Jackson’s hokey and unconvincing but highly popular 1992 romantic thriller The Bodyguard stars Kevin Costner as former US Secret Service agent Frank Farmer, who is hired by her manager as the bodyguard for pop singer-actress Rachel Marron (Whitney Houston) after she gets death threats. Of course the bodyguard and the singer start an affair, and then her stalker strikes…

The Bodyguard was nominated for two Oscars, both of them for Best Music, Original Song: for the song ‘I Have Nothing’ for David Foster (music) and Linda Thompson (lyrics) and for the song ‘Run to You’ for Jud Friedman (music) and Allan Rich (lyrics).

Lawrence Kasdan’s simple, derivative TV movie-style story is allowed to run to 130 minutes, which is at least 30 minutes too long, and the film’s three little climaxes are all mishandled. The impact of the whole film is restricted by ponderous pacing, over-emphatic acting and an often fumbled screenplay.

In his matinée idol phase, Costner, looking glum, tense and drawn in his famous Nineties short ‘haircut from hell’, makes little headway in an uphill struggle against improbable casting and feeble writing, and Gary Kemp is unbelievable as an English pop manager, called Sy Spector. But Houston is ideally cast and delights at her half-dozen songs, including Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You’.

Alas, there is none of the sought-after sexual chemistry between the stars. But, the public adored it. After obvious re-cutting, The Bodyguard was a big hit worldwide: on a $25,000,000 budget, the cumulative worldwide gross was a stonking $410,900,000, including a US gross of $121,945,720.

Also in the cast are Bill Cobbs, Ralph Waite, Tomas Arana, Mike Starr, Robert Wuhl (Oscar host), Bert Remsen, Charles Keating, Richard Schiff, DeVaughn Nixon, Christopher Birt, Michele Lamar Richards and Debbie Reynolds (as herself).

The Bodyguard is directed by Mick Jackson, runs 129 minutes, is made by Kasdan Pictures, Tig Productions and Warner Bros, is released by Warner Bros, is written by Lawrence Kasdan, is shot in Technicolor by Andrew Dunn, is produced by Lawrence Kasdan, Jim Wilson and Kevin Costner, is scored by Alan Silvestri and is designed by Jeffrey Beecroft.

Parton sings her hit ‘I Will Always Love You’ in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

The new documentary Whitney is released in the UK and US on 6 July 2018.

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7119