Guarding Tess

A secret service agent, just itching to throw himself in front of a speeding bullet bound for a political VIP, finds himself instead sentenced to a second three-year term guarding Tess Carlisle, the cantankerous, imperious widow of a former president who lives in reclusive retirement in a small Ohio town. Shirley MacLaine, as the irascible former first lady, seems to be perfecting her signature role of late as a crusty but benign, somewhat aging diva. A sort of Yankee-fied spin on Aurora Greenway, Tess more bemoans the loss of her power and position than she does the fading of her physical beauty. As an antidote to her boredom, Tess revels in manipulating her staff in general and tormenting Special Agent In Charge, Doug Chesnic, in particular. Reduced at times to gofer status, Chesnic is torn between his unswerving loyalty to his Executive-In-Chief and his frustration at being unable to do his job as he sees fit. Cage is a sheer joy in the role of the yes-sirring, by-the-book agent. All eagerness and business and loyalty, his Chesnic has the pent-up energy of a well-trained dog ordered to “stay” but just quivering with the instinct and desire to attack. Director Wilson recognizes the power of his players and gives them plenty of room to shine. The landscape and interiors of Guarding Tess have a cold, almost brittle look to them, which serve as counterpoints to the underlying warmth of its odd inhabitants. No stranger to quirkiness -- Wilson was largely responsible for TV's WKRP in Cincinnati as well as the brilliant Frank's Place -- he packs Guarding Tess with interesting characters and amusing asides, not to mention the funniest telephone dialogue since Bob Newhart. There are lots of laughs in this picture, and though at one point he teeters perilously on the brink of mush and gush, Wilson manages to regain his gently caustic comic footing.