My Bodyguard
I have become a Wikipedian. It's nice to write something that people will occasionally read, which is more than I can say for this blog. Unfortunately for my ego, people will also occasionally edit or even delete what I write. Now that I've finally got around to reading Wikipedia's policies I realize that my greatest accomplishment to date is entirely inappropriate. I'll let them find that out on their own but will reprint the article in this void for propriety.
MY BODYGUARD
== An Introduction to a New Era ==
It was 1980, fifteen years before Larry Clark would introduce us to his dark portrayal of young adults in ''Kids''. Films featuring teen characters were primarily nostalgic (''Grease'', ''American Graffiti'') or fantastic (''Carrie'', ''Friday the 13th'') and usually starred actors who had not been to school since their last parent-teacher conference. Realistic depictions of modern teen life were few and far between. That was about to change. Two movies opened the way for John Hughes, whose teen "melodramedies" would rule the rest of the decade; Adrian Lyne's second film ''Foxes'' and the directorial debut of Tony Bill, ''My Bodyguard''.
== Synopsis ==
Chris Makepeace (fresh from working with Bill Murray in ''Meatballs'') plays high-school student Clifford Peache, newly transferred to Chicago with his single hotel-manager father (''Fernwood 2-Night'''s Martin Mull). The new school offers a few friendly faces (including Joan Cusack as Shelly and an uncredited Jennifer Beals) but these are over-shadowed by the dark countenances of a band of toughs led by Moody (a pre-S.E.Hinton Matt Dillon). Moody is the sort of skinny, greasy-haired punk who compensates for his small stature with pure white-trash vitriol and a criminal cunning most likely cultivated from multiple viewings of ''The Godfather''. Moody and his boys offer "protection" from Ricky (Adam Baldwin of ''The Patriot'' and ''Serenity''), the school boogeyman. Rumors abound that he shot a cop, raped a teacher; the only hope for survival is to turn over your lunch money. Being the sort of protagonist that would make Gregory Peck proud, Clifford doesn’t allow his complete lack of fighting ability to sway him from the path of righteousness. He refuses to succumb to their extortion. This results in the sort of bullying that, in a time of metal-detectors and massacres, seems quaint; after-school chases, basketball fouls, and locker stuffing. Nevertheless, it all becomes too much for Clifford who finally gives in to paying the protection money; to Ricky.
The hulking pariah agrees to serve, for a fee, as Clifford’s bodyguard. The effect this has on Moody’s gang is tremendous. Apparently, they’ve grown to believe their own hype and back down from Ricky without a fight. Clifford attempts to build a friendship with his new henchman, but Ricky will have nothing to do with that. They maintain a business relationship until Moody hires his own bodyguard. Mike looks like the sort that should have finished school when Elvis died, but not so tough that a badass like Ricky couldn’t handle. Ricky does not respond though as Mike and Moody subject him to verbal taunts and physical abuse. He stands idly as they vandalize his newly rebuilt motorcycle and throw it into a pond. Why won't he fight back?
The truth about Ricky’s past soon follows. While they played with a gun his younger brother was shot and killed. He isn’t a cold-hearted maniac. He’s a damaged loner with no desire to become close to anyone and less desire to ''hurt'' anyone. Clifford, with the help of his eccentric Gramma (Ruth Gordon of ''Harold and Maude'' fame), helps Ricky heal this old wound. Ricky then encourages his new friend to stand up for himself. The movie ends in a good ol’ fashioned fistfight that culminates in Moody’s amateur rhinoplasty.
== Western Thematics ==
The film bears the brand of the Old West morality plays. The character of Clifford evokes the honest cowboys of ''Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' and ''Tin Star'', while Ricky is the gunfighter with the shadowed past a la ''High Plains Drifter''. Perhaps a better example would be the Jimmy Stewart/John Wayne relationship in ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance''. Their working together to rebuild the motorcycle is reminiscent of the stump removal scene in ''Shane''. Moody is the pizza-faced incarnation of Bruce Dern's character in ''The Cowboys''. Just as in these films the characters learn that sometimes you must forget about the past, forget about making peace, and just fight. Fight to win.
MY BODYGUARD
== An Introduction to a New Era ==
It was 1980, fifteen years before Larry Clark would introduce us to his dark portrayal of young adults in ''Kids''. Films featuring teen characters were primarily nostalgic (''Grease'', ''American Graffiti'') or fantastic (''Carrie'', ''Friday the 13th'') and usually starred actors who had not been to school since their last parent-teacher conference. Realistic depictions of modern teen life were few and far between. That was about to change. Two movies opened the way for John Hughes, whose teen "melodramedies" would rule the rest of the decade; Adrian Lyne's second film ''Foxes'' and the directorial debut of Tony Bill, ''My Bodyguard''.
== Synopsis ==
Chris Makepeace (fresh from working with Bill Murray in ''Meatballs'') plays high-school student Clifford Peache, newly transferred to Chicago with his single hotel-manager father (''Fernwood 2-Night'''s Martin Mull). The new school offers a few friendly faces (including Joan Cusack as Shelly and an uncredited Jennifer Beals) but these are over-shadowed by the dark countenances of a band of toughs led by Moody (a pre-S.E.Hinton Matt Dillon). Moody is the sort of skinny, greasy-haired punk who compensates for his small stature with pure white-trash vitriol and a criminal cunning most likely cultivated from multiple viewings of ''The Godfather''. Moody and his boys offer "protection" from Ricky (Adam Baldwin of ''The Patriot'' and ''Serenity''), the school boogeyman. Rumors abound that he shot a cop, raped a teacher; the only hope for survival is to turn over your lunch money. Being the sort of protagonist that would make Gregory Peck proud, Clifford doesn’t allow his complete lack of fighting ability to sway him from the path of righteousness. He refuses to succumb to their extortion. This results in the sort of bullying that, in a time of metal-detectors and massacres, seems quaint; after-school chases, basketball fouls, and locker stuffing. Nevertheless, it all becomes too much for Clifford who finally gives in to paying the protection money; to Ricky.
The hulking pariah agrees to serve, for a fee, as Clifford’s bodyguard. The effect this has on Moody’s gang is tremendous. Apparently, they’ve grown to believe their own hype and back down from Ricky without a fight. Clifford attempts to build a friendship with his new henchman, but Ricky will have nothing to do with that. They maintain a business relationship until Moody hires his own bodyguard. Mike looks like the sort that should have finished school when Elvis died, but not so tough that a badass like Ricky couldn’t handle. Ricky does not respond though as Mike and Moody subject him to verbal taunts and physical abuse. He stands idly as they vandalize his newly rebuilt motorcycle and throw it into a pond. Why won't he fight back?
The truth about Ricky’s past soon follows. While they played with a gun his younger brother was shot and killed. He isn’t a cold-hearted maniac. He’s a damaged loner with no desire to become close to anyone and less desire to ''hurt'' anyone. Clifford, with the help of his eccentric Gramma (Ruth Gordon of ''Harold and Maude'' fame), helps Ricky heal this old wound. Ricky then encourages his new friend to stand up for himself. The movie ends in a good ol’ fashioned fistfight that culminates in Moody’s amateur rhinoplasty.
== Western Thematics ==
The film bears the brand of the Old West morality plays. The character of Clifford evokes the honest cowboys of ''Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' and ''Tin Star'', while Ricky is the gunfighter with the shadowed past a la ''High Plains Drifter''. Perhaps a better example would be the Jimmy Stewart/John Wayne relationship in ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance''. Their working together to rebuild the motorcycle is reminiscent of the stump removal scene in ''Shane''. Moody is the pizza-faced incarnation of Bruce Dern's character in ''The Cowboys''. Just as in these films the characters learn that sometimes you must forget about the past, forget about making peace, and just fight. Fight to win.
posted by OGRastamon at 6:59 PM
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