Cage is on best behaviour here, but he's not an especially sympathetic performer.
Comment
06/24/06
Guarding Tess (1994)
57
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:30
Fresh:17
Rotten:13
Average Rating:5.5/10
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Tess Carlisle is the widow of a former United States President. A quarrelsome older woman, she's known for her belligerent manner and her blatant disregard for protocol. For Doug Chesnic, the... [More]
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Nicolas Cage, Austin Pendleton, Edward Albert
Director: Hugh Wilson
Reviews for Guarding Tess
Top CriticStraightforward but enjoyable comedy that sees Cage and MacLaine going at it hammer and tongs -- although not in that sense.
09/19/08
Top CriticThey should have pulled her detail.
02/14/03
No review available.
06/14/05
There are a few good jokes, some solid chemistry between the leads, and a little pathos, but it all doesn't add up to very much.
01/01/00
A fun idea, blandly executed
03/19/04
The film is indeed likable. But director Hugh Wilson, who co-wrote the script with Peter Torokvei, just skims the surface of potentially rich territory.
09/19/08
Top CriticNo review available.
12/02/03
No review available.
11/19/04
It's just two pleasant, well-acted characters with nothing to do.
01/01/00
Comedically challenged piffle. This one hardly even seems to be trying.
07/26/02
For the first half-hour, the tension between Cage and MacLaine makes for some truly funny moments, but then it seems as if director Hugh Wilson called a wrap too early.
05/20/03
No review available.
02/18/05
No review available.
07/20/03
Competently executed and entertaining, chiefly due to the first-rate performances of stars Cage and MacLaine.
09/19/08
Top Critic
No review available.
08/26/02
Enough cannot be said about Cage and MacLaine's performances and their obvious chemistry together -- and it's fair to say that they more than make up for the film's lapses.
01/01/00
No review available.
11/07/05
What counts is the comic tension between MacLaine and Cage. It's so well done, it doesn't matter how dumb things get.
01/01/00
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