Wolff rating: NOT BAD
Plot summary: Frustrated Secret Service agent finds himself trapped by his ongoing relationship with the ex-presidential widow he guards.
Biased, pithy comments: This is a close thing. With finely drawn performances by Cage and Temple, one is immediately drawn into the strange world of this hard-headed woman who has no privacy and, because of it and the isolation of her fame, no intimacies except with her guards. We laughed, we felt we knew these characters, and we knew intimate details with just a few deft directorial touches. However, then, at the end, the story broke down into a painful series of cliches (which were made even more so by Cage, who fell into the role of out-of-control cop too easily) that were more at home in a Tom Clancy thriller than the entire rest of the movie. Alas. So close. Still, good acting and a warm story for a while.
Other Notes: Your mileage may vary, of course. The director (also responsible for (get this) ``Police Academy'') is the voice of the President.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Nicolas Cage, Austin Pendleton, Richard Griffiths.
Directed by: Hugh Wilson