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My Bodyguard

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My Bodyguard (1980)

July. 11,1980
|
7.1
|
PG
| Drama Comedy Family
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Clifford Peach, an easygoing teenager, is finding less than easy to fit in at his new high school, where a tough-talking bully terrorizes his classmates and extorts their lunch money. Refusing to pay up, Clifford enlist the aid of an overgrown misfit whose mere presence intimidates students and teachers alike. But their "business relationship" soon turns personal as Clifford and the troubled loner forge a winning alliance against their intimidators - and a very special friendship with each other.

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Tockinit
1980/07/11

not horrible nor great

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Aiden Melton
1980/07/12

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

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Fatma Suarez
1980/07/13

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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Quiet Muffin
1980/07/14

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

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cyrilol
1980/07/15

I watch this movie , I found the positive aspects and disadvantages. The positive aspects are: there is a true difference size or force the child arrives but all the same it has the appearance defend but downside is that little happens all the same to beat his opponent and it n is not normal for that the film is average. As the film passes himself in a school where there is a lot of joy of happiness, and I love it film also by a passage of the film or the infant will avenge her or his opponents by throwing them in the face or ketchup , that's why I give this film average , that's why I give this film averaged That is why I give this film averaged

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orialk57
1980/07/16

When we saw "My Bodyguard", we were at school, in year 9 (senior in Junior High School), we were studying the problem of bullying. Our first impressions : the film looked very old (the kids have no mobiles, Clifford has a strange haircut, their clothes are typical eighties !)The actors are very talented : we preferred Clifford and Linderman. Moody looks very much like a school bully. The teachers are not realistic because our teachers would never be so lax.Overall, the film works because we identify with Clifford. We give the film a 9 out of 10.nochairocking57

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Bill Slocum
1980/07/17

One of the earliest and somewhat more atypical of the '80s teen comedies later worked to a fine polish by John Hughes and company, "My Bodyguard" is a rough gem of a film, anchored by a solid central performance by a here-and-gone favorite of mine, Chris Makepeace.Makepeace plays Clifford Peache, who finds himself in a new school when his father (Martin Mull) is made manager of the Ambassador East Hotel, site of the legendary Pump Room. Clifford lives a life of relative luxury without being rich himself, having no airs even if he is driven to school in a limo. He finds trouble anyway when classmate Melvin Moody (Matt Dillon) singles him out for abuse and demands for "protection money". Clifford figures there must be a better way, and finds it in sullen tough guy Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin), whom he diligently recruits for real protection services - against Moody.What's great about "My Bodyguard" outweighs what's not great about it, but it's a surprisingly tight battle right up to the end. You have two films here: one of which (Clifford in school, dealing with Moody and Linderman) is a solid tough-nosed teen drama with some light comedic banter; the other a goofy Clifford-at-home piece featuring his father's efforts to stay employed despite the antics of a fun-loving grandma (Ruth Gordon) and a weasely assistant. Believe it or not, more people knew Martin Mull than Matt Dillon in 1980, and the film caters to this reality more than it needs to.The result, as "moonspinner55" notes in his review, is "lumpy...and occasionally very awkward". But it was a new decade, and new rules were being made. It's not a far distance from kooky Grammy Ruth flirting up a storm at the bar to Long Duk Dong teasing Molly Ringwald in "Sixteen Candles". Unlike the rest of the '80s teen comedies that followed, there's no romantic angle here. Also different is the urban setting. Director Tony Bill gets some of his best visuals following Clifford around the city, with big overhead shots that emphasize Clifford's smallness amid the tall buildings.Bill also had the good sense of putting Makepeace at the film's center. With his big blue eyes and wild hair, Makepeace made for a weirdly charismatic underdog in films like this and "Meatballs", his other big role. He also nicely underplays his scenes, giving Clifford a believable strength when, for example, he flatly tells Moody: "I'm not going to give you my lunch money. I've got to eat."Even this small stand has consequences, as word of Clifford's defiance gets out and Moody and his goons work on him harder. School authorities are no help. "Don't cry wolf every time someone looks at you crosseyed," says the principal (Richard Cusack, whose daughter Joan plays a student). He tells Clifford things are less "sheltered" at this high school, a point Bill also gets across with his shots of the school's dank, ugly interior.Baldwin definitely looks the part of Linderman, a giant cloud hanging over his head as he shuffles around the school looking haunted. With his menacing bearing, his moments with Clifford seem less edgy than they should. But the pair also help deliver the best parts of the movie, the showdowns with Moody which lead up to the big finale with Moody's own bodyguard, Mike (Hank Salas), who's one really scary dude.You don't see many honest teen movies, and the honesty of "Bodyguard's" fight scenes especially really jump out at you. If only the film did more with the one storyline and dispensed with the other.

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bigsteve11-1
1980/07/18

I rented this movie the other day because I remember it from my childhood. I was expecting to watch it with my wife (I haven't seen it since I was about 7) and laugh at the funny clothes, language, and general definitions of what was "cool" in 1980. In other words, I wasn't expecting to see a good movie, just watch some nostalgic mystery science theater 3000 fodder. What I saw totally shocked me...this is a VERY good movie. Incredibly acted by Makepeace, Baldwin, and Dillon, this movie is not the stereotypical goofy 80's teen drama. This is a very well put together film that deserves much more historical acclaim than it is given. Dillon and Makepeace are dead on in their stereotypical roles of bully and nerd, but it's Baldwin as the brooding, misunderstood, mysterious hulk that steals the show. Ricky Linderman is one of the more interesting movie characters you will ever come across. Granted, I did also get my dose of 80's humor (the guys playing basketball in red short-shorts, white knee high socks, and black shoes is worth the price of the rental alone) but I got something else I didn't expect...a great hidden gem of a movie!

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