This perfect little gem of a movie deserves watching. With such awonderful cast and such a great script, if this movie has any fault atall, it is under-appreciation. Shirley and Nick play off each otherlike the pros they are. The photography is on cue, the pace is keen andthe underlying message of learning to love and care for what you haveinstead of squandering your energies on unrealistic ambitions isheart-warming. Among the many great moments are the calls from thePresident, Tess's temper tantrums, the scene at the opera, the"stand-off" in the car, and Tess's last scene from the hospital. Idon't think this submission contains spoilers, but if they are, they'reharmless. Please, please see this film.

Like the earlier poster, the key in it is the scene in the bar. Priorto it Tess&#39;s son came to see her on Christmas Day, only because hisprobably shady business partners wanted to use her name on theirproject (which is doubtless the only reason they brought him on board).She smells a rat and refuses. She is forcibly confronted with the factthat she cannot trust her own son and aside from his occasional need touse her for his own financial advantage, they have no relationship (Iguess it is hard to avoid feeling like an underachiever if you are theson of a president. Especially when you go through life trading on yourlast name the way I suspect Tess&#39;s son has. I loved the disappointmentwelling up in Tess&#39;s face as her son continued his obviously plannedpitch. He had only come because he wanted something. She knew somescam, some manipulation was coming.).<br><br>In the bar with Chesnic, Tess acknowledges that she hasn&#39;t been much ofa mother and because of this she is all alone. She asks Doug abouthimself, gently bringing up a very brief marriage on his file.<br><br>He simply, sadly says, &quot;Everybody but me could see what she was reallylike.&quot;<br><br>You conjure up a vista of someone who is a guardian, a protector,trying to be a knight in shining armor to someone who had no wish to besaved. These characters have such depth that in one line you see awhole other very plausible side to his character; a disastrous lovelife driven by his need to find basket cases to &#39;save&#39;. Both Tess andDoug have failed, made mistakes at the fundamental relationships oftheir lives and their loneliness pulls them together.<br><br>It is pleasant to see Nicholas Cage understated.

Guarding Tess is a film that relies on character and dialogue for its impactrather than flashy special effects or frenetic action. The humour is subtlerather than sledge-hammer, a rare achievement for a moderncomedy.<br><br>The interaction between the eponymous Tess (Shirley MacLaine) and her chiefminder (Nicholas Cage)is well scripted and beautifully played. There arealso some fine supporting performances from the likes of RichardGriffiths.<br><br>Well worth investing 90 minutes of your time to watch.