Delayed Reaction: My Bodyguard

The Pitch: A kid hires Boo Radley as his bodyguard.

A high school student who is being bullied, gets a bigger kid to be his bodyguard and befriends him along the way.

I have no context for this movie. It came out in 1980. That predates the teen sex comedies that I associate with the 80s. It's way removed from the beach party movies of the 60s. Every high school movie of the 70s I can think of is either a musical (Grease) or a horror movie (Carrie). Earlier in the decade was marked by nostalgia (American Graffiti or, on the other end of the spectrum, The Last Picture Show). I suppose right around 1980 was the time of movies like Rock 'n' Roll High School and Fame. My Bodyguard doesn't really fit with that or anything else from the time that I'm aware of.

What it is though is pretty good. Matt Dillon is such a good bully. It's nice seeing a young Joan Cusack. I'm not used to seeing such a young Martin Mull, and I got way too much enjoyment out of seeing George Wendt in a bit part in one scene (two years before Cheers, mind you). A lot of what works comes down to Adam Baldwin as the titular bodyguard. I know he's always played tough guys, but I don't recall him ever look so huge. He towers over the rest of the cast. And he's only 17-18 when this was shot, so it's not like they cast a 25 year old and pretended like he was a high-schooler.

The movie is oddly paced. Baldwin doesn't show up until 30 minutes into it. The father's storyline gets resolved pretty early. Ruth Gordon pops up at random (and is quite enjoyable when she does). The friendship between Chris Makepeaces' Clifford and Baldwin's Linderman is sweet. I love seeing how Clifford's group of friends develops over time. I wasn't expecting how simply I liked this movie.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend