My Bodyguard

PG

Released Sep 26, 1980

1 hr. 38 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

79%

34 Reviews

Tomatometer

70%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Clifford Peache (Chris Makepeace) is a sensitive, well-to-do teen who becomes the target of bully Melvin Moody (Matt Dillon) after he starts attending a new school. Tired of being picked on, Clifford recruits brooding tough kid Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin) to be his bodyguard. While this initially works, and Clifford and Linderman form an unlikely friendship, soon circumstances strain their bond. As Clifford is forced to confront Moody again, Linderman has to deal with his own troubled past.

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Critics Consensus

T. Bill debuts as an affectionate director, keenly aware of growing pains.

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Audience Member

We’ve all had bullies in our lifetime but the size of our hearts matters more than the size of our muscles A very young Chris Makepeace, Matt Dillon, Adam Baldwin, and Joan Cusack in director Tony Bill’s first effort Clifford lives with his grandma and father who manages a hotel, Clifford then enrolls to a new school in the city but it’s not all smooth sailing as he’s constantly picked on by the bully Moody However his solution comes in the form of a bodyguard named Linderman I love the movies universal theme about confronting bullying. The Chicago setting works to the movie's advantage too. It’s clear not all kids live in the same homogenous middle-class structure and things like bullying can occur in every income and property line. This definitely feels like required viewing for middle schoolers plus it still has plenty of parables for adults. This movie ended up being a more intimate character study which is good that it doesn’t follow typical teen kid cliches. It’s themes too remain relevant today as it did back then particularly when it comes to adolescence. I love how it’s very relatable tackling bullying, depression, and more bravely gun violence. It ends pretty satisfyingly even if abruptly. Still so many that have experienced these kinds of emotional growing pains will take away something that still rings true right now. A trio of well acted youths and a pretty emotionally-heft script make this movie worth remembering.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/27/23

Full Review

MURPH M

SOME FILMS GET OVERLOOKED.....AND/OR MISUNDERSTOOD.....My Bodyguard is such a film......I. happened across late tonight when I was working on a project......I needed some background noise.....what I got was a total distraction. A good one. I was surprised when I read the reviews.....It is rare that so many critics get so much wrong. Released in 1980 (when I was 30) I missed it. Maybe I was as cynical as those reviewers in that year but I hope not. The story is a bit of a fairy tale, a fable. Ok, but so what. It is a well done one. The characters feel genuine. The story is very human AND generally believable. It has real heart. I suggest that is worth exploring.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/01/23

Full Review

Dave H

This was one of my most memorable and favorite movies as a child - pre adolescent. It is stuck with me for decades. I just finished watching again at age 53 and still found it very charming and memorable. It definitely had a lasting impression on me and some of the things I went through and around that age. Great nostalgic film- simple but pure and stays with at least me for decades.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/19/23

Full Review

James B

I loved this film when I first saw it as a kid and hadn't seen it since then but was delighted to see it was as good as I remember it. It's a well executed drama that I still find myself thinking about days after watching it. A real gem.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/25/23

Full Review

Devils A

A great movie that reveals the bullying in school and teaches that turn an eye to what goes on in their classes. Thus my *4* star rating!!!! P.S. Did anyone else note that John Goodman had a very small part in this movie....

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Star H

Just a great story about high school clicks, with a unique twist.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/11/21

Full Review

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Tony Bill

Director

Chris Makepeace

Clifford

Adam Baldwin

Linderman

Martin Mull

Mr. Peache

Matt Dillon

Moody

Paul Quandt

Carson

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73%

54%

Continental Divide

20%

47%

Tank

41%

56%

Every Which Way But Loose

50%

35%

Chapter Two

82%

81%

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Variety Staff

Variety

In his directorial debut, Tony Bill assembles a truly remarkable cast of youngsters with little or no previous acting experience.

Jul 24, 2007

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

A film of ingredients, rather than ideas realized and integrated: it panders on different, disjunctive levels.

Jul 24, 2007

Full Review

Derek Adams

Time Out

The message that accompanies the central theme -- Kids are basically Nice -- is that Brute Force Rules.

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

If you’ve got some safe distance on the experience, though, this cable-TV favorite will ring many bells and keep you engrossed.

Rated: B

Aug 30, 2022

Full Review

Pat M. Kuras

Gay Community News (Boston)

It’s a shame that My Bodyguard couldn’t have had a more coherent structure, or that it couldn’t concentrate more on the power of friendships.

Aug 26, 2022

Full Review

Kenneth Turan

New West/California

Meretricious, dishonest and exploitive, a specious wish-fulfillment fantasy masquerading as a piece of sensitive filmmaking.

Nov 4, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Clifford Peache (Chris Makepeace) is a sensitive, well-to-do teen who becomes the target of bully Melvin Moody (Matt Dillon) after he starts attending a new school. Tired of being picked on, Clifford recruits brooding tough kid Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin) to be his bodyguard. While this initially works, and Clifford and Linderman form an unlikely friendship, soon circumstances strain their bond. As Clifford is forced to confront Moody again, Linderman has to deal with his own troubled past.

Director: Tony Bill
Executive Producer: Melvin Simon
Screenwriter: Alan Ormsby
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 26, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 7, 2016

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