{"id":18094,"date":"2015-12-17T21:56:32","date_gmt":"2015-12-18T02:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=18094"},"modified":"2015-12-17T21:59:20","modified_gmt":"2015-12-18T02:59:20","slug":"facing-down-the-bullies-angus-and-my-bodyguard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/17\/facing-down-the-bullies-angus-and-my-bodyguard\/","title":{"rendered":"Facing Down the Bullies: \u201cAngus\u201d and \u201cMy Bodyguard\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There\u2019s been a lot of talk about movie anniversaries this year, but two of the movies that have been left out of the discussion are two of my childhood favorites. There\u2019s the 1995 teen drama \u201cAngus,\u201d and the 1980 \u201cMy Bodyguard.\u201d Oddly enough, both films deal with the idea of coming of age, surviving high school, and learning to deal with a specific kind of bully. Both films also confront the idea that sometimes staring down the bullies is a right of passage we all must confront at one time or another. And yet, both films have been off the radar for a very long time.<\/p>\n

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Patrick Read Johnson\u2019s \u201cAngus\u201d is a charming and compelling dramedy about a young overweight boy named Angus, who\u2019s spent his entire life being hassled for his weight problems. He\u2019s a good spirited and strong young man who has grown up around an obnoxious school jock named Rick, and pines after his girlfriend Melissa. Angus is a very unique and likable protagonist who spends most of the movie trying to navigate through the last days of his school year leading in to his prom, where he\u2019ll transfer to another school. Provided he doesn\u2019t get in to a conflict with Rick. Rick is anxious to make his final days hell, though. Most films with overweight protagonists often present the illusion of a positive central character, but \u201cAngus\u201d really draws a flawed but strong central figure that is still growing up.<\/p>\n

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Despite spending his years being mocked and made fun of, he persists in his good nature and worldly wisdom, even building his courage to pursue the girl of his dreams at the behest of his cranky but lovable grandfather, as played by George C. Scott. \u201cAngus\u201d is a definite favorite from 1995 that speaks to the side of me that loves underdog tales. Angus just keeps facing his problems time and time again for the sole reason that he has no other choice but to face them head on. He has no real male role model, and his widowed mother (Kathy Bates) does her best to be his shoulder to cry on.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an interesting narration in the opening of the film where Angus explains that the more he punched out his bully Rick, the more handsome and popular he\u2019d become. Oddly enough the more pain and torment Angus endures makes him a stronger and more adamant young man who can literally face anything; even the death of his beloved grandfather mid-way. Charlie Talbert\u2019s performance is underrated as he depicts Angus as someone you can really root for. He is just someone who has to get up and fight the more people try to push him down, and you want to see him excel and win over the girl. His star turn was sadly pushed aside in favor of co-star James Van Der Beek who\u2019d gain instant fame in the late nineties with his series \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek.\u201d<\/p>\n

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All things considered Van Der Beek is very good here as a grade A prick, who delights in hurting other people. The script for \u201cAngus\u201d thankfully never makes light of Angus\u2019 physical condition. Surely it\u2019s a factor that holds him back in preparing for the prom, and it\u2019s a constant source of ammunition for classmates that want to hurt him, but he\u2019s never turned in to a clown as in, say, a movie like \u201cHeavyweights\u201d which did more stereotyping of overweight people than actually rooting for them.<\/p>\n

The ultimate conflict for Angus becomes if he should go to another school after the upcoming dance allowing him to escape the torture of bully Rick, or if running away is any kind of answer at all. Bullies are everywhere, and there will always be a Rick. Despite a cheesy climax, \u201cAngus\u201d still holds up and should be celebrated more often. The same goes for \u201cMy Bodyguard\u201d which is a slightly cheesy but rousing teen drama about stereotyping and reputations. It\u2019s an entertaining and charming dramedy, and something of the crowd pleasing variety I was introduced to by my father when I was a teenager. I somehow always manage to cross paths with it again and again. My appreciation for it grows more every time.<\/p>\n

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Chris Makepeace (Of \u201cMeatballs\u201d fame) plays Clifford, the son of a hotel manager who begins attending a new high school. After making a smart remark to local bully Melvin Moody (A very young Matt Dillon) during class, he becomes his prime target for torture. Melvin makes Clifford a deal that if he pays him everyday, he won\u2019t bully him. Clifford, of course, declines and spends most of his school days completely avoiding and fleeing from Melvin. Clifford learns about enigmatic student, Ricky Linderman, a huge and silent classmate who everyone, even Melvin, is terrified of for his reputation of murdering his brother years before. In hopes of finally getting Melvin off his back, Clifford makes friends with Ricky, and offers to pay him to become his bodyguard.<\/p>\n

A young Adam Baldwin is fantastic as the silent large classmate who begrudgingly becomes Clifford\u2019s bodyguard, but soon begins to bond with him when Clifford decides to find out if Ricky is really the murderous psychopath that everyone says he is. A lot of \u201cMy Bodyguard\u201d is about Clifford getting past the reputation and terrible gossip, realizing that Ricky is an actual person whose life isn\u2019t as dangerous and violent as everyone thinks it is. Events take a turn for the worst when word gets out about Ricky\u2019s past, prompting Melvin to hire his own bodyguard. Soon enough both young men have to face their own bullies, whether they like it or not. \u201cMy Bodyguard\u201d is mostly known as a lower budget drama with Matt Dillon before he became a screen star, but the film is mostly held up by the chemistry between Makepeace and Baldwin.<\/p>\n

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Particularly there\u2019s Baldwin who keeps the character of Ricky tragic and interesting until the very end. Much like \u201cAngus,\u201d the 1980 \u201cMy Bodyguard\u201d is very much a serious drama with hints of comedy about facing down your bullies and confronting problems, for the better or the worse. \u201cMy Bodyguard\u201d is cheesy in some instances, but gets big points for drawing complex characters, and unfolding a very exciting climax in where Clifford and Ricky have literally no other choice but to fist fight their individual bullies in the park, and battle for their self respect and confidence. It\u2019s a fight scene that\u2019s rousing, exciting, and very funny all around. It\u2019s interesting that a film like \u201cBreakfast Club\u201d was widely celebrated this year, while these two other strong teen dramedies were somewhat ignored.<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t go so far as to say they\u2019re as good as John Hughes at his best, but they\u2019re damn good drama comedies that also speak about unique teenage protagonists having to overcome a personal conflict, and a bully who promises to grow violent if they don\u2019t step up and face them down. The good thing about both films though is that they\u2019re not so much about beating up your bullies, as confronting them and using them to garner a sense of empowerment and confidence to take on adulthood.<\/p>\n