Movie "Bodyguard": plot, soundtrack - all songs

At first glance, the movie "Bodyguard" - pure water melodrama. But it is not: there is room for epic fight scenes, and worrying many people questions about love and values, and the theme of betrayal, and what a dark picture sometimes hides behind the title of superstar, and how hard it is to find "your man" and keep a relationship with him... The movie explores the stories of two very differentThe movie is about two people who are as far apart in their lifestyles as poles: a pop superstar whose fame and fortune depend on millions of fans, and a professional bodyguard who makes a living protecting her from those fans. There is indeed a love story in the movie, but it is a kind of restrained passion that arises between two characters who spend a lot of time together, clearly following their priorities.

In today's article we propose to discuss in more detail plot of this movie, as well as his soundtrack - one of the best-selling albums in the history of music.....

Is the life of a superstar a fairy tale or a nightmare?

The main characters in the movie are superstar Rachel Merron (Whitney Houston) and a professional bodyguard Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner). He is a former Secret Service agent who served on the presidential staffs of Reagan and Carter. Making ends meet as a bodyguard after his professional career ends, Frank is hired as a personal security guard for Rachel.

She is an Oscar-nominated singer and actress who receives threats from an unknown stalker. Frank reluctantly accepts the job, and so things don't go smoothly. He thinks she's spoiled divaand she accuses him of being overly paranoid. But eventually their tension with each other takes... romantic turn. But Frank puts his duties as a bodyguard above love adventures, and declares to Rachel that their relationship is impossible. He realizes that if she becomes his lover - he will sooner or later let his guard down and fail the mission....

Except Rachel doesn't want to realize this. She feels anger and rage, and soon she starts disregard safety precautions Frank as well as flirting with his former secret service colleague Greg Portmantrying to make him jealous. But a threatening phone call from her stalker makes her come to her senses and realize the seriousness of the situation. Together with her son, her sister Nikki and the driver, she leaves for the lakeside cabin belonging to Frank's father. But you can't run away from problems, as we know....

Eventually Nikki, the singer's sister, confesses that she is the one who hired the hitman as she has always been jealous of Rachel and hated her. To make matters worse, she doesn't know the killer's identity and can't cancel "your order". The alleged mercenary ends up massacring her (Nikki) by mistake, but the story doesn't end there....

Perhaps the saddest thing about this movie is its ending. Rachel and Frank's paths diverge, and this was very upsetting for many viewers who were hoping for a romantic happy ending. But what everyone really liked was the soundtrack! Actually, let's talk about it in more detail.

One of the best soundtracks ever, or how Houston "appropriated" a Dolly Parton song

Much of the popularity of "Bodyguard" is due to its soundtrack, which became a raving success and became one of the the most commercially successful in all of history! Probably no one would argue with the fact that the head of his gem was the «I Will Always Love You» - a powerful ballad performed by Houston, which was included in the movie... by accident. The thing is that Whitney had originally planned to record a completely different number as the lead single - it was about «What Becomes of the Brokenhearted» Jimmy Ruffin. And the only reason it didn't happen was the use of this song in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, released the year before.

There was no worthy single, it was necessary to save the situation, and then Costner offered to record "I Will Always Love You" - a gem in the catalog Dolly Parton. Here's what Dolly herself said about it:

"Kevin called me and asked if Houston could record it for the movie. I said the way she would sing it a cappella first - that's the only way you can tell how much she likes the guy. Performing it without music is a magical thing!"

Other songs that Houston performed for the soundtrack, "I Have Nothing" and "Run to You." - ballads that left almost no one indifferent. Both were nominated for Oscars.

Another iconic musical number from the movie that is hard to leave out is the scene when Rachel and Frank are sitting in a restaurant. The singer asks her bodyguard why he's doing this job, to which Frank replies that it's a matter of discipline and stamina. The tone of their conversation lightens when she asks if he's ever liked anyone. About that same moment, a song they like starts playing on the jukebox, and Rachel invites Frank over to dance. They seemed to be having a great time, until the plate fell to the floor and made Frank think of the imminent threat. Curiously enough, the filming took place in a California establishment with almost 100 years of history! The sports bar is decorated with trinkets telling about the main moments of its existence, and after the release of the movie the number of visitors here has increased significantly.

Lastly, we suggest sharing your impressions of this movie in the comments - we'd love to read it!