The Bodyguard



A 1992 film starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. Costner plays former Secret Service agent and freelance bodyguard Frank Farmer, hired to protect superstar singer-turned-actress Rachel Marron (Houston) after she starts getting death threats. They initially dislike each other, but despite his better judgement, feelings start to develop between them.

Originally written by Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Big Chill) for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross in The Seventies, the project was taken up by Costner fifteen years later. This film was a huge success, as was the soundtrack, which sold in the bazillions (it's widely considered to be the top selling movie soundtrack of all time), all fueled by the unbelievable popularity of Houston's ballad "I Will Always Love You." In addition, the movie's instrumental music was marvelously done by Alan Silvestri.

This film provides examples of the following tropes:

 * Absurdly Sharp Blade: Frank has a katana which cuts Rachel's scarf in half just by the scarf floating down onto the blade.
 * Alliterative Name: Frank Farmer.
 * Badass Normal: Frank. Rachel even points this out when first interviewing him, saying that he doesn't look much like a bodyguard.
 * Black Dude Dies First: When Henry, Rachel's chauffeur, reacts with incredulity that Frank's adding to his duties, Frank tells him that in his experience, when shit goes down, the client's usually okay. "Who gets shot? The cocky black chauffeur." That gets his attention.
 * Bodyguard Crush
 * Break the Haughty
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Rachel's sister Nikki is envious of the former's success.
 * Heroic BSOD: Frank suffered one of these when Reagan got shot while he wasn't there. He went to his father's cabin for the next six months. Time heals all wounds, but he's still never really gotten over it.
 * Heroic Sacrifice/Taking the Bullet:
 * Last-Name Basis: Rachel usually calls Frank "Farmer".
 * Lyrical Dissonance: While dancing with him to the country version of "I Will Always Love You", Rachel points out to Frank that the lyrics to the verses are quite sad, in contrast to the simple "I will always love you" statement in the chorus. He listens for a moment, and then chuckles and agrees, admitting he'd never noticed that before.
 * Truth in Television: The song is often requested at weddings, and the band or DJ has to inform the couple that it's a break-up song and not the best way to start off their marriage.
 * Red Herring: Several.
 * Stalker With a Crush: DAN. And he's extremely creepy, to boot.
 * The Stoic: Frank.
 * Stalker With a Crush: DAN. And he's extremely creepy, to boot.
 * The Stoic: Frank.