The live show never takes the plot too seriously, unlike the film, opting instead to present a celebration of Whitney Houston’s music.
The film was essentially a vehicle for the music, but unwilling to admit to it – whereas the play owns up to that The film was essentially a vehicle for the music, but unwilling to admit to it – whereas the play owns up to that and then some. It was a No 1 album for five months, it won a Grammy and it’s still the best-selling soundtrack of all time. The soundtrack, however, was indisputably good.
It was a rain-day romantic thriller – fun to watch for sure, but good? No. The thing about The Bodyguard is, the film was not great – not in critical terms. Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner in a scene from the 1992 film The Bodyguard. Even when he’s delivering lines directly copied from the film, his easygoing frankness transforms them, garnering laughter from the audience and lending to the self-awareness of the play. Mills’ Frank Farmer is equally self-secure, but an extrovert who says things like “crystal” when someone asks if something is clear. In the film version, Kevin Costner’s Frank channels Steve McQueen (whom Lawrence Kasdan allegedly wrote the role for in the 1970s), all quiet, cool confidence and mysterious weariness. Judson Mills (who acted on Walker, Texas Ranger and, more recently, Westworld) plays the title character, Frank Farmer, a seasoned protector who is reluctant to take on the duty of guarding one of the world’s most well-known pop stars. But from there the stage version veered into its own music-forward, funny, fast-paced operation. The opening scene of The Bodyguard: The Musical, which began its US tour in Millburn, New Jersey, on 25 November, mimicked that of the 1992 film it’s based upon almost exactly.
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