My Runaway Fiance Became My Bodyguard
starring: COSETTE HATCH & ELIJAH VAN ZANTEN
On the day of their arranged marriage, movie star Sue Brown and the mysterious heir Rock Tander both flee the wedding, only to cross paths by chance in a bar and spend an unforgettable night together. Months later, Rock reappears under a false identity as Sue's personal bodyguard, and the two become entangled once again.
REVIEW
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This zips along and is rather joyous. Feels like a vertical from Reelshort's golden era of the summer of 24
It's upbeat, and fun, led by the fabulous Cosette Hatch who brings an old style movie star feel to verts - for a moment in an early scene she sounded like Marilyn Monroe, and Claudette Colbert is there too. Impeccable comedy timing, and just glorious to watch
Then we have finance guy Elijah Van Zanten who looks like he is having a ball the whole time, he spends much more time smiling in this vertical than the average male lead does, but is also a dab hand at stunts, he dispatches a load of goons at the theatre and satisfyingly smashes Cohen into his desk
Everyone is super
- Frankie Stofan as Julie, loved her whipping off her sunglasses for effect in the press conference
- Kalond Irlanda who really reminds me of James Marsden does an excellent evil smirk
- Caitlin Grace who basically stole every scene she was in and I need more
- Justin Vancho being all suave and competent as assistant Jason, and even surviving having the pressure put on him by Mrs Tander (Patricia Mizen)threatening to cut up his black card
- Johnny Lynn Ramey Jr somehow staying calm despite the madness on his set
Plus the clothes, oh my word the clothes are everything, the pedal pushers, the purple furry bag and then all the gloves. Gloves are apparently so back according to Verticals between this one and Blind Wife Of Scarred Mafia Boss
And there is a bit more diversity in casting which was noticed and is a massive tick
Frothy fun on Kalos / Minishorts
💖 Top swoonworthy moment:
Aw these two - they really should have listened to their parents who did know best. And the childhood flashback worked here
Bravo for the Hollywood dip kisses, and just adorable scenes of ‘grumpy’ finance guy Rod and ‘sunshine’ Sue celebrating on set or surviving peril together.
🦹🏼♂️ Top villain award:
It is so hard to choose between Cohen (Kalond Irlanda) who gets to do evil laughs, wear loud shirts and stir up trouble wherever he goes
But then Julie (Frankie Stofan) is brilliant, with her mad press conference, getting too into character on set and endlessly jealous of Sue’s success.
😂 Comedy gold:
The name Rock Tander did make me snort laugh
And then lots of joyous moments from the cake at the end, to Cohen’s panic as he is dragged away
The whole tone is arch and slightly camp, you feel everyone is in on the joke with you and I love it.
🎺 Unsung hero:
Shared between the director (Johnny Ramey) who has to put up with all the nonsense on his set
And the stylist in this - because the costumes are everything. Gloves are back. Hurrah for animal print, and my word Cosette Hatch can wear anything and look awesome.
✍🏼 DETAILS
Director E. Eng | 2025
Available on Kalos & Minishorts
