The Lifeguard

The Lifeguard_720p(480P)

source: The Lifeguard

Look, I understand this was a "I'm lost and we're all human" movie, but the idea that our protagonist creates trauma for a sixteen year old while her friend hits on a suicidal, under-age boy puts them both in the position of being monsters. Monsters that really have no consequences to their actions. The high schoolers in this movie are 'throwaway lives' to the adults and are used that way. Horrendous way to make a movie - why would this get made and distributed?

When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was drawn in by Kristen Bell's character Leigh's lines, "I am allowed to be confused and stumble once in a while," which highlights a place that everyone finds themselves in at one point in their lives. While living in New York, Leigh lets her work override her life, completely ignoring the sordidness of her relationships and being in denial about her situation. Her decision to return to her hometown forces shifts between her parents and her friends, creating divides, that she is (for the most part) oblivious to. Her decision to return to the position to a life guard seems to revolve around the idea of reliving the ideal job, however, once she starts hanging around a bunch of misfit teenagers, she transcends back into her past. The relationship she develops with 'Little Jason' is the most complex element of the film, as it alludes to so many different things. There a sense of romance, lust and a maternal nature that left me feeling ambivalent. However, I did recognize that there was definitely love there, which is something very few people have mentioned in their reviews. The other struggling being is that since first seeing Kristen Bell on Veronica Mars I still see her as a teenager. On first glance its hard to identify with Leigh, you see her as a distraught, downtrodden member of the corporate world, who is hiding behind the allure of yester-year. As time goes on, its easy to recognize that Leigh's plunge down the rabbit hole is a result of not wanting to accept the reality around her - or remove this idealistic memories she has of her youth. Personally, I believe it is Kristen Bell's relationship with David Lambert's character that make the film. But also leave you with unanswered questions. A film that deserves to be watched; but also considered from various different angles.

To give you an overview of what this film is about : It mainly consists of a 30 year old single adult coming back from "the city" and deciding that its OK to have sex with kids. So you would expect that 1. No one would be making a film about such a subject glorifying it and 2. If they did they would accurately portrait what would happen to the individual if the events depicted in this film would occur and they were caught but no.... The film glosses over the fact that she is clearly some kind of paedo having sex with minors and somehow tries to make it acceptable. I'm not sure if the hill billy town that all this supposedly happens in is particularly sympathetic to sex with children or if perhaps the film is trying to portrait that America in general is OK with Paedos but the ending of the film seems to support that theory. I strongly suspect that if the main character had been male the film would of been very different and would of been been seen as very controversial but as it was a woman and it was all wrapped up in a "she was in love" blanket it seems that it's perfectly fine... To summarise the film does not send out a very good message nor does it help reinforce what is legal and morally right in I suspect most developed countries. It instead glosses over the serious issues of having sex with children and goes some way to glorifying it. On this basis i do not recommend this film, on top of the poor plot the acting and chapter development was poor and you were left asking even at the end of the film who these people were and what their motivation was.

Man sometimes I wish I could vote a zero. From the gay guy kissing the underage boy, in other words pedophilia, to the lifeguard herself banging a kid, this movie is a 2 hour whine fest about having to actually have a job mixed with glorifying pedophilia. Every loser I know will probably love this movie. Along with all child molesters. Since the message of this movie is that as long as you're selfish and depressive, molesting children is perfectly okay. Stupid concept. Stupid story. Lame writing. This movie is pretentious to the extreme in it's pursuit of "ARTSY". It's a cliché from start to finish. At one point I told the wife that I was certain that they would include a suicide to fulfill the cliché quota completely. And lo and behold a teenager kills himself in it lol. Less than 5 minutes after I mentioned it lol. All the while I am sure the filmmakers were high fiving themselves for their originality and artsiness lol. I'll give Kudos to the actors. Everyone was believable. Too bad. In the end I doubt too many will care. I'd also steer clear of anyone who rates this movie high. Hide your children from them anyway. Don't waste your time on this movie which was obviously made for the losers among us.

If you are looking for a neat package of a film with all the loose ends tied up with a pretty ribbon, this film is not for you. And as we all know, life is not that way either. If seeing an older woman with a young man nauseates you, don't watch this film. Frankly, I wonder why some people never read about movies before they watch them. Then they are shocked to discover the themes of the movie. Kristen Bell plays a 29-year-old woman who has grown disenchanted with the big city and her life there. She returns to the small town where she grew up, and moves back in with her parents. This action can be described as irresponsible, simply because she is looking for a respite from responsibility. In fact, she returns to the Lifeguarding job she used to have. She reconnects with old friends who have remained in the home town. They also have issues regarding responsibility and self-actualization. In an attempt to regain the freedom of youth--and its passion--they start hanging out with some high school kids. This leads to some risky behavior. The rest of the plot relates to how this dangerous situation plays out. I thought the acting was good. I especially enjoyed seeing Amy Madigan as the mother. Back in the day, I really enjoyed her in To Live and Die in L.A. The movie Lifeguard, starring Sam Eliott in 1976, also dealt with a main character who is a lifeguard and who struggles with the issue of responsibility. I recommend it. The main thing I can say about this movie is that it feels something like how real life is. People make mistakes. People come to crossroads. People sometimes search for answers without really having a clear understanding of the questions.

This is actually quite a depressing movie, although it's realistic and there is people that go through these types of circumstance. I for one, know few people that is going through the stage portrayed in this flick. Even when they are successful, they still have that nostalgic feeling. As a matter of fact I think this applies to a lot of us out there. But this one goes in a more crossing the line direction. The plot is about a woman that is going through a bit of life crisis and doesn't have a sense of direction where her life is headed. Thus decides to become lifeguard at a small pool, in a small town. Soon she begins a relationship with few minors and escalates into something sexual. It's like the writers thought just because your hot, female and depressed, it's okay to have sexual relationship with a minor. And the audiences will still have sympathy for that character, since she is hot and female. It also has another character that is going through the similar situation as the lifeguard, and decides to join in. Although this is a character that has a husband and has her life basically set in some ways, unlike the lifeguard. But still feels unfulfilled and unhappy. Maybe I missed the point of this movie, but it just becomes depressing and lacked hope. Even if it can be a realistic movie, it really lacks when it comes to some the enjoyment factor. And there are films that are depressing or even tragic that can be enjoyable. This one just doesn't reach that level though. It goes from one depressing scenario to another. This flick is basically a characters that goes through those nostalgic feelings and wants to be irresponsible again and relive the past. Which for most people, you can't really do. It's not really a coming of age film, since these characters are young adults but characters that reach the age of young adults, but still feeling lost. Although the different approach, it just lacked the development needed. I personally didn't feel like I gained anything from watching this, and just felt like it had subplots that went nowhere. Like what is the change? To sum this up, it's a depressing and unsatisfying flick that goes nowhere. 3/10

where to start on this one... i think opinions on this film will be formed from personal life experience and how much someone can relate to the characters. myself, I'm similar in age and circumstance to Leigh and recently made a life change much like hers (moving back home from the city) and while the mistakes and tumbles she makes are outright irresponsible, i could not help but like her character and the maturity she showed at the end. the romance aspect of this movie, whilst most definitely *inappropriate* does reflect the mental state of the main female character played by Kristen bell. stifled by her routine adult life and the responsibilities that come with it, she finds solace in a younger group who bring out her inner teen as it were. i think this is extremely well portrayed in the film through the three main adult cast members, who were friends in highschool, that upon the return of Leigh (KB) all suddenly start to regress and rebel against the adult strains put on them. all three characters go a little wild and forget that 'time only moves in one direction' and their subsequent battles to re-balance themselves as adults was interesting to watch. the strength of the young actors in this film prevented it from becoming smut. David Lambert had enough charisma that it was plausible that a confused and disturbed woman would be drawn to him, whilst still maintaining that young innocence that made the story equally as much about him maturing as it was about KBs character. Alex Shaffer was impressive and moving in his portrayal of a tormented young man. could it have been done better? absolutely. does it contain inappropriate feelings and relationships...obviously yes. Does it convey the ability of people to mess up in the most stupid irresponsible ways....yup. i liked it. i wouldn't watch it again, but it was a good film. comedy it is not however and the tag-line cheapens the movie.

The lifeguard is about a reporter who quits her job and goes back to her hometown. She is looking for a job and and she becomes a lifeguard. She's got two old friends in the town which she starts to hang out with. She doesn't care about her life anymore and she only wants to enjoy. This is when a struggling 16 year old boy comes into her life. She starts a relationship with him and it goes on until one of her friend finds out about it. Leigh the lifeguard then decides to end the relationship before more people finds about it. That is basically what the movie is about. It is 98 minutes of nothing. Everyone's performance was average or below. I would end this review by telling you not to watch it because you will only regret it and you'd think what else you could have done in those 98 minutes.