The Lifeguard

2013 "This Summer Growing Up is Optional"
5.6| 1h38m| R| en| More Info
Released: 30 August 2013 Released
Producted By: La Pistola
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.lifeguardmovie.com/
Info

A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager.

Genre

Drama, Comedy, Romance

Watch Online

The Lifeguard (2013) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Liz W. Garcia

Production Companies

La Pistola

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The Lifeguard Audience Reviews

Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch
Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.
GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
t-rutt Boring and disjointed. Why is this sometimes billed as a comedy? My guess is because the makers knew it sucked, but figured OK Kristin Bell, maybe we can leverage goodwill from folks who like Saving Sarah Marshall and con them into seeing it. Uneven tone, tries periodically to be quirky. You won't care about or believe these characters. The scene where she stands up to the police because they are harassing the teens for skating is one of the most hackneyed things put to film in the last 10 years. Spoiler alert: this movie stinks on ice, but it will put you to sleep faster than a sominex chased with some NyQuil.
vchimpanzee Leigh is about to turn 30 and while she wants to be a respected journalist in the big city, no one seems to care about her story about a mistreated tiger who died. She needs to return to her parents' home in the small town she once called home.Her parents welcome her, and Leigh gets a job as a lifeguard for the summer. She meets "Little Jason", who is not little, but is the son of her boss Big Jason. We'll just call him Jason.Leigh meets up with old friends Mel, the high school vice-principal, and Todd, who works in a museum. They have a good time together, even though Mel is trying to get pregnant and shouldn't be drinking or smoking weed.Jason and his friends are losers and want out of this loser town. Meanwhile, they ask the adults to buy them beer. Instead, they try to convince the guys they are not losers. They do seem to get through to Jason. Leigh and Jason develop a special relationship. Maybe too special.Meanwhile, Mel's life is falling apart.So will Leigh go back to her real job? Because life in a small town isn't quite what she hoped it would be. Her parents aren't quite what she was hoping for.This isn't really my kind of movie, but the biggest incentive was Kristen Bell in a swimsuit. Actually, she is usually wearing more than that. But she still looks good, and has an appealing personality. She does a really good job with the role. Although Leigh can be irresponsible at times, she also shows maturity and responsibility in other situations.David Lambert also does a capable job and Jason is likable most of the time.Mamie Gummer was familiar and comfortable for some reason. I finally realized who she was when I saw the credits. I know her as a funny and quirky doctor on TV, but she was rarely funny here. In fact, she was quite depressing, but this probably means she did a good job. She just didn't appeal to me. The whole movie was quite depressing, but that works for some people. There was some comedy, just not enough. And then there's that depressing music, which young women seem to like. Also some upbeat, positive music, which didn't work for me.I think there were positive qualities to this movie. They were just positive for other people, not me.
hjames-97822 In my top 5 worst films ever. Liz Garcia who both wrote and directed this junk should reconsider her career options. Perhaps selling plastic ware on the party plan would be better. How did she ever delude investors into funding this? You will note most of the top reviews come from Kristen Bell fans. I am not. I find her skills mediocre at best. But even she struggles with this terrible script,. Not to mention she's getting a little long in the tooth to keep playing the Baywatch drone.Garcia promoted this as a "dark comedy." Well no one is laughing. Her actors never even crack a smile. This was supposed to be the story of a bright young woman about to turn thirty facing her first serious life crisis. What it really is, is the story of multiple acts of child sexual abuse. Bell's character is supposed to be 29 (she was 31). David Lambert's Jason is supposed to be a 16 year old boy (he was 19 at the time). They have shaved his body to make him appear as young and adolescent as possible.No one--I mean no one--in this story comes to his rescue. Not the perpetrator Leigh, not his Dad, not his school's assistant principal, not any of their friends; no one. He thinks he's in love. In reality, he is being totally and completely used and abused in every way and no one at all ever is called to account or pay for the abuse. Everybody gets a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card one way or the other no matter how flimsy the excuse.I assume that's because we have a double standard for boys and especially teen characters. Had Ms. Garcia written a screen play in which there is a graphic scene (or two) involving a 16 year old school girl being pursued and used sexually with drugs by a 30 year old man would Sundance have even screened it? This is one of the most tasteless films for it's concept(not nudity) I have ever seen.Fortunately for the actors no ones career got hurt. This dog had no legs. Garcia and Bell tried to sell it as "graphic" to line up distribution but that didn't fly either so it went almost immediately to DVD. Watch it if you must. If you are a Bell fan, you'll like it. Mostly she only has to show up in a red bathing suit and she can get at least 8 stars. I finally just threw my copy away.
Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a 29 years old journalist, who is confused by her life and decides to go back to her hometown to sort out that she really wants.I thought "The Lifeguard" was a comedy, but it was far from it. It tells the story of a woman who is confused with her life, making some unfortunate life choices which have drastic consequences. Various individuals in the eye of the storm react differently, and the way they differ is engaging. It tests the viewers' emotions and the limits, which it succeeds big time. However, the ending is rushed and confusing, I do not quite understand why the teacher has to talk to the father in the parking lot. It would have been more logical for the lifeguard who makes that speech.