User Reviews

We found this one on Netflix streaming movies. We found it to be better than the IMDb rating would suggest. It is a mature theme, a 29-yr-old high achieving lady working in Manhattan, about to turn 30, and both work and relationships conspire to throw her into a dark place.

Kristen Bell, who was actually about 32 during filming, is the main character, Leigh. We later find out she was class valedictorian some 12 years earlier, and none of her friends were surprised that she became an award-winning writer. But inside she was lost, and it seemed she just wanted to be a little girl again.

The movie isn't clear about where it is set, but we know it was filmed around the Pittsburgh area, and at least one of the teenagers was wearing a Pittsburgh tee-shirt. So I'll go with that. But it is an attractive suburban type of community, one where you can walk a short distance and be in the woods.

Leigh informs her parents that she will stay with them for a while. Aimless she decides to take a job she had as a teenager, lifeguard at the local pool. She meets some teen boys, about 16 and 17, and she instantly identifies with them.

This confuses her good friend from high school, Mamie Gummer as Mel, who is now assistant principal at the school they graduated from. Plus Mel has her own set of issues, she and her husband seem to be trying to get pregnant, but she isn't sure she would be a good mom. She regresses also to some "teenage" behavior.

The other key character is David Lambert as Little Jason, son of the pool maintenance man. (The character is 16 or 17, but Lambert was 19, almost 20 during filming.) He and Leigh seem to be kindred spirits, she helps him see the possibilities in life, while she sees him as the embodiment of the unfulfilled love life she thought she wanted.

I thought this might be a light romantic comedy but it is far from that. It is about coming of age, but with a twist that the two 30-ish women had never really come of age. There are some pretty raw and explicit scenes depicting sex between a 29-yr-old woman and a 16-yr-old boy, which is shocking to most. I instantly found myself wondering what if it had been a 29-yr-old man with a 16-yr-old girl. It seems movies are more accepting of a teenage boy and an older woman, as in "The Summer of '42" and "Life According to Garp", just to cite a couple of others.

It is hard to "rate" this movie, it isn't "enjoyable" in the usual sense but I found it to be very realistic, and it illustrates how navigating through life sometimes is very unclear. While Leigh was a writer, not a teacher, it seems virtually every week we read about a female teacher getting found out having an intimate relationship with one of her male students. The movie reflects real life.

A reporter (Kristen Bell) quits her job due to unhappiness and contempt for her job. She decides to return home to Conneticut, and moves in with her parents. She gets her old lifeguard job back, and starts up a controversial relationship with a troubled teenager, and even alienates her childhood friends. This movie is a bit better than the IMDb rating indicates. It's certainly flawed, but the fantastic performances and the powerful subject nature help propel it over the hump. I think the reason I was able to relate to this movie, despite the fact that it left me feeling a little cold was that I'm in a similar predicament that Leigh (Kristen Bell) is in during this movie. I may not have fallen in love with a teenager, but my life fell apart as soon as I began to grow up. It's only natural to revisit the place where you last felt truly happy. My main problem with this movie is that everybody is in disarray, and they are unlikable people. Leigh only cares about herself, Mel (Mamie Gummer) is a head-case, and her husband (Joshua Harto) is a selfish ingrate, who I wanted to slap silly. His whiny character was so grating. We get the obligatory ending where everybody begins to find themselves, and all is forgiven. The storyline between Bell & Todd (The teenage love interest for Bell) was especially hard to endure. Kristen Bell is absolutely terrific. It might just be her best performance. Her character is a bit unlikable and selfish, but she is so winning in her role, that it didn't bother me all that much. I'd gladly try and help sort her life out. Martin Starr is truly impressive as the teenager, Todd. I felt for him on many occasions, even if his character background was a bit thin. I'm not sure what I fully thought about this movie. It left me in heavy thought, it engrossed me, and I admired the message, but more likable characters would have been nice. It's worth a watch

6.3/10

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

Leigh London, a 29-year-old journalist living in New York, finding that she has become disillusioned with her job and her life in the city, decides to quit and return to the small town where she grew up. (The exact location of her hometown is not made clear, but a reference to "Hartford" suggests it may be in Connecticut). Her father is delighted to see her; her narrow, fault-finding mother much less so. She renews her acquaintance with some old friends and returns to her old job as a lifeguard at the local swimming pool.

While working in this job she meets, and becomes friends with, a teenage boy named Little Jason. Before long Leigh and Little Jason are more than just good friends; they have become lovers and started a passionate affair. The film then follows all the complications which ensue from this illicit relationship, complications which involve not just Leigh and Jason but several other people as well.

Most of those on this board who have criticised this film have done so on the alleged basis that it "glorifies paedophilia". I would disagree with that criticism for two reasons. The first is that those making it fail to realise that "paedophilia" means "sexual attraction towards pre- pubescent children", and there is no way Little Jason could be regarded as pre-pubescent; he is supposed to be around 17, but David Lambert was actually 21 at the time. (His nickname "Little" does not imply that he is a young child or even that he is particularly diminutive- indeed, he is a tall, gangly youth- but he is so called in order to distinguish him from his father, Big Jason). The second is that this film is far too dreary to glorify anything.

"The Lifeguard", in fact, is the sort of pseudo-intellectual indie movie which is so dreary that it makes you realise that there is sometimes something to be said for the most mindless Hollywood mega-blockbuster. All the characters seem to exist in a permanent state of depression, although the causes of their low spirits are not always made clear. We never really learn just why Leigh is so disillusioned with life in the Big Apple, although as she has own a prestigious prize for journalism lack of success or recognition in her chosen profession cannot be the answer. One character is, quite literally, driven to suicide by the failure of a project to relocate to Vermont. Just why small-town life in Connecticut is apt to bring on a state of suicidal depression which can only be cured by immediate relocation to the other side of the State line is something I leave to those more familiar with New England than I am. Although I suspect that even they will be baffled.

None of the actors stand out apart from the actress playing Leigh's friend Mel who stands out because of her resemblance to a young Meryl Streep. (There is a long subplot involving Mel's failure to conceive a child, much to her husband's frustration). Upon looking at the cast list I noted that she was played by Meryl's daughter Mamie Gummer. All I can say is that Ms Gummer has some way to go before she can match the standards of her famous parent.

The poster for this film, showing its star Kristen Bell looking very fetching in a red swimsuit, might lead the unwary to think it has something to do with "Baywatch". It hasn't, apart from the fact that its main character is a female lifeguard. I suppose you could describe it as "Baywatch" meets Samuel Beckett, existential angst in a red swimsuit. It is an indie movie for those who hate indie movies, but only if they need to be reminded just why they hated them in the first place. 3/10

The Lifeguard's script was its weak point...a rather shallow pad job for a film that could have been 20 minutes shorter. It strong points were performances by Kristen Bell and Mammie Gummer. It was great to see Bell, sans makeup, in a serious dramatic role, even though it was this rather lightweight domestic chick flick. One thing, it's obvious this wasn't intended to be a comedy.

I disagree with some other reviews knocking the two female leads. Both seemed quite realistic to me in our hedonistic age. As for Bell's trysts with her teenage lover...that seems to happen quite frequently in real life these days. It's just lucky that in the film the boy's father didn't mind.

The main downside of the story was the lack of any dramatic resolution. Bell's character wound up getting into a purely sexual relationship, the same type that had her flee from the big city to her hometown. And in the end she still hasn't found love.

honestly this whole BIG thing about this movie is that Kristen Bell has a sex with a minor. The film itself tonally strives soooo hard to really hit the mark along the lines of something like "Garden State". Just even some of the music choices.. it just like like that was so bad what it wanted to be. Add to that the complexity of the relationship seems to be the huge draw of the film, but sadly its the greatest downfall of the film that is played up to the detriment of the rest of the film.

I mean.. did we have to have that element? In fact.. If you had taken that completely out and had the film been about a traumatized girl coming back and wreaking havoc on her friends' lives as they try to move on to the next stage. The biggest casualty in this I think was Martin Starr whom had great moments to shine, but very few and would have been nice to see him developed.

This holds true with the rest of the characters as well.. They get thrown into a tailspin.. Bell sleeps with the minor. Hells breaks loose and somehow at the end, everything gets kind of put back right.

That really is the disservice the film does. In focusing on that relationship which just feels like some device in the last act. It's almost like its just dropped and never really thought of again. Some "relationship". That was the largest problem I had with the film, unlike so many others filled with flashes and bangs that feel so hollow is that this film that could have had so much promise is similarly in the end just as hollow.

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.