Lifeguard (1976)

hyped garbage

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Surfing channels I came across this film when my eyes recognized Torrance's, Rolling Hills Estates and south Redondo beach. I was a teen when this movie was made and surprised I never heard or seen the film as my summers were spent at Redondo & Hermosa beach as a visiting New York-er. My first thoughts were the film was the beginning framework from which Bay Watch was created. My second thought was Sam Elliott, a dynamic actor did not fit the role. Lifeguards were blonde, blue eyed back then, hence my skepticism to continue watching. But the nostalgia of viewing and recalling my early beach experiences kept me glued to the screen. I would like to mention that the US economy in the 70's was depressed and employment as a county lifeguard had a respectable position contrary to the film. By today's standards the same position in CA would be considered a professional job. As for the film I found it to be a bit cheesy but had the quality of presenting a message about life's career options as an adult. I read the reviews on this site for this film and found each one equally interesting. I gave it a low rating because although I can relate to the films objectivity it had a shallow story line. Clearly one of Sam Elliott's B listed movies.

Filmed in 1975, "Lifeguard" relays the story of an aging L.A. lifeguard (Sam Elliott) during the summer of '75. He suffers an early mid-life crisis when his friends and family continually reveal their disapproval of his career choice. This is heightened when he attends his 15-year high school reunion where he reunites with a recently-divorced ex-flame (Anne Archer). To complicate matters Elliot runs into a cute underage teen on the beach (Kathleen Quinlin) who makes him feel like an Adonis.I remember catching "Lifeguard" on TV sometime in the '90s and all I can remember is what a great film it was. I never heard of it before but the story took me right in and captivated me throughout. This is a secret gem from the 70s.What makes it work so well? For one thing the film is very realistic. It's like they filmed a story of real people. That's how good the writing and acting is.Parker Stevenson appears as a lifeguard apprentice who works with Elliott throughout the summer. The fact that he's a college student and goes back to school at the end of the film adds to Elliott's crisis.A handful of items I found interesting in the story: Elliott instructs Stevenson to not mess with the underage cuties on the beach who often tend to flirt with lifeguards. He then does this very thing with a girl named Wendy (Quinlin), who says she's 17 but could very well be as young as 15 (girls are known to lie in such situations). Elliott's character in the film seems pretty mature, honest and intelligent. Was he being hypocritical? I think his actions reveal the crisis he's undergoing. He's getting older and his manhood is being threatened by the numerous people encouraging him to get a "real" job. Wendy makes him feel like a man and he unwisely gives into temptation. I lost some respect for the character when this happened but, you'll see, he "sees the light" later on.The film effectively shows that Wendy wasn't ready for a sexual relationship with Elliott or anyone else. When Elliott informs her that they simply can't be together her breakdown is potent. This leads to another event that, I'm sure, drives home the point for Elliott to never mess with "jailbait" ever again.At Elliott's reunion he gets tired of hearing negative reactions to his still being a lifeguard so he opts for ambiguity, "I work for the county." Have you ever done that? The film reflects the loose sexual morals of the pre-AIDS 70s era e.g. "You're hot, let's have sex! And, no, I'm not interested in marriage." Also, one woman is shown totally nude near the beginning. Despite this, it's NOT a T&A exploitation flick; the flimmakers were obviously simply shooting for realism. To support this, the beach scenes are filled with realistic-looking people, unlike Baywatch which exclusively showed incredibly bodacious babes walking the beach in the background. I've been to numerous southern Californian beaches on four separate vacations and know this isn't true.Speaking of Baywatch, that TV series obviously used "Lifeguard" as a prototype. I've only seen a couple of whole episodes in my life so I'm not the right person to ascertain that show's quality, but I think it's pretty safe to say there's no comparison. In other words, don't allow a negative impression of Baywatch keep you away from "Lifeguard." Elliot's friend (Stephen Young) encourages him to take a lucrative job selling Porsches. When he goes to the dealership for an interview you can tell he's almost ready to lose his cookies at the prospect of being a car salesman despite the better money. Have you ever experienced this? I have.The film runs 96 minutes and was filmed on location on the beaches just south of L.A. (Torrance).The score is 70s light pop, including Paul Williams "Time and Tide." It's not to my tastes but it fits the film.FINAL ANALYSIS: "Lifeguard" is about numerous important topics that we can all relate to -- aging, career choices, (early) mid-life crisis, manhood, staying true to oneself, responsibility, love, sex, competition, consequences, and much more. Although it's generally a "quiet film" it smacks of reality and is full of insights. If you're in the mood for a great drama you can't go wrong. And, yes, this is Elliott's best role and performance IMHO.GRADE: A

This is a movie I can never get tired of. You can watch it again and again, all day long. It's laid-back and entertaining, and doesn't ask much or expect much of you, the viewer. The story involves a thirty-something lifeguard who is naturally slick with the ladies, on and off the beach, and oh, saves lives too. Sam Elliot is a very cool actor and delivers otherwise simple lines with slow-burn perfection. Parker Stevenson is his young protégé who is in the film JUST enough, Anne Archer his perfect lady, and Kathleen Quinlin is a young girl, supposedly a teenager, who represents the last of Elliot's 'conquests' before settling down with Anne, who is his age. There is a part in the middle of the film that centers on Elliot's character feeling old and, after attending a 15 year high school reunion, trying to get a job selling cars. This is when he starts dating Archer, realizing she is someone he can settle down with and NOT just for 'fun'. In most films this part of the film would hinder the otherwise kickback feel, but in this movie's case, it flows along just as good as the beach scenes. It's a relaxing movie and you can play it on a loop on your DVD machine (now that it's finally on DVD) and I bet you won't get tired of it. If you do, just swim to shore a while... and I'm sure, soon enough, you'll want to see it again... and again... and again... LIFEGUARD!

Back in the 70s i had to have seen all those party movies , for example, The Van and The Gas Pump Girls, and lifeguard was so much of a breath of fresh air along side of those others, i grew up hanging out at redondo beach and Hermosa beach California which is where this movie was filmed, in fact on ricks tower u see the letters HR i believe that stands for Hermosa/redondo and this is also 1 of the beaches that mike love and Dennis Wilson of the beach boys used to hang out at as they lived in near by Hawthorne, I have this movie on VHS not available on DVD yet, and I watch it at least once a month, as i live in new york now and this movie brings back some special memories of my fun days, i even love that song time and tide in this movie, and watching him drive to the beach in his stingray passing all those very familiar businesses, wow, well if your nostalgic then i don't have to explain the feeling. LIFEGUARD is on my list SAM elliots #1 movie.