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.

Sam Elliot plays the coolest lifeguard ever! Gals will love this because , well Sam is so hot (speedos,nice abs,70s porn mustache)and guys will love the never ending stream of babes that pursue him ( the stewardess,the buxom receptionist,the high school sweetheart and the adorable,hormonal teenager. By the way, Kathleen Quinlan plays a memorable role in this film,adorable and sultry at the same time.What a lovely girl and so talented at a young age! I love this film,I purchased it,had viewed it in the 1970's(with the parents!!! and never forgot it).I watch it often and never tire of the cute story and realistic look at the 70's beach culture! It reminds me of youthful summer days at the beach(that's all I'm telling!). This movie was well casted,every character was well acted,perfectly chosen for the roles they played.The music ,as well, is amazing,beautiful summery songs. A real reflection of the 1970's for me and hopefully for you too.. If this was not reality for you,I'm sure it was one of your fantasies.

This is one of the finest films of the seventies. It deals with the complexities of life and society, and forces you to make a decision on what's important in life. Do we need to conform and fit into a society that has its own set of rules?....or is it O.K. to do what makes you happy as an individual, in turn giving you a better sense of fulfillment in life. Sam Elliott, Kathleen Quinlan, and Anne Archer, are all wonderful. This movie is a wonderful portrait of Southern California and the 1970's. Don't miss the chance to see it, you will not be disappointed.

Saw this when it came out and, though I never had the leisure to share as much beach time as some of the characters in this film, I did know some of the surf-and-sand denizens of the beaches from Malibu south to San Diego back in the 1970's. I thought this film was a not inaccurate glimpse of what that sun-kissed lifestyle was all about. Sam Elliott was well cast as a lifeguard a few years older than the average athlete who perched on those observation stations, looking out at the Pacific's frequently treacherous waves. He looked the part and had the depth needed to make his character's less-than-monumental struggles to come to grips with his life and his career choice about as convincing as any actor probably could.

With some fallow periods in the years since, Sam has continued to work quite steadily, though I've often wished he wasn't so often confined to Western roles. (What would he have done without Ted Turner and TNT and all those made-for-TV Western sagas?) With that distinctively macho growl of his, there's no mistaking who's doing a voice-over for one of the commercials he's done. I've always felt that his speaking voice has been his unique asset as an actor, not to mention the awesome mustache he frequently sports. "Lifeguard" is worth a look if you want a glimpse of southern California before it became impossibly overcrowded and overbuilt...when it was still a semi-paradise for the young and feckless.

Is life-guarding a grown-up job? What does it mean to be a grownup, anyway? Who decides how people should spend their lives?

These are among the questions examined in this beautifully written character study of a man who has decisions to make.

They're not issues that will change the world, but the kind of small decisions we wrestle with every day. What is really important? Why do we do what we do? Who influences how we behave? Should we conform because that's what people want of us?

I remember once in TV Guide an ad that showed a buffed-out Sam Elliott with the caption, "He's every woman's dream--Lifeguard!" But this film has nothing to do with looks, and everything to do with character.

It's a terrific piece of work, ringing true in scene after scene.