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.

Thank goodness Sam Elliott took his shirt off twice in "Frogs." The wife of Daniel Petrie supposedly saw "Frogs" while her husband was trying to cast the lead role in his new movie, "Lifeguard," and she suggested he consider a minor actor with a suntanned physique named Sam Elliott. Mrs. Petrie proved to be a shrewd judge of man-flesh because it's impossible to imagine "Lifeguard" without Elliott's presence. And thank goodness Elliott wasn't asked to shave his gloriously-hairy chest for that "Southern California" look! This is a movie made on that cusp between the turbulent 60s and the self-satisfied 70s, about a man who's happy with a job which others think is beneath him. Quiet, thoughtful, and with a career-high performance by its leading man, "Lifeguard" had little impact at the box office back in 1976 but over the years it's acquired a loyal and discerning following. (Of course, there is the matter of Elliott's character having sex with an underage girl played by Kathleen Quinlan.) Elliott spends much of the movie wearing red "Baywatch" style swim trunks but at one point, for a swimming race, he slips into a tight mini-pair of Speedos which clearly shows he's "reproductively-gifted."

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.

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.

With a different type of role for Sam Elliott. Has some of my fave actors in it besides him-Anne Archer and Kathleen Quinlan. She is a cutie, Anne is as always class. I enjoyed the theme of doing what you Should be doing for a career VS. what you Want to do. It was something that hit home with myself, having worked some dubby jobs in my twenties ere finally getting that 'Real' career that everyone expects you to have by c.30, roughly the same age Elliott is in this flick.

I liked the poignant scenes of his 15 year High School reunion, the scenes of indecision he and Anne Archer undergo, trying to reconnect with what they had in their pasts, and the attempts to do something about it now. It is always hard to 'keep up with the Joneses' in High School, and as hard after too.

Overall a good flick, nothing great, hearfelt, well acted, plays like a TV movie(maybe it was? I donno)-but one of the highest order.

*** outta **** of course.