The Lifeguard

The good news is this film cannot be placed in one of the common genres.

The directing was good, the scenes gave depth such as the vacant pool shot from a low height and the close ups of the characters inspired an emotional response.

The acting seemed appropriate to the story, the story did not connect with me so the acting seemed just adequate and not great by any of the characters

I saw several previous films combined in The Lifeguard. Summer of 42 for the coming of age element. The Year of Living Dangerously for tiger in the apartment. And her bus trip to and from NYC was reminiscent of many 'you can't go back' movies.

Her parents reminded me of the televangelist fans in Repo Man.

Overall I usually defend Kristen Bell and her acting was okay but was this the right movie for her?

The script is mediocre. The dialogue is particularly clunky. Liberal use of the F word is not offensive; it's just awkward. Kristen Bell is always good, but she seems to end up in one unworthy role after another. (I wasn't a big fan of Veronica Mars, but it was a quality project and should have resulted in better roles than this.) Plenty of problematic scripts get made into movies. Part of the actors' jobs is to make them work. Silk purse out of a sow's ear, as they used to say. Gummer and Starr and Madigan all seem to think that overacting is the answer to the challenge. It isn't. Sincerity isn't achieved by overacting. Lambert's character has some wonderful moments and some very weak ones. He could have benefited from the strong hand of a director, but there is little evidence of that in this film. Shaffer, so wonderful in Win Win, is completely wasted here. All in all, Bell fans will probably need to see it. (With no make-up, she looks every bit her real age.) The rest of you can skip it.

where to start on this one...

i think opinions on this film will be formed from personal life experience and how much someone can relate to the characters. myself, I'm similar in age and circumstance to Leigh and recently made a life change much like hers (moving back home from the city) and while the mistakes and tumbles she makes are outright irresponsible, i could not help but like her character and the maturity she showed at the end.

the romance aspect of this movie, whilst most definitely *inappropriate* does reflect the mental state of the main female character played by Kristen bell. stifled by her routine adult life and the responsibilities that come with it, she finds solace in a younger group who bring out her inner teen as it were. i think this is extremely well portrayed in the film through the three main adult cast members, who were friends in highschool, that upon the return of Leigh (KB) all suddenly start to regress and rebel against the adult strains put on them. all three characters go a little wild and forget that 'time only moves in one direction' and their subsequent battles to re-balance themselves as adults was interesting to watch.

the strength of the young actors in this film prevented it from becoming smut. David Lambert had enough charisma that it was plausible that a confused and disturbed woman would be drawn to him, whilst still maintaining that young innocence that made the story equally as much about him maturing as it was about KBs character. Alex Shaffer was impressive and moving in his portrayal of a tormented young man.

could it have been done better? absolutely. does it contain inappropriate feelings and relationships...obviously yes. Does it convey the ability of people to mess up in the most stupid irresponsible ways....yup. i liked it. i wouldn't watch it again, but it was a good film. comedy it is not however and the tag-line cheapens the movie.

The movie has its issues - the beginning is kind of strange, the characters are not developed well, as they could be...but still i liked the it because it has a spirit.

The spirit of nostalgia. Going back to the childhood, the time when we where happy and light- hearted. The life is scary, the growing up could be frightening.

The love story is extraordinary - a young man, almost a kid and a adult woman who is confused with her life. That love is a beautiful, impossible, elusive,passionate kind of love.

I don't understand why this movie has so many negative revues and rates. I don't find anything wrong, scandalous,immoral or outrageous in it. OK she is older, but what? You could fall in love at any age!

People in US consider the consent intercourse with 16-17 years old boy as something scandalous and almost a rape. But they don't find anything wrong when the 17-18 years old boys go to the American army to kill people.So you could go and kill people at the age of 17, but you must wait till 21 to buy a booze.Of course, if you have a relationship with an adult woman at age of 16 or 17 she must be put in jail for child abuse because you are minor:)))

I've got no experience with Veronica Mars, but I can see why people like Kristen Bell. She's real and relatable, as are all of the characters in this film.

At age 29, with her life in the city more disheartening and less complete than she ever expected, Kristen Bell's Leigh heads back home, where her two best friends (Mammie Gummer of The Good Wife and the familiar Martin Starr of Freaks and Geeks and about a million other comedies) are leading lives equally unperfected. During her aimless summer in her home town, she crosses paths with the local drop-outs, played sensitively and convincingly by a trio of young actors, including recently discovered teen actor Alex Shaffer of the Paul Giamatti film Win, Win, in a supporting role. Youthful indiscretions can't really cohabit with adult responsibilities, and the dramatic tension is ratcheted-up (if also resolved fairly easily) in sincere ways.

Nice production and a convincing story of early middle-age indecision with nuanced acting by a strong cast of recognizable faces adds up to a satisfying film.