The Lifeguard

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.

If you are looking for a neat package of a film with all the loose ends tied up with a pretty ribbon, this film is not for you. And as we all know, life is not that way either.

If seeing an older woman with a young man nauseates you, don't watch this film. Frankly, I wonder why some people never read about movies before they watch them. Then they are shocked to discover the themes of the movie.

Kristen Bell plays a 29-year-old woman who has grown disenchanted with the big city and her life there. She returns to the small town where she grew up, and moves back in with her parents.

This action can be described as irresponsible, simply because she is looking for a respite from responsibility. In fact, she returns to the Lifeguarding job she used to have.

She reconnects with old friends who have remained in the home town. They also have issues regarding responsibility and self-actualization.

In an attempt to regain the freedom of youth--and its passion--they start hanging out with some high school kids. This leads to some risky behavior. The rest of the plot relates to how this dangerous situation plays out.

I thought the acting was good. I especially enjoyed seeing Amy Madigan as the mother. Back in the day, I really enjoyed her in To Live and Die in L.A.

The movie Lifeguard, starring Sam Eliott in 1976, also dealt with a main character who is a lifeguard and who struggles with the issue of responsibility. I recommend it.

The main thing I can say about this movie is that it feels something like how real life is. People make mistakes. People come to crossroads. People sometimes search for answers without really having a clear understanding of the questions.

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.

It's easy to see why not everyone loves this film. It's just not all that funny. Or exciting. Or inspiring. Worst of all, it doesn't leave you with any sense of accomplishment or insight.

It works, however, if you can relate to this movie as an adult who has ever gone through a period of your life where you just wanted to go back to a simpler time.

I was able to relate in particular because like Leigh in the movie I actually went back to being a lifeguard in my 20s after graduating from college and not really knowing what to do with myself. And like Leigh, things didn't really work out entirely as I planned them to. Was it a good move? I'm a happy I did it? Did I learn anything from it? Hard to say really.

Similarly you're not going to find a lot of definitive answers in this movie as to whether the heroine makes choices that are right or wrong. But if you've had a similar experience - you'll feel like she's a friend.