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TechnoTV - Lifeguard
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price:
Your Save: $ 14.95 ( 100% )
Availability:
Manufacturer: Paramount
Starring: Sam Elliott, Anne Archer, Stephen Young, Parker Stevenson, Kathleen Quinlan
Directed By: Daniel Petrie
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786300216754
Format: Color
ISBN: 6300216756
Label: Paramount
Manufacturer: Paramount
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Paramount
Release Date: 1998-01-01
Running Time: 96
Studio: Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: 1976
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: So Bad it's Excellent
Comment: Get a load of Sam Elliott driving his Corvette barefoot! I did things like that in the 70s, and would probably still do them today if I could get away with it. It's the kind of stuff that makes a bad movie great!
And a movie worth owning for its historical value alone. Plus, it's amusing and excruciating at the same time.
This five-star pick is an absolutely horrible movie, a shallow tale, one that I'll bet Sam Elliott is embarassed by (understandably), and probably posterity's most succinct, accurate snapshot of youth lifestyles on the Southern California coast in the 1970s. I know because I was there -- I was only a year or two older than Kathleen Quinlan's character, almost as cute, and easily as stupid. It's more accurate than a docudrama and is as timeless as it is trendy.
"Lifeguard" is a perfect chronicle of the horrific polyester cheesy-hair-and-sideburns brain-freezing-interior-decor, free love, bad dog 70s. Those of us who lived it, who wore those faux seersucker polyester jackets and bell-bottoms, those of us whose kitchens were decked with the sister print of the flowered wallpaper pattern in Ann Archer's kitchen, calculated to elicit spontaneous shouts of horror, know that it was even worse than we remember. We may also remember how the loose morality of the times made for a lot of cheap fun and worse misery. The tortuously sappy soundtrack captures it perfectly. The movie is a profile in the worst of 1970s America.
I give this movie five stars because it is so pleasantly and unpleasantly honest and accurate. It presents authentic insight into the bad 70s. They were bad. Worse, indeed, than remembered. This movie is evidence exhibit A!
Customer Rating:
Summary: I Love Sam Elliott
Comment: I was introduced to Sam Elliott in this movie (I was a high school sophomore then)and have been a FAN ever since. I love his voice and he is just plain sexy! I never pass up a Sam Elliott movie, especially this one!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great drama about the summer of '75 in southern California
Comment: 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 disappoval 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 cathing "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 truly a secret gem from the 70s.
What makes it work so well? For one thing the film is truly 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.
PERSONAL GRADE: A
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie
Comment: This was an excellent movie. For me, it was full of nostalgia. A real feel good movie.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Thin, predictable, not even a good waste of time
Comment: This movie is part of the Joan Collins series. Sadly it is the opposite of the glamorous image that she portrays. I have yet to see a more
predictable or boring film. Anne Archer: Where is she? I see a young teen sexy bikini girl who gets hot for a lifeguard, must have him or at least make love. I see a classmate trying to lure a lifeguard to sell Jaguars and make money. I see a rookie lifeguard trying to fit in with
Elliott. I see and feel boredom all the way through. I have a good copy that will go for $2.00 plus postage. Why? Ho Hum. Some like to see lifeguards rescue stranded people and enjoy photos of sandy beaches, with a few bikinis thrown in. I see a boring film that is thin. Elliott might have made this for some money. But this is not a movie that he would list on his dossier. Read a book or watch TV. You will enjoy either more.
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