The Lifeguard - A Movie Review

I wonder what’ll happen during my shift as a lifeguard today.

The Lifeguard is a 2013 film. Quitting her high-paying reporting job in New York, Leigh moves back in with her parents in her childhood home in Connecticut. Finding a job as a lifeguard, things only get worse when she initiates a relationship with a teenager.

When I watched one minute of the trailer, I really thought that The Lifeguard would be a fun comedy with a coming-of-age moral for adults. I was right about the moral. The Lifeguard is a downer film with the most egotistical characters.

So many times I said to myself, ‘Who the heck are these people?’ They are so unlikable to the point that you have no idea how they get through life with their idiotic choices.

Let’s talk about Leigh (Kristen Bell). She’s going through a quarter-life crisis. That’s what she claims. Giving up a well-paid full-time job in New York to move back in with her parents to take a low-paid job as a lifeguard - I don’t know.

Her behavior is repulsive! Does she even learn a lesson at the end? She gets romantically involved with an underage teenager, has no respect for her parents, and is so lazy. I didn’t feel bad for her.

That goes for most of the characters. Leigh’s storyline takes up most of the film not giving other characters, like Mel and Todd (Mamie Gummer and Martin Starr), time to expand. I wasn’t fond of Todd’s character. More backstory may have changed that, especially his advances toward a younger teen.

Some credits include Joshua Harto, Alex Shaffer, David Lambert, Amy Madigan, and some who appear in the pool scenes. They’re not the people who I want to spend time with. One little boy’s behavior is so repulsive!

All the characters are so unlikeable. Sans for one. Ever since I watched her performance in Uncle Buck, I was happy to see Amy Madigan. I feel so sorry for her and what she has to put up with regarding Leigh’s actions. She was my favorite character. Madigan and Bell did an excellent job in their arguments.

For a premise that takes place at the pool, we hardly spend much time there. It’s a focal point in the story. I would have written the story’s tragic moment in the pool setting. It’s where all the characters meet and when Leigh (supposedly) has a breakthrough.

While the problems in this film are realistic, Liz W. Garcia didn’t go about with the morals in the right way, The film should have been about the differences in generations and how to give advice. At some point in our lives, we get lost. It’s okay to take as much time as you need to figure yourself out. Just don’t take advantage of it. Make decisions and friends that make sense.

Garcia filmed quick scenes. Not much happens in a lot of scenes. Most of the time we’re treated to listening to conversations between the characters. None of these conversations are intriguing, but it’s a look into character dynamics.

Leigh and Jason’s (Lambert) underage relationship in The Lifeguard is very uncomfortable. It’s not a healthy example to showcase to audiences. This film was like watching porn. Caution as there are explicit sex scenes. I know Lambert was of age at the time of filming, but the staged relationship didn’t feel safe.

If I researched more into this film, I’m not sure if I would have watched it. The Lifeguard is not a very happy film. If you want, check out The Lifeguard.