MovieChat Forums > The Lifeguard (2013) Discussion > No laughs in this one...

No laughs in this one...


Currently showing on Prime and described as a comedy. I wish.

There is so much wrong with this movie starting with the concept. Kristen Bell plays a woman who undergoes an mid-life crisis (at 29!). She returns to her small town home -- without an invitation -- to live with her parents again and "find herself".

Finding herself in this case means freeloading off her parents until her mother bluntly tells her different. So she takes a temporary job as a lifeguard.

For no obvious reason she strikes up friendships with a bunch of 17-year old high school kids. She ends up banging one of them in a public change room. From there they progress to having hard sex in all sorts of venues.

Somewhere in there we meet her closeted gay male friend -- also 29-ish. The two of them take to hanging out with the high school kids, and sharing dope with them. The gay friend hits on one of the teenage boys one night. This teenager clearly suffers from depression, and ends up commiting suicide later in the movie.

Are you laughing yet?

We're meant to cheer on Bell's character as she 'grows' as a person. If you didn't know this, the folk rock soundtrack will remind you. Every five minutes of so, some upbeat quirky pop song plays until it grates on your nerves.

At no point is there a suggestion that her character is just a self-absorbed and immature twit indulging in skeezy sex with a kid about half her age. Rather than titillating, it's actually uncomfortable to watch when you understand that you are seeing sexual predation.

The film maker attempts to give her a pass -- and by proxy viewers too -- when the father of the boy tells Bell's character that he didn't think their one-sided relationship was a serious offense. That's some f*cked up parenting there.

Recommended only if you feel like cringing in discomfort.

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Is this supposed to be remake of the Sam Elliott movie?

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Have only seen the '70s movie but sure sounds like it. Depressing story of a character who refuses to act their age. Which doesn't necessarily make for a bad story. But it's passed off as fun/inspirational?

Although I have to concede that in today's world, Elliott's character is pulling a half million salary.

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