Redundant and unnecessary.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Blistering performances.

Finally after all these years I finally watched the film "Lifeguard" as my oldest aunt had always told me she loved the film since she's a Sam fan, anyway the film is about life and it's choices. Sam Elliott is Rick Carlson a man still in his mid 30's and his life is that of a California lifeguard on the sunny and sandy beaches of the golden state. Rick is a man at a crossroads he starts to think and wonder where is his life going as after going to his high school reunion he sees his old flame(played by Anne Archer)who's now divorced and sticking to him like glue at the beach is a young want to be intimate teenager(played by Kathleen Quinlan). This film has it fun with passion, and doubt still it shows that one must have a choice in life to decide what's right for them as in the end happiness could come from just being yourself as in Rick's case staying a lifeguard on the beach is A okay.

Sam Elliot plays the coolest lifeguard ever! Gals will love this because , well Sam is so hot (speedos,nice abs,70s porn mustache)and guys will love the never ending stream of babes that pursue him ( the stewardess,the buxom receptionist,the high school sweetheart and the adorable,hormonal teenager. By the way, Kathleen Quinlan plays a memorable role in this film,adorable and sultry at the same time.What a lovely girl and so talented at a young age! I love this film,I purchased it,had viewed it in the 1970's(with the parents!!! and never forgot it).I watch it often and never tire of the cute story and realistic look at the 70's beach culture! It reminds me of youthful summer days at the beach(that's all I'm telling!). This movie was well casted,every character was well acted,perfectly chosen for the roles they played.The music ,as well, is amazing,beautiful summery songs. A real reflection of the 1970's for me and hopefully for you too.. If this was not reality for you,I'm sure it was one of your fantasies.

Is life-guarding a grown-up job? What does it mean to be a grownup, anyway? Who decides how people should spend their lives?These are among the questions examined in this beautifully written character study of a man who has decisions to make.They're not issues that will change the world, but the kind of small decisions we wrestle with every day. What is really important? Why do we do what we do? Who influences how we behave? Should we conform because that's what people want of us?I remember once in TV Guide an ad that showed a buffed-out Sam Elliott with the caption, "He's every woman's dream--Lifeguard!" But this film has nothing to do with looks, and everything to do with character. It's a terrific piece of work, ringing true in scene after scene.

Saw this when it came out and, though I never had the leisure to share as much beach time as some of the characters in this film, I did know some of the surf-and-sand denizens of the beaches from Malibu south to San Diego back in the 1970's. I thought this film was a not inaccurate glimpse of what that sun-kissed lifestyle was all about. Sam Elliott was well cast as a lifeguard a few years older than the average athlete who perched on those observation stations, looking out at the Pacific's frequently treacherous waves. He looked the part and had the depth needed to make his character's less-than-monumental struggles to come to grips with his life and his career choice about as convincing as any actor probably could. With some fallow periods in the years since, Sam has continued to work quite steadily, though I've often wished he wasn't so often confined to Western roles. (What would he have done without Ted Turner and TNT and all those made-for-TV Western sagas?) With that distinctively macho growl of his, there's no mistaking who's doing a voice-over for one of the commercials he's done. I've always felt that his speaking voice has been his unique asset as an actor, not to mention the awesome mustache he frequently sports. "Lifeguard" is worth a look if you want a glimpse of southern California before it became impossibly overcrowded and overbuilt...when it was still a semi-paradise for the young and feckless.