Review of The Lifeguard (2013) by Skim123 — 12 Nov 2013

I really don't understand the bad reviews this movie received. I watched it on a whim on Netflix streaming, so I went into it knowing nothing about it or how it was received. I went in completely raw and I really liked this movie. I have high standards when it comes to movies, and I don't give something a good score if it doesn't truly deserve it. I wonder if there was some Hollywood politics going on that led to critics ganging up on this movie undeservedly (perhaps critics were too scared off by the taboo "sex with a minor" plot line that they were afraid to review the film positively for risk of being labeled "immoral" ).

Anyway. I also recently watched "Lost in Translation", and "The Lifeguard" deals with similar themes and handles them well. I'm not saying "The Lifeguard" is on the same level as "Lost in Translation", but this movie handled its ideas and themes well. It basically explores the very common existential crisis that people go through in their late 20's when they begin to question their decisions and reflect on their regrets. The late 20's is an age when people are finally coming out of the confusion of youth and are starting to reflect on themselves and solidify who they are. It is a time when many people slow down, analyze themselves, and often come to the realization that they've never really stopped to think about what they truly want. This movie effectively portrays the struggle that people face when dealing with these issues.

I found it pretty deep and engaging. The characters were quite believable to me, so I'm not sure why the critics said the characters felt forced or fake. I really related to the characters and their struggles. Many of the criticisms that the critics have mentioned with this movie could also be made against "Lost in Translation" (limited character backstory and a story that takes place within a short timespan), yet no one had a problem with those things in "Lost in Translation.".

Again, it makes me think that politics were involved which led to critics unfairly skewering this movie for arbitrary reasons. I was baffled as to why so many critics ripped the movie for something as arbitrary as the soundtrack....seriously? I didn't even notice the soundtrack, it was just background music to me, yet many of the critics point to the "distracting soundtrack" as the thing that kills the movie. Who judges a movie on something as insignificant as its soundtrack? Again, it smells like critics decided to gang up on this movie so they had to come up with something stupid to criticize it for. The soundtrack? Really? Come on, critics...you've got to try harder than that.