Posted by “When are we going to make love again?” Kelly (Kathleen Quinlan) asks Rick (Sam Elliott), the lifeguard.
From there most people would probably think it is over.
Of course it is a movie and it isn’t real. You may have seen parts before but like me you didn’t pay attention. It is perfect. It is part fantasy and mostly reality. It is just as real and not real now. I love coming of age movies.
It makes me want to watch The Big Chill (1983).
The ending is a surprise with an even happier or sadder outcome. That depends on your perspective. You may also look deeper, if you want to. You are free to choose.
It has a “quiet philosophy of personal fulfillment” (link). Ratings on Amazon Prime are huge.
From the movie Lifeguard (1976). Sung by Dale Menten. Words and music by Paul Williams.
“Put it in a loop,” I read somewhere, maybe even here. If you look a little closer at the whole review on the site, there’s another great line by author Heath Holland: “I love how easy it is to watch.”
Here it is in HD. And another reviewer who cannot stop.
It is the story of Rick–Sam Elliott better than you have ever seen him before–as a very lucky guy. It is the Me Generation and all the characters are all exactly who they want to be, from the kids ripping bathing suits off young women in the surf to Cathy, Rick’s most prominent girlfriend, who is into the dollars and status. Sometimes it is so sappy it makes you realize the seriousness just the same. They are so real it is hard to believe they are made-up and from a time almost 50 years ago.
The original screenplay, direction, and music are all excellent. My God, Southern California, the beach, Porsches, and beautiful women and men. You are there and living in a different time too.
The plot, I won’t spoil it and there are not many ways to do that anyway given its simplicity. “Look man, will you just shut up!… Why don’t you just take that one, man, it goes with the suit!” I’m getting over the endless loop. Ms. Quinlan steals it, and as yet another reviewer failed to conclude, it isn’t about sex or whether she is 17 or 18 years old in the movie. It is all so simple–so easy to watch. There is nothing and everything deeper than what you see. Everyone knew exactly what they were doing, they just didn’t know why.
Now I do. Watch it and you will too.