"Lifeguard" = the perfect Cinematic mix of Great Music soundtrack + Charismatic performances + California Sun and Surf!
This is a very well-made 'sleeper' film that was obviously produced on a small/modest budget in the mid-1970's (circa1976) but everything miraculously works = from the realistic down-to-earth Story, to the highly engaging acting (Anne Archer & Sam Elliott make a seemingly 'perfect' potential couple) to the awesome Southern-California locale & cinematography and especially the fantastic Music Score (by Dale Menten and Paul Williams) = it's kind of incredible how the Soundtrack seamlessly merges with and even greatly enhances the images & atmosphere on-screen providing a perfect 1970's update to 'Beach-Boys' influenced melodies and harmonies. Paul Williams' title song 'Time & Tide' is very moving and fully reflects the idea of the rapidly-inexorable 'slippage' of time (and those perfect summers that seem to have flown-by literally within a few blinks-of-an-eye!)I actually first saw this almost a decade after it was originally shown in theaters = somewhere around 1983/1984 while in high-school, and was really impressed (first-and-foremost by the Awesome-Soundtrack) but also by the fact that this unassuming little film, seemed to perfectly capture the concept of those free-spirited days of summer-vacation rapidly whizzing-by = this film seems to condense roughly 3 months into a little under 2 hours?! Seriously, I don't know how they achieved this, but the 'feel' is very much akin to that associated with summer-vacation i.e. great anticipation/optimism/high-expectations at the start (when anything seems possible) => then getting into the flow of it, but with expectations lowered a bit ==> lapsing toward a sense of slight melancholy/resignation when it all ends too quickly, then being forced back to 'reality' and the next school-year, etc. (geographically in Hawaii for me, which is close enough to S. California I guess)
Of course for Sam Elliott's character 'Lifeguard Rick' the stakes are much higher and the decisions more permanent/life-affecting = e.g. choosing to be a high-end 'Porsche' dealer (and presumably marrying the professional woman of his dreams/ Art-dealer portrayed by sublimely-beautiful-intelligent Anne Archer, seems like an excellent choice - but to each-his-own!), or continue being a free-spirited Lifeguard with fewer responsibilities/obligations (but for how much longer?) ...... ie. evoking the age-old philosophical conflict between attaining material comforts vs. traversing the pathway most 'true' to your inner nature.
Anyway, this film presents a very 'good-trip' thru a mostly enjoyable Southern-California Summer, but also asks some relevant and realistically presented questions about what constitutes a 'meaningful' Life (and the idea that being true-to-yourself does carry a lot of intrinsic value/ reward.). Kathleen Quinlan and Parker Stevenson also provide fine performances in early screen roles. Highly Recommended and much better than you would expect with considerable depth in both story and authentic-acting (plus a great Soundtrack enhancing the Sun & Surf!)
note: for Years, I had been searching unsuccessfully to find the original Soundtrack to this movie = I noticed in recent times that three of the main selections (eg. the main song written by Paul Williams with additional song/ Music orchestrated/produced by Dale Menten) have shown-up on YouTube.
score 9/10
Ed-from-HI 2 December 2019
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw5294594/35303
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