Change Your Image
bmeadow1
Reviews
Garden State (2004)
Gets Duller By The Minute
I tried to watch this movie.
A guy comes back to his hometown after years away and runs into some people from his past, as well as new people. It's an old plot, but so what--maybe this would be a fascinating take on it.
I waited for something interesting to happen--anything. No such luck.
I tried to get involved with the characters. Couldn't.
OK, maybe the cinematography, or the acting, or the dialog, or the locations...Nope.
Maybe I'm too old (57) to connect with the characters. Then again, I found Napoleon Dynamite to be quite interesting, so maybe it's not just me.
Maybe it's the movie. B-o-r-i-n-g.
Lifeguard (1976)
A Heartfelt Character Study
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.