Do you ever have that dream where you’re back working your first job? The Kristen Bell movie “The Lifeguard,” now on DVD, explores that surreal idea in-depth. While it drowns the viewer in ennui more so than melancholy nostalgia — like “Garden State,” to which it owes a debt — it’s worth checking out if you’re a Bell fan.
‘The Lifeguard’
The calling card of writer-director Liz W. Garcia, whose resume notably includes episodes of “Wonderfalls” and “Dawson’s Creek,” “The Lifeguard” stars a mostly sad-faced Bell (a shame considering her amazing smile) as Leigh, a 29-year-old New York City Associated Press reporter who is no longer fulfilled by writing features on Big Apple oddities.
So she just leaves, and goes back to her upstate childhood home. At first, she glories in the opportunity to snuggle in her old bed and make homemade granola bars with her dad.
“The Lifeguard” (2013)
Director: Liz W. Garcia
Writer: Liz W. Garcia
Stars: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr
Also, she hooks up with a 16-year-old in a plot element that’s daring and politically incorrect for how matter-of-fact it is, but the real heart of the film is the (impossible) idea of reliving the past.
Leigh’s childhood buddies, played by Martin Starr (who works in an art gallery) and Mamie Gummer (the high school principal), are baffled but intrigued as Leigh takes back her old job as a pool lifeguard, smokes pot, looks at the stars and goes through the motions.
Her dad’s glad to have her back; her mom — just starting to enjoy not having to be a mom — not so much. The pool doesn’t draw much of a crowd; that’s probably due to the film’s low budget, but it adds to the surreal premise.
Weirdly but effectively, the major moment in the film centers on a supporting character, but it resonates through all the main characters — at least on one viewing. “The Lifeguard” is a bit too understated to become a classic.
‘The To Do List’
“The To Do List” is another recent DVD release about a lifeguard in crisis, but while “The Lifeguard” aims to capture universal feelings of wanderlust, this comedy is not all that concerned with reality. It is goofy fun, though, as it takes raunchy sex humor to a level that the makers of “American Pie” would’ve been shocked by 14 years ago.
The first major film from writer-director Maggie Carey, the wife of Bill Hader (a supporting character here), “The To Do List” stars “Parks and Recreation’s” Aubrey Plaza as Brandy Klark, who aims to try various sex acts at least once in her final summer before college.
Complete with the hot guy who’s curious about her (Scott Porter) and the reliable guy who loves her (Johnny Simmons), the film essentially just puts sex humor on top of the “Sixteen Candles” plot.
“The To Do List” (2013)
Director: Maggie Carey
Writer: Maggie Carey
Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, Bill Hader
But it works. Plaza is one of the best actresses out there when it comes to giving a genuine performance without appearing to care at all. It’s appealing to see Brandy just go for it and not give a rip if she’s making a fool out of herself, like when she picks out an unflattering bikini from the lost and found to try to impress Porter.
“The To Do List” has a remarkable supporting cast, too, all of whom likewise revel in the absurdity of the film, which isn’t hurt at all (it actually adds humor, I’d argue) by the fact that all these “teenagers” are played by actors who are near or beyond 30.
I’d say that Rachel Bilson, as Brandy’s more-experienced older sis, and Connie Britton and Clark Gregg, as the parents, are slumming, but the movie is too deliciously self-aware for that descriptor to apply.
Swimming pools ended up being kind of a theme of 2013 movies, with the water-park-based “The Way Way Back” leading the way. These two entries aren’t nearly as great as that one, but they’re worth a rental. And “The To Do List” has an outside chance at making a list of its own — my year-end top 10.