The Lifeguard 2013

Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: This directorial debut by Liz W. Garcia, a writer for television, bears some echoes of its creator's origins, going from deft to trite in its drama and setting up character arcs that feel sappily resolved within its feature length. Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: Like its lead character, The Lifeguard is stuck in a rut. After establishing Bell's frustration within the first five minutes, the movie continually reiterates it. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The movie's being billed in some quarters as a comedy, which is a hell of a stretch given that the plot expands to take in statutory rape and teen suicide. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, Film.com: It is, and there's no point in mincing words now, awful. Read more

Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: Not even a checklist of indie film attributes can inject a sense of originality into this familiar narrative. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: Although writer-director Liz W. Garcia's wistful, angsty tale treads familiar ground, the filmmaker has crafted a credibly flawed and conflicted heroine who holds interest. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The movie really depends on Bell, and her story, and neither is interesting or compelling enough to engage us. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: This sorrowful, achingly wise little drama has a lot to say about the dangers of hanging on to youth at all costs. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The central character simply comes across as whiny and entitled instead of troubled and dark, and the central theme of getting your groove back by acting like a kid again has been done many times by much more talented filmmakers. Read more

Eric Hynes, Time Out: As listless and self-regarding as its protagonist, flitting among underdeveloped characters and subplots and indulging in rote emo shots by the pool, yet never figuring out how to dive into the deep end. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Drowning in self-pity is about as fun to watch as it sounds. Read more

Ernest Hardy, Village Voice: From concept to execution to tone, writer-director Liz W. Garcia's The Lifeguard is a lifeless misfire. Read more