Lifeguard

This quickie is a real surprise: a sensitive, thought-provoking story involving a man forced to look at himself as youth gives way to middle age. Elliott is outstanding as the title character, an old-timer in the profession at age 30. Although he enjoys his work, pressure from his parents and peers force Elliott to realize that beach life can't go on forever. His performance is intelligent, with some good support by Archer as Elliott's high school sweetheart and Quinlan as a young girl with a crush on him. Unfortunately, this was marketed as nothing more than another beach movie and consequently had little box office success.