If you watched TV in the 90s, chances are you heard the iconic “I’ll be therrrree” of the Baywatch theme song. It was a show that aired for a lengthy period from 1989 to 2001. The original show was primarily a drama that featured lifeguards navigating over-the-top issues in the bay, with a few light-hearted moments interspersed. The show’s focus shifted from the sex appeal of the actors and actresses to a lesser extent, and more on being taken seriously as the years went on. It wasn’t the best show, but it had a solid following and was quite popular during its original run.
| Release Date | May 25, 2017 |
| Genre | Action/Comedy |
| Studio | Paramount Pictures |
| Director | Seth Gordon |
| Cast | Zac Efron, Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach |
| Rating | R |
Rated R
When the film adaptation was announced as a comedy, I wasn’t sure how they would make it work. They did so by creating something that borders more along the lines of a parody than anything resembling the original show. Baywatch doesn’t take long to get crude, and much of the movie revolves around some adult humor. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of comedy like that, but being rated R, it goes over the top with quite a few gags. You could make a drinking game out of the number of times male genitalia are referenced and made fun of in this movie. It was only funny for so long before it got old.
Story
Aside from the humorous elements, there is a cohesive story here, with a few subplots. Baywatch is looking for a few new recruits. This is where Zac Efron’s character, Matt Brody, comes in. He’s a former Olympic swimmer serving a community service sentence who is cocky and arrogant and butts heads in the beginning with Lt. Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). Brody thinks he can make the team without going through the rigorous trials everyone else has to endure, but Buchannon sees things differently.
As these two continue to take shots at each other, businesswoman Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra) is buying up all kinds of real estate in the bay to solidify her drug distribution ring. She either buys out property owners or threatens them with personal harm to ensure she gains all the property she needs. Worse, she has key politicians in her back pocket to ensure everyone turns a blind eye to her shady business plan. This unites the personalities of Baywatch together in an attempt to take down Leeds.
Relationships
In moments when we’re not worrying about the overarching plot, Baywatch focuses on several different romances within the team. Ronnie (Jon Bass) and CJ Parker (Kelly Rohrbach) are part of a romance that involves CJ seeing his package enough times to think he’s suitable. The relationship between Matt Brody and Summer Quinn (Alexandra Daddario) is equally as mundane as that relationship. Even Buchannon teases a relationship with Stephanie Holden (Ilfenesh Hadera), but it never materializes. Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson are the clear focal points of this film. Their friendship receives more time and development than anything else. All the other characters feel pretty insignificant by comparison.
Nostalgia
Baywatch made a few subtle nods to the original show, including some cameos from Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff. I was pretty disappointed that the old theme song wasn’t reused in this movie, other than a 5-second snippet of it in one scene. It was, however, nice to see them use the original character names and wear similar attire to the show. They even make fun of the slow-motion walking and running multiple times. It was nice to feel that connection, mainly because this movie was such a departure from the original show. It’s similar to the 2012 21 Jump Street remake. The story is identical, with the main characters trying to overthrow a drug ring.
Final Thoughts
It’s hard to recommend Baywatch to anyone but a comedy fan. This certainly isn’t a movie that should be taken seriously. That will only lead to disappointment. It will probably rub fans of the original show the wrong way; it’s an entirely different concept that uses the same characters and Baywatch name. Dwayne Johnson set out to make a movie that people would laugh at, and I think he’s done that. Whether you find this type of humor amusing is a matter of personal opinion. It’s polarizing, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. We’ll have our answer if we don’t see a Baywatch 2.
