look at me. My life has no meaning or direction, and I'm happy

This set involved some re-watching of films I've seen before. Isn't it funny how something you've loved in the past can be nothing you want anymore? It hasn't changed, but you have, inside, where things like this get sorted out.  

The Lifeguard (2013) - "A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager."

Source: I owned the DVD
I watched it because: I'm selling it on eBay and wanted to watch it one last time before it goes
IMDB: 5.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 16% Audience: 26%

notable quote: "This thing with the lifeguard? Things happen. Keep moving or die."
story: mordantly mopey 30-y-o abruptly leaves her job in the City to come home, live with her parents, and work a minimum-wage job as a lifeguard. She reunites with high school friends and tumbles into an affair with a young teen.
visuals: beautiful, summery, inviting. Well lit.
acting: Mamie Gummer (Mel) is terrific, conflicted and thoughtful. She's not perfect, but real.

intangibles: The first time I saw this movie, I loved it. I was completely entranced and sympathetic to the main character, Leigh. It had everything to do with where I was at the time, with whom I was involved, and what I thought I'd wanted. 

    This film is really, really terrible. The premise of it - redemption by way of exploitation and manipulation - is disgusting. 
overall: not recommended

Hope Floats (1998) - "Birdee Calvert-Pruitt is back in her hometown of Smithville, Texas, after discovering that her husband is having an affair with her best friend, Connie. The entire town knows what happened to flawless beauty Birdee since Connie let her know about the affair on a national talk show. Back in town, she's dealing with catty old friends and acquaintances from high school who can't help rubbing it in her face that she isn't as perfect as she thought while still trying to get back on her feet with her daughter, Bernice. Deeply depressed, she runs into an old friend, Justin Matisse, who tries to help her through, but is still in love with her. Birdee must make a new life for her and her daughter, but will Justin be able to be part of it?"
Source: I owned the DVD
I watched it because: I'm selling it on eBay and wanted to watch it one last time before it goes
IMDB: 6.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 26% Audience: 72%

notable quote: "You find something that you love, and then you twist it, and you torture it, try and find a way to make money at it. You spend a lifetime doing that. At the end, you can't find a trace of what you started out lovin.' What did you start out lovin'?"
story: not unrealistic
visuals: sweet and Southern
acting: Gena Rowlands (Ramona Calvert) and Harry Connick, Jr. (Justin Matisse) are both good in this.

intangibles: sticky-sweet like molasses, and it goes down like a couple cups of it - *gag*. It's just too much.
overall: not recommended

The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) - "Explores Austen's adage that general incivility is at love's essence. Sylvia's husband dumps her for another woman, so Bernadette and Jocelyn organize a book club to distract her. They recruit Sylvia's daughter Allegra; Prudie, a young teacher whose marriage may be on the rocks; and Grigg, a sci-fi fan who joins out of attraction to Jocelyn. The six read and discuss one Austen novel per month. Jocelyn tries to interest Grigg in Sylvia; Allegra falls in love with a woman she meets skydiving; Prudie contemplates an affair with a student; Sylvia's ex keeps popping up. In the discussions, characters reveal themselves in their comments. By the end, are truths universally acknowledged?"
Source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: I'd heard good things
IMDB: 6.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 66% Audience: 67%

notable quote: "What about me? Am I your friend? Or am I just some ... some widget...?"
story: ridiculous, sketchy plot
visuals: beautifully filmed 
costumes, hair & makeup: pretty people being pretty
acting: Amy Brenneman (Sylvia) and Marc Blucas (Dean) are the only ones who do anything with their character through the course of the film

intangibles: I wanted to like it. People reading on purpose is awesome. But this made everything very neat and tidy, which cannot happen.
overall: not recommended

Burn after Reading (2008) - "Osbourne Cox, a Balkan expert, resigned from the CIA because of a drinking problem, so he begins a memoir. His wife wants a divorce and expects her lover, Harry, a philandering State Department marshal, to leave his wife. A CD-ROM falls out of a gym bag at a Georgetown fitness center. Two employees there try to turn it into cash: Linda, who wants money for cosmetic surgery, and Chad, an amiable goof. Information on the disc leads them to Osbourne who rejects their sales pitch; then they visit the Russian embassy. To sweeten the pot, they decide they need more of Osbourne's secrets. Meanwhile, Linda's boss likes her, and Harry's wife leaves for a book tour. All roads lead to Osbourne's house."
Source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: I was on a date
IMDB: 7.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 78% Audience: 65%

notable quote: "'You work for Tuchman Marsh?'

    'Yes.'

    'Is that a law firm?'

    'No, a rock band. Yes it's a law firm!'"
visuals: hyper-realistic visuals
costumes, hair & makeup: fun and weird
acting: George Clooney (Harry Pfarrer) and John Malkovich (Osborne Cox) are extraordinary

intangibles: heavily stylized, this movie tries to be something that it's not. Skilled acting by the terrific cast saves it from drowning itself.
overall:  recommended

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) - "Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought."

Source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: I was on a date
IMDB: 6.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 65% Audience: 66%

notable quote: "'Hi, can I have a coffee? Black?'

    'Can't you see we talking—White?'"
story: desperation combines with platonic friendship to result in a get-rich-slowly scheme with hilarious ramifications
costumes, hair & makeup: charmingly dated
acting: Justin Long (Brandon) and Katie Morgan (Stacey) are awesome

intangibles: this movie is really funny! I laughed out loud more than once. 
overall: recommended

[the title quotation is from Hope Floats]