| Exchange Lifeguards | |
| Director: | Maurice Murphy |
| Producer: | Phillip Avalon |
| Starring: | Christopher Atkins Julian McMahon Elliott Gould Martin Cruden |
| Cinematography: | Martin McGrath |
| Music: | John Capek |
| Released: | (Australia) (United States) (Germany, TV premier) |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $1.6 million |
| Gross: | A$3,634 (Australia)[1] |
Exchange Lifeguards known in the United States as Wet and Wild Summer!, is a 1992 Australian-American comedy film[2] directed by Maurice Murphy and starring Christopher Atkins, Julian McMahon and Elliott Gould.[3]
A property developer wants to take over an Australian beach for a high rise resort. He sends his son to Australia to check out the situation, posing as an exchange lifeguard. He falls in love with a woman who owns the land his father needs for the development and finds himself sympathising with the locals.
Avalon says that sales agent Dick Bateman suggested he write and produce a film set around the beach and lifeguards, with humour and a romance. Bateman said he would buy all rights for $1.5 million. Avalon wrote a script Gary Hamilton of Beyond agreed to help finance if Avalon could get Elliott Gould and Chris Atkins to star; Avalon succeeded in doing this and the film was made for $1.6 million.[4]
In her review of the film Marsha Porter describes the film as a "vulgar Aussie version of Frankie-and-Annette beach movies" and as "sexist, badly acted, and buffoonish".[5]