LAGGIES (2014)

Genre: Drama
Director: Lynn Shelton
Cast: Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Rockwell, Gretchen Mol, Ellie Kemper, Kaitlyn Dever, Mark Webber, Jeff Gardin, Daniel Zovatto, Dylan Arnold
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language And Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://laggiesthemovie.tumblr.com

Opening Day: 9 October 2014

Synopsis: When 28 year old Megan (Keira Knightley) visits her 11 year high school reunion, she realizes that very little has changed in her life. She still lives with her high school boyfriend Anthony (Mark Webber), and works as a sign flipper for her father's accounting company. When her boyfriend proposes, she panics and crosses paths with 16-year-old Annika (Chloë Grace Moretz). Annika convinces her to buy her and her friends alcohol and she hangs out with them for the rest of the night. Afterwards she realizes that she needs to take a week off from her life and lies to her boyfriend, saying that she is going to a business seminar, but instead she goes to Annika's house and spends time there and also with Annika's attractive, single dad, Craig (Sam Rockwell).

Movie Review:

British actress Keira Knightley (Begin Again) plays a female slacker Megan whose life changed after meeting a teenager, Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz) in this comedy set in a small American town.

Unlike raunchy manchild comedies from Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, Laggies takes a far more restrained approach in tackling life issues. The script by first-timer Andrea Seigel and the direction from Lynn Shelton (Humpday) is for the most part funny and engaging though it takes a while for the indie title to take off.

The character of Megan seems unlikeable at first. While not exactly a total trainwreck, she is jobless, aimless, living off his parents and photographer boyfriend, Anthony (Mark Webber) and practically avoiding any major decisions in her life. Even her high school buddies finds it hard to communicate with her because deep down, Megan is still stuck in the past not knowing how to move on with her life despite a degree in marriage counseling. When her long-time sweetheart boyfriend suddenly proposes, Megan panicked and ran off to stay with Annika avoiding contacts with everyone.

Perhaps you find it hard to accept a person liked Megan in real-life, which is why her perfect soul mate turned out to be a teenager. It takes an adult to learn from a kid and vice versa. Only when Megan start seeing Annika getting into all sort of problems from teen romance to her estranged relationship with her mother that she realizes her own struggles. Seigel’s script is never pretentious or challenging. It’s a lot of fun and the charm from the entire cast is ridiculously addictive.

The underrated Sam Rockwell (Iron Man 2) can never do wrong and in Laggies, he plays Craig, the father of Annika which took a liking for Megan in the end. He doesn’t really have a big role as compared to Knightley and Moretz but as always, he is genuinely a delightful presence. Juggling between indie titles and major Hollywood productions, Knightley puts in a silly convincing performance as a teenager trapped in an adult’s body. The in-demand Moretz kind of plays herself as she is basically just a teenager off-screen.

Laggies reminds one ofYoung Adult, a similarly theme drama from 2012 starring Charlie Theron. Some might find the latter too brooding and dark for liking, fortunately Laggies kept things light and lively. It’s not a perfect movie because you might be offended by the somewhat rushed and fluffy ending yet for a weirdly titled cinematic outing, you expect worse. 

Movie Rating:

(30 and not acting your age? Go catch Laggies)

Review by Linus Tee