Girls Only

Just what does it mean to really 'grow up'? As kids, many of us no doubt assumed that maturity and independence would naturally follow once we hit a certain age. But, as most of us have since discovered, that isn't necessarily true: people can easily be adults in age but children in attitude. Laggies, an affable film with quirky indie sensibilities and a great cast, explores these issues with quite a lot of charm and genuine humour, although its odd plotting fails to live up to its characters in the end.

Megan (Keira Knightley) is stuck. Ten years after graduating from high school, her friends have all moved on with their lives and accumulated the accoutrements of adulthood: jobs, husbands, babies. Only Megan remains stalled in permanent adolescence, temping for her dad and living with her doting high-school boyfriend Anthony (Mark Webber). When Anthony's proposal of marriage forces her to contemplate leaving her commitment-free comfort zone, Megan takes refuge in the home of Annika (Chloe Moretz), a high-school girl who begs Megan for help in buying alcohol. In the course of a week, Megan discovers that there's more to life than idling in first gear, and draws closer to Annika and her dad, lawyer Craig (Sam Rockwell).

There's actually quite a lot to enjoy in Laggies, even if its ending is a foregone conclusion. Andrea Seigel's screenplay is sharp and smart, developing her characters into something more than stereotypes. There's a gentle, deep undertow of understanding in Megan's budding friendship with Annika - one which brings them both to a bittersweet meeting with Bethany (Gretchen Mol), the mom who abandoned Annika for a new career as a lingerie model. As played tenderly by Knightley and Rockwell, the way in which Megan is drawn towards Craig also makes sense, even if their connection feels a little forced.

The performances are also top-notch. Knightley delivers one of her most fascinating creations yet: a woman who has drifted through rather than lived her life for years, not daring to sever ties to her past but afraid to forge into the future. Her Megan is spiky and sweet, appealing even when the character's flaws threaten to overwhelm. Rockwell's part is a bit undercooked, but he's such a great actor that he lends Craig's attraction to Megan all the credibility denied it by the script. Moretz, too, is great as always, slipping into the troubled skin of Annika and creating another lost girl with plenty of spunk.

Where Laggies falters is in its final act. The last third of the film has a few great moments, including a heartrending encounter between Megan and Anthony that shouldn't work as well as it does. But it also degenerates steadily into cliché, abandoning much of its offbeat humour and complex characters for twists both odd (Megan's reaction to a car accident begs the question: is that really how a grown-up should respond to the situation?) and predictable (Megan's epiphany is a textbook rom-com moment).

In effect, Laggies stops growing, just as Megan did for ten years of her life. At the end, it provides easy answers for its characters after spending most of its running time suggesting that there are no such things: that the real world is complicated and people aren't perfect, that growing up takes effort and doesn't happen by default. This doesn't mean that the film isn't watchable - it very much is, and will reward viewers with some truly lovely moments of wry humour and quirky characterisation along the way. But its undeniable charm is also what makes Laggies' ending all the more disappointing.

Laggies is all about growing up, with its main character unable to take life seriously. The film explores to several compelling points of moving on to adulthood. Then it takes to a quirkier turn where Megan tries to make another life with a younger crowd where she feels more accepted of who she is. This is meant to be a story about getting away from the comfort zone, the movie does bring a lot of acknowledgment of why this is supposed to be the right thing, but it resolves to a more comfortable type of ending which doesn't live up much to what it wants to say. Thankfully, most of it is undeniably delightful and clever, delivered by charming talents on screen. This isn't probably what Laggies is meant to be, but there is still a lot of reasons why you should like it, anyway.

The film started out in a compellingly tough state for the main character; having less fun with her old high school friends and dealing with other complicated issues. She's basically avoiding from those personal troubles of how life has changed and finding a way to completely run away from them. Once she meets her new set of younger friends, it leads to a build up of a much different purpose. The story carries Megan with heavy questions, but the movie doesn't seem to have the guts of being challenging, thus results to an easier solution with her problems. This is probably not a bad thing, but it could have gone a little deeper. But the sweetness didn't rob much of the value. The film's own charming world alone at least makes things memorable.

What totally benefits here is the cast. Keira Knightley just perfectly captures her character's teen-like personality without making it look inappropriately weird. Sam Rockwell's magnetic charisma just brings a lot of likable impact at every scene he is in. Chloë Grace Moretz does her usual thing and there's definitely nothing wrong with that. These talents just makes it work. The movie already handles its own humor cleverly without making each of them feel forced, unlike most comedies out there. Maybe letting these stars come around and talk into each other already makes for a worth of watch.

Laggies kind of drops its "growing up" intentions and instead tells something about being happy about your own decisions, or something like that. The message it brings in the end is definitely not the one that it once tried to show, maybe because the film decided that they wanted to go conventional to that point. And the movie seems to be alright with that, which is sort of a strange aspect. But the best way to see the movie is just letting the talents bring it to life in their small lighter moments, it's a far more entertaining movie if that's the focus. There are still things that could have made it much engaging, but there's already a good movie in here that would instantly appeal the audience.

Ever feel like you have spent far too much of your life wandering around and trying to please everyone else?

I would say that after my last Keira Knightly adventure with Mark Ruffalo and now this movie, I am just about ready to have her as my friend. It was so hard to like her after all that fawning over her looks in other movies. She is really a charming actress and made my day with this performance. Apparently she replaced Anne Hathaway at the last minute. It is hard to imagine Ms. Hathaway in the role because Keira Knightly owns it so completely. I usually find the performances of Brits who play Americans strangely flat, but Ms. Knightly is one good exception to the rule. She falls into her role and seems to use her outsider status as an asset which works within the premise of the movie.

Sam Rockwell is incredible. What is it about that man? He has a very sexy brain. If he were one tiny bit better looking his seductive capacity would be less mesmerizing, so thank heaven for small favors.

Have fun!

There is a winning quality to this romantic comedy about a girl in her 20s (Knightley) in a bit of a mid 20s crisis after being proposed to by her boyfriend. She befriends a teenage girl (Moretz) and her divorced father (Rockwell). It starts off a bit slow but then you realize gradually the characters are all quite likable even when they are doing something wrong. This understated treatment of the more serious moments makes it more effective especially the visit to the mother (Mol). Avoids melodrama which would have spoilt the tone of the movie.

Keira Knightley makes her 20s finding herself girl surprisingly sympathetic and identifiable. Throughout her mistakes you still root for her. Chloe Grace Moretz is a standout as always. She gives a sensitive performance and doesn't overact. Amidst all the recent movies a likable teenager character on film is kind of rare. Sam Rockwell plays the father quite charmingly.

Overall one the better indie rom coms of late and worth a watch.

Wasn't expecting to like this film as much as I did.

First, Sam Rockwell has got to be one of the best actors to work with. He is naturally so cool and his confidence on screen must be contagious. I have never seen him put up anything but an A-Game level performance.

Second, no one plays the girl we all want to fall in love with (who is sincere, cool, fun, and romantic) than Kiera Knightley. Kiera and Sam? Would never see it working on paper. Totally worked on the screen.

Third, Chloe Grace Moretz is one talented and poised young actress whose resume is amazing at such a young age. I anticipate Chloe will take home a lot of hardware in her career.

Finally, Lynn Shelton paces this film perfectly. Her best effort to date.

I love this movie. I just saw it for the 3rd time (May 2020)... Trust me, and see this movie. Let the story develop and unfold ("wait for it"), and I bet you say the same thing by the end.

Nicely done to all involved! 👏👏👏