Laggies

This film tells the story of a woman who escapes from her life and finds companionship with a teenage girl, after her boyfriend proposes to her during her best friend's wedding.

"Laggies" shows Megan as a person who runs from the things she want in her life. She strikes up an unlikely friendship with a teenage girl, and they both help each other grow. Another subplot is a romantic comedy subplot between Megan and the lonely lawyer, which I think is more engaging than the main plot. Sam Rockwell is charming as a lonely lawyer, and he is a good match with Keira Knightley in this film. I would have liked to see more of this subplot, and I would not even mind if the story is changed to a romantic comedy between these two!

Laggies would have been too big a mirror put up to my twenty-something crises-ed life were it not for the comedic value of the whole she-bang.

That's mildly dramatic but really Laggies is a very original take on the quarter-life crises beseeching the Millennial generation.

Megan (Keira Knightley) is an underachieving twenty-something resigned to an underwhelming existence of still dating her high school boyfriend and working for her father. Her friends are all doing the things you're supposed to be doing when you are in your mid-to-late twenties: getting married, having babies, buying a house, etcetera etctera. With a quarter-life crisis imminently on the horizon, Megan retreats to the home of new found friend Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz), a sixteen year old high school student.

The term Laggies comes from Megan's profoundly underwhelming inferior performance in life below her potential. She is in this debilitatingly immobilizing limbo of the mid-twenties when, having done what you thought you were supposed to do and following the path you thought you were supposed to follow, you find yourself 'here' but 'here' isn't where you want to be. Andrea Seigel's screenplay does a good job of satirically making fun of the trends Milennials are doing nowadays as they 'play' house – like first dances and potential baby names.

A good movie will have characters and themes you can identify with, that will help put a mirror to life and help you engage with the narrative. For some 20-somethings most of the film and Keira Knightley's portrayal of an existential crisis may be a bit too close for comfort. Thankfully Chloe Grace Moretz's character has a dad played by Sam Rockwell. Rockwell is the shining light of a comic savior within the film and lifts up the depressing moments of story to a entertainingly watchable movie.

Laggies is a fun one-time watch for 20-somethings to realize they could be more messed up and to find the humor within the perplexities of burgeoning adulthood.

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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! 👏👏👏

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.

Keira Knightley's character was hard to like at times. It may be that she closely resembled my ex in how poorly she made decisions, never considering the effects her choices had on anyone else. But that's pretty real, I guess. And her character develops well over the course of the film. I think she finally gets it, but I would have a hard time ever trusting someone like her (again).

It's not that I don't like a mixed protagonist. It's just that I wanted to shake her at different moments, and yell, "What are you doing?! Are you even thinking at all?!" But one would probably think that of me, watching my life from the outside. It's convicting, considering that we're all mixed protagonists in our own lives.

Sam Rockwell is consistently supreme in his ability to deliver performances that produce audible laughter from me. I'll pretty much watch anything he does, and though sometimes the film is mediocre, he is always exceptional—I never regret the decision to watch.

If you're looking for some great Sam Rockwell movies, check out "The Way Way Back" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind". He's great in everything I've seen him in, though.