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Oct 22, 2014 By Stephen Danay Web Exclusive

In the midst of a quarter-life crisis, Meg Birch ditches her best friend’s wedding to hang out with a group of teenagers outside a convenience store. When a series of white lies find her crashing with sixteen year old Annika and her brash, semi-negligent father, Meg must keep her real life and her fake life from colliding as she tries to become an adult.

Although Laggies certainly qualifies as a indie film, it represents a leap toward the mainstream for director Lynn Shelton. Known for mumblecore efforts like Humpday and Your Sister’s Sister, Shelton eschews the ultra-naturalistic, improvisational dialogue of her earlier work for big name stars and a more conventional dramedy script. While Laggies deserves some small amount of praise for its gender inversion of the now familiar over-educated-white-twenty-something-dude-must-get-his-life-together sub-genre, it coasts on this basic premise and the charm of its stars while ultimately failing to add much to the conversation. As Meg, Keira Knightley shows that she has some range beyond the staid, period-drama performances that made her famous. The sisterly relationship that she develops with Chloe Grace Moretz is the heart of the film, albeit one that gets lost amid the various other subplots. Sam Rockwell continues his streak of being the most engaging and entertaining presence in an otherwise rote indie drama.

While the three leads—as well as welcome supporting players Elle Kemper and Kaitlyn Dever—are pleasant company for ninety-odd minutes, they are let down by the script, which reduces some of the more complex themes of maturation to something resembling an R-rated after-school special. With a third act that’s nearly indistinguishable from a mainstream romantic comedy, Laggies could benefit from taking its own advice and growing up.

a24films.com/films/laggies

Author rating: 4/10