Review: 'Laggies' Is A Charming Take on the Quarter Life Crisis

Maddie Crichton ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

The twenty-something struggle has become a very popular topic in media lately, and Laggies brings a fresh, light-hearted, and funny twist to it.
Megan (Keira Knightley) is a twenty-eight year old teenager who has yet to figure out what she wants to do with her life, while the rest of her friends are planning their weddings and having babies. She lives with her longtime boyfriend, spins a sign outside of her dad’s shop, and likes to crash on her parents’ couch to watch television.
While at one of her best friend’s weddings, Megan is startled and pressured by the unknown future that lies ahead for her, so she ditches the party and heads to a liquor store. Here she meets high-schooler Annika (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her group of handsomely careless friends. Megan then decides to spend a week at Annika’s house to collect her thoughts and hang out with a new crowd, which includes Craig, (Sam Rockwell) Annika’s single father.

Laggies presents Megan’s sticky situation with freshness and humor. Keira Knightley brings heart to her character with every quirky body movement and silly face. She transforms into a confused teenaged-adult so effortlessly and brings laughter to seemingly awful situations. Knightley makes her character very self-aware, which adds to Megan’s strange but delightful ways.
Playing the stubborn, sassy, yet charismatic teenager, Moretz adds life to a high-schooler’s everyday mess. Whether Annika’s problems be big, small, serious, or immature, Moretz makes the audience care about them as much as she does.
Rockwell makes the concerned-parent trope charming, and adds a level of liveliness to the film in a way that only he is capable of. He plays off of Knightley and Moretz in a quick-witted way and steals every scene he is in. As one of the most level headed characters in the film, he commands a strong and entertaining presence.

The story, written by Andrea Seigel, is smart and endearing. It makes every character likable, even when they are at their worst moments. It makes you root for Megan and respect her decisions, even when you know she is making a huge mistake. Director Lynn Shelton does a good job making sure you see every side to every character, which makes you fall in love with them even more. While some scenes verge on cliché, Shelton takes those cheesy moments and adds a new layer to them.
Laggies is a cheerful comedy that plasters a smile on the audience’s face. While it might cause concern for your own quarter-life crisis, it will most definitely make you laugh out loud.
Overall Grade: B+