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Laggies

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Laggies (Facebook)
Laggies (Facebook)
What's it about:

A woman stuck in permanent adolescence lies to her fiancé about going on a retreat and spends the time hanging out with friends instead.

What we thought:

In Hollywood movies we’re so used to seeing the 20-something-slacker guy who’s on the brink of adulthood and has to try and  figure it all out.

This time around in Laggies, the roles are reversed as 20-something-year old Megan (Keira Knightley) has trouble growing up.

I just turned 30 so I can understand where she’s at, but seriously there comes a time when you need to put on those big girl panties, woman up and just get on with growing up.

The film starts out with a group of high school friends at their prom night. Fast forward to a few years and the whole clique is still together. At this point they’re all in different stages of their lives; one just got engaged, another is married and another is expecting her first child.

While her friends seem to be moving on with the growing up, Megan is just drifting along in life. She’s still dating her sweet, boring high school boyfriend Anthony (Mark Weber) and despite having a Masters she works for her dad as a sign twirler.

When Anthony proposes to her she accepts halfheartedly. She of course freaks out and heads out to find a place to squat for a week.

She ends up at Annika’s house (Chlöe Grace Moretz), a 17-year-old high school student that she met one night when she and a group of friends asked her to get them some beer. Megan instantly clicks with the group of teens,; in fact she has more in common with them than her own group of friends. She moves into Annika’s room for the week and there she meets Annika’s single father Craig (Sam Rockwell), a divorced lawyer.

Throughout the week Megan learns some valuable lessons, but she doesn’t really grow up.

I was extremely frustrated with the character Keira Knightley portrays. While I’ve been going through the same life stages I couldn’t really connect with her. Most of it stems from the fact that I didn’t really have the luxury to just float through early adulthood.

What frustrated me further is that the character is so immature, she is supposed to have an advanced degree in counselling but the teens really seem more mature than her.

And lastly, Keira herself didn’t really seem to embody the character. It is so far from the type of roles she’s used to portraying re: Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, The Duchess.  

Furthermore, while the plot is quite predictable what it lacks is the big AHA moment for Megan. It’s a small moment and even that she meets with lacklustre enthusiasm. You get the feeling that Megan is just going to float through the rest of her life anyway.

There are some really funny moments and smart dialogue but overall it’s just another movie about a 20-something-slacker.

There are better things at the movies to spend money on than this movie.

P.S. What’s with the weird title?
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