Laggies (2014/A24/Lionsgate Blu-ray)

Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B Film: B

Lynn Shelton's Laggies (2014) is a charming coming of age drama starring Keira Knightley and Chloe Grace Moretz along with a strong supporting cast including Sam Rockwell, Jeff Garlin, and rising star Ellie Kemper, who was in Bridesmaids and Meet The Millers. The film has good production value and a script with pretty interesting characters, but its Keira Knightley that really makes the film believable and is a nice change for her as of lately, it seems that all she has been doing is costume dramas with the exception of the musical film Begin Again.

Laggies played at Sundance and was originally supposed to star Anne Hathaway but luckily the torch went to Knightley. Some might say that the film is a disposable rom com but I would say that the film has a lot of interesting ideas about life and relationships that make it worthwhile. Rockwell and Moretz are great in the film too and I'm surprised that there wasn't more buzz about it upon its release.

Megan (Keira Knightley) is an aimless twenty-something who is in a committed relationship with her high school sweetheart and is still close with her high school friends. At her friend Allison's (Ellie Kemper) wedding, her boyfriend unexpectedly proposes marriage and shortly after she also sees her father cheating on her mother. Shocked and confused, she flees and runs into teenager Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz) and her friends. After buying them alcohol, Megan plays with their skateboard. When they ask her to join them on their night out, she does.

Returning home, Megan's boyfriend suggests that rather than have a big wedding they elope. Megan agrees, but delays the wedding by pretending that she has a week-long career advice seminar to attend. Megan receives a call from Annika asking her to pretend to be her absentee mother at a guidance counselor's meeting. Megan goes to the meeting and afterwards asks Annika if, in return, she can stay at her house.

Annika is unsuccessful at sneaking Megan into her house, where her single-parent lawyer father Craig (Sam Rockwell) questions Megan about her relationship with his daughter. Megan lies that there was a gap between her lease expiring and her moving to a new apartment. A relationship starts to bloom between the two of them which complicates her relationship with Annika and her now fiancé. Megan has to make some big life decisions that soon impact her for the better and bridges together adolescence with adulthood.

The film is presented in 1080p high definition with a 1.85:1 transfer and a lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio (MA) track. The detail in the image is crisp and clear throughout and nicely captures the craftsmanship of the film's production. Extras include Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary with the Director, and two featurettes on the making of the film.

Laggies is a pretty good watch and I would recommend it. I expected it to be more of a chick flick that what it actually is, which is a well-crafted romantic comedy drama that isn't just for the ladies.

- James Harland Lockhart V

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