Review of Laggies (2014) by Jesse O — 30 Apr 2016

Been on a pretty good run of movies lately and this one is no different. Though I will admit, compared to Your Sister's Sister, another Lynn Shelton film, this one feels like a bit of a comedown from that.

And, that's not really a fair comparison, since not every movie you make will be as good as that, at least in Shelton's case. And it's not even so much that this is a bit of a comedown, even though it is, it's more the fact that the film's narrative doesn't really feel like that unique.

Like I've seen it somewhere before, but this is a more independent version of that film I've seen. I'm not saying that Your Sister's Sister was the most uniquely written film in existence, but there was something about that film that subverted the usual tropes.

And I'm not saying this film plays into those tropes but, again, there's just a sense of familiarity here that I cannot shake off. Not saying that that's a bad thing either, because, at the very least, the film is good.

Shelton's direction is more than solid, she lets the characters grow on their own, mostly Meg, instead of forcing their changes down your throat. I think it was a very smart choice to go about it that way, since the characters end up feeling far more genuinely real than they would've otherwise.

And, realistically, when you have a cast with the likes of Kiera Knightley, Chloe Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell all on the top of their game, then it's easy to make a good movie with those three. The script also helps, it's not like it's perfect, I don't think it makes as good use of its ideas as well as it could have, but the script is solidly written.

It's funny in parts, but this is not a 'ha ha' comedy, as it were. There are laughs, for sure, but it's more centered around the characters, their relationships and what motivates them.

The chemistry is there, so that's already half the work done right there. Not saying you also didn't need a solid script, but with those three working together, then it's not like you need to really try that hard to write a great movie.

Though, of course, a script would have to have already been written before the film was cast. But you know what I'm trying to say here. The story is fairly simple and straightforward. Meg, after graduating from high school, has struggled to figure out what her future is gonna be.

All her friends have moved on and gotten jobs, married and had kids and she's still twirling signs for her father. After her high school sweetheart proposes to her after a wedding, she decides she needs to get away for a week to try and figure things out.

Which is when she meets Annika and her friends, who're still in high school. She's clearly revitalized while hanging out with these kids. Again, it's not something unique to this film, but I think it works for the most part.

Like I said before, it's not like they do great stuff with this idea, but it's pretty good in execution. I think it really gets going once Sam Rockwell comes into the picture. So yea, I really don't have anything else to say about this.

Might not have been a great review, but it wasn't a great movie. It's good and I would definitely recommend it if you have Amazon Prime, but it's not gonna blow you away. Thankfully, though, the cast is great and they make watching this really easy.