DVD Review: Laggies

-
Quarter life crisis

Megan (Keira Knightley) is 28 years old and still not sure what she wants to do with her life. She went to college, got a degree, and ended up not liking her field. She's been with her boyfriend, Anthony (Mark Webber) since they were in high school. After he proposes to her, she flakes and crosses paths with Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz) a teenager she buys alcohol for on a whim. She decides to lay low with Annika and her divorced father, Craig. (Sam Rockwell)

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this movie. I can't fully relate to Megan, though I think it's natural that we all sort of regress a little here and there. I could never befriend Annika the way she did, but at the same time the movie really hammers in the fact that Megan's adult friends are the worst. It's easy to see why she would be attracted to a man that looks like Sam Rockwell. I would be, but I ended up feeling bad for her actual boyfriend who seemed like a pretty stellar and caring guy.

I adore director Lynn Shelton, and I wish I could've enjoyed this a little more. The actors do a great job. Knightley, Rockwell, and Webber are always wonderful, and her American accent is on point. This is the first time I didn't hate Moretz in something, and Kaitlyn Denver makes a small appearance as well. It's definitely not a bad movie. I wouldn't even call it a mediocre movie, I just had trouble connecting to it. 

Recommended: Yes, maybe it will work better for you then it did for me.

Grade: B-

Memorable Quote: "Now that I'm actually doing this, I feel like going to throw up." - Megan (Keira Knightley)

Comments

  1. Big Screen Small WordsMarch 17, 2015 at 11:37 AM

    I can only relate to Megan at some point but at the same time I feel like I don't understand her at all. Her 'old life' was written to be so negative (her friends really are the worst) that anything to escape from it is a good thing. I guess I just wasn't agreeing with her decisions so much because it doesn't look like she thought about them or at least help her find what she was looking for. The actors were all great though, especially Keira Knightley; she was quite endearing in the role.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 17, 2015 at 1:06 PM

      It did seem a tad unrealistic. Like, what father wouldn't immediately call the police of his teenager daughter brought over an adult to stay the night? lol

      Delete
  2. s.March 17, 2015 at 1:07 PM

    I connected to this so much, that's probably why I liked it. I related to Megan in almost every way and for me that movie just nailed those awful feelings of 'floating'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 18, 2015 at 6:33 AM

      That's awesome it spoke to you in that way! I love hearing things like that.

      Delete
    2. s.March 18, 2015 at 4:00 PM

      I was glad about one thing - that none of my friends it's like Kemper's character. Oh God, I kept hoping something will run her over

      Delete
    3. Brittani BurnhamMarch 19, 2015 at 7:47 AM

      OMG Kemper's character was the worst. It doesn't help that I already don't care for her, but I wanted to punch her.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousMarch 17, 2015 at 1:31 PM

    I'm glad you got this out of your drafts! As you know, I'm pretty much with you 100% on this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 18, 2015 at 6:32 AM

      I haven't been to the theater in ages so I've been hoarding all my DVD reviews to space them out. lol

      Delete
  4. UnknownMarch 17, 2015 at 2:37 PM

    I've been on the fence about whether to see this movie. I do like the cast -- I may give it a shot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 18, 2015 at 6:32 AM

      If you do, I hope it works for you better than it worked for me. The cast is good.

      Delete
  5. RuthMarch 17, 2015 at 2:54 PM

    I'm so bummed I missed this screening at TCFF last year as I had to finish up an interview. I should give it a rent soon!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Candice FrederickMarch 17, 2015 at 9:59 PM

    hmmm i'm not a big lynn shelton fan at all, but i do like keira. thanks for reminding me about this one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 18, 2015 at 6:31 AM

      Of course :) I love them both, and I love that Keira is doing modern films again. I just wish this was better.

      Delete
  7. GetterMarch 18, 2015 at 2:51 AM

    It definitely worked better for me. I can totally relate to the character probably because I'm surrounded by teenagers/young adults at work all the time, and I get along with them and it's sort of like this movie.. though I don't run away from my fiancee and hide in one said youngsters house. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 18, 2015 at 6:31 AM

      lol that last one is probably a good thing! I'm glad it worked for you.

      Delete
  8. UnknownMarch 18, 2015 at 7:35 AM

    I'd never even heard of Laggies until I saw your post. This sounds like something I should enjoy though, so I'm going to give it a try. Great review!
    - Allie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 19, 2015 at 7:47 AM

      Thanks! I hope you enjoy it when you do watch it.

      Delete
  9. DellMarch 18, 2015 at 8:04 PM

    Haven't gotten to this one, yet. I'll have to come back and read this when I do.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lights Camera ReactionMarch 19, 2015 at 6:55 AM

    The concept is a little silly to me, but I was able to look past that and really enjoy this film. Knightley was totally great and I'm glad she had such a good 2014.
    Lovely review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 19, 2015 at 7:46 AM

      Thank you! She did have an awesome 2014. She should be proud.

      Delete
  11. Alex WithrowMarch 25, 2015 at 12:54 PM

    I actually really liked this one. Probably my favorite Shelton film yet. But I get why it wouldn't fully work for you. Still, it's cool that you dug the performances!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 25, 2015 at 1:54 PM

      Oh definitely. I'm not sure I've ever disliked Knightley and Rockwell in something.

      Delete
  12. JoshApril 3, 2015 at 1:17 PM

    Glad you enjoyed the performances. I liked this more than I thought I would, so it was a pleasant surprise for me.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Brittani BurnhamApril 4, 2015 at 6:52 AM

    I was hoping I would've liked this one more. I'm glad it worked for you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more