Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Laggies Blu-ray Movie Review

Slackerette?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 10, 2015

Time will tell whether the term Laggies will ultimately become as iconic as its nearest cinematic (and descriptive) sibling, Slacker. A “laggie” is indeed a “slacker” of a certain type, though in the case of Laggies’ Megan (Keira Knightley), the aimlessness doesn’t seem to be entirely willful, instead rising at least relatively organically from this twenty-something’s inability to decide what to do with her life post-college. Megan has scraped the bottom of the employment barrel to the point where she’s relegated to twirling one of those insanely oversized arrows pointing to her father’s CPA business. Things seem at least marginally better on the personal relationship front, with Megan shacking up with her longtime boyfriend Anthony (Mark Webber). But soon the loose threads of Megan’s life begin unraveling at a faster pace, and it becomes apparent that her inability to chart her own course has left her to “float” (in her words) and/or “sink” (in Anthony’s words). A couple of unexpected events at the wedding of one of Megan’s former high school crew brings everything to a head, and Laggies details the somewhat improbable, fairly low key “adventures” that Megan experiences after befriending a young high school girl named Annika (Chloë Grace Moretz), a troubled lass who seems to be recreating some of Megan’s own poor decisions in front of Megan’s own eyes.

Lynn Shelton is a Seattle based writer-director whose previous films like Humpday and Your Sister's Sister have brought her considerable acclaim on both the indie and Art House circuits. Working here for the first time on a film she didn’t write herself, Shelton “directs what she knows,” at least geographically, placing Megan and her crew in and around the Emerald City, and capturing some of the Pacific Northwest’s loosey-goosey charms. That said, Laggies is a more mainstream vehicle than some of Shelton’s previous efforts, something that may potentially alienate Shelton’s fanbase who prefer a more twee, iconoclastic perspective.

Shelton begins Laggies with a brief throwback to the friends’ high school prom night, evidently caught on a home video camera. That segues to the present day, where friendships are still evidently intact, if slightly frayed at times, as detailed in a kind of weird scene between Megan and her girlfriends as they prepare for the upcoming nuptials of Allison (Ellie Kemper). Meanwhile we’ve also been introduced to the loving relationship between Megan and her dad (Jeff Garlin). Dad is seemingly content to let Megan “find herself,” even if that means his daughter shrugs off career seminars or any accoutrements of a so-called adult existence. Megan’s mother isn’t similarly disposed, and is visibly upset that Megan isn’t making more of an effort to establish herself in an independent mode.

Things come to a head at Allison’s wedding, when in short order Megan’s sad sack boyfriend Anthony attempts (unsuccessfully) to pop the question at almost the same time Megan spies her father cheating on her mother in an outside gazebo. Thrown for an emotional loop by this one two punch, Megan leaves the reception in a panicked rush, ultimately pulling up to a convenience store where she meets a gaggle of teens, including Annika. Annika takes part in the time honored tradition of asking a legal adult to purchase some alcohol in the store for her and her friends, and Megan agrees, having “been there and done that” herself years previously. This is but the first of several instances where Megan evidently sees a reflection of sorts of her earlier life in Annika.

Megan ends up spending several hours with Annika and her friends at a nearby park, finally returning to a worried Anthony, who picks up right where he left off at the reception, urging Megan to forego any worries she has and to simply elope with him. Megan buys some time for herself by insisting she has an important seminar to attend on Orcas Island, but in reality she ends up driving aimlessly about until she receives a panicked phone call from Annika. The young girl needs a “parent” to attend a conference with a high school counselor, and Annika wants Megan to pretend she’s Annika’s mother. With nothing else to do, Megan consents, and after an awkward sit down with the high school counselor, asks Annika if she can crash at Annika’s house for a week while she attempts to sort out her life. Since Annika’s father Craig (Sam Rockwell) is a largely in absentia workaholic, it seems to be a near perfect arrangement, at least that is until Craig returns home early unexpectedly and is obviously surprised that Annika has what Craig considers to be a pretty “rough” looking high school friend.

That sets up what might be termed the Pretty Woman element of Laggies, in that a rather improbable fairy tale-esque series of events starts to intrude, and where a halting romance between Craig and Megan starts up. That fortuitous event seemingly provides a paradaisical happy ending for not just the newly minted couple, but troubled Annika as well. It’s here that Laggies tends to be too pat for its own good, but Andrea Seigel’s screenplay at least attempts to keep things marginally “real” by detailing various foibles in all three of the focal characters.

The contrivances of Laggies may ultimately tend to subvert some of its inherent whimsy, but there’s no denying how charming the performances are. Knightley (doing a more than creditable American accent) finds a nice balance between Megan’s uncertainties and her desire to actually make something out of her life (though, again, the film’s ultimate denouement may seem frighteningly traditional in that regard). Rockwell is a lot of fun here, offering both the kind of button down snarkiness of Craig’s professional demeanor as well as his kind of goofy persona as Annika’s dad. Moretz is very sweet as Annika, making the girl both vulnerable and resilient, as so many kids of a dysfunctional family background tend to be.

Laggies Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Laggies is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This appears to have been digitally shot (no camera is credited, but Koerner Camera Systems, a well known digital camera rental emporium here in my hometown of Portland as well as Seattle, is credited), and for the most part offers a sharp, appealingly crisp visual presentation. A lot of the film is shot in what appear to be natural lighting conditions, and that has both pluses and minuses. The decently lit daytime material is very nice and sharp looking, with an accurate and well saturated palette, and excellent detail and fine detail. Once again, though, darker sequences often struggle to provide much in the way of detail, and in fact the early sequence in the middle of the night in the park is riddled with crush, to the point that the backs of both Knightley and Moretz virtually disappear into the surrounding blackness.

Laggies Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Laggies' lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track isn't overly showy, tending to exploit immersion most in elements like the ubiquitous source cues and moments that include ambient environmental opportunities. Therefore, more crowded scenes like the wedding reception have greater spread throughout the surrounds than the bulk of the film, which tends to play out in more intimate dialogue driven scenes typically between two characters. Fidelity is excellent and there are no issues of any kind to report.

Laggies Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Lynn Shelton is nicely anedotal throughout (with a couple of dry patches along the way). Shelton spends a lot of time discussing various elements in the film, some of them at least marginally surprising (the original version of the screenplay took place in California, not Washington). Enjoyable, but pretty low key.


• Lagging On with Lynn Shelton (1080p; 8:46) contains some good background from Shelton along with more EPK laden material with the stars, along with clips from the film.


• Shooting Seattle: The Look of Laggies (1080p; 6:01) is a great homage to Seattle and Seattle's film professionals.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 9:31)

Laggies Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Curmudgeons may be prone to viewing Laggies' improbably pat denouement and then questioning, "Yeah. . .but then what?" Megan's trek to something approaching adulthood is managed with a lot of fun in the film, but her "career" choice may rankle more progressive types. Knightley is a delight in a kind of off putting role, and Moretz and Rockwell offer excellent support along the way. The screenplay has a few too many contrivances for its own good, but director Shelton keeps things buzzing along quite amiably. Technical merits are strong, and Laggies comes Recommended.