Laggies

Just like its lead character, Laggies struggles through an identity crisis and tries to break free from conformity.

There are some promising concepts in this romantic comedy from director Lynn Shelton (Your Sister’s Sister) about arrested development told from a female perspective, yet it too often feels familiar instead of edgy.

For those unfamiliar, the title is a broad term for a member of a social group who fails to grow up at the same pace as their peers. That’s a fairly accurate description of Megan (Keira Knightley), a college-educated sign holder who becomes disillusioned and uncertain of her future as she watches all of her close friends get married and start families.

Megan’s slacker mentality forces her boyfriend (Mark Webber) to be patient as he tries to make her commit to a wedding date. He even allows her to go away for a week, ostensibly to a women’s health retreat, but instead Megan would rather spend time with teenage skateboarder Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz) and her friends.

Her plan to escape works for a while, until Megan is discovered by Annika’s single father (Sam Rockwell), an open-minded lawyer who nevertheless questions her motives for wanting to turn back the clock to a world of prom dresses, keg parties and social cliques.

As the three lost souls connect — perhaps too conveniently — the characters develop an intriguing makeshift family dynamic, generating some scattered moments of amusement and charm. One delightfully awkward sequence involves Annika taking Megan to visit her estranged mother (Gretchen Mol) to seek closure, but instead she winds up with a bag of lingerie.

However, Laggies never manages to feel authentic, as the screenplay by newcomer Andrea Seigel employs forced quirks to replace common sense in order to make the plot function. That strategy makes for good theater, but it comes up short in terms of emotional resonance, which the film craves during its more dramatic moments.

No doubt many women will be able to identify with Megan’s life being at a crossroads, and her quest to find happiness in unconventional ways. Yet whether her methods are creepy or immature or both, it’s doubtful most moviegoers will share the film’s sympathy for her plight.

Rated R, 99 minutes.