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Stunted Doubles

This has been a solid year for Keira Knightley, first flexing her music muscle in "Begin Again" and now playing an adorable screw-up in "Laggies." There was a time when people strongly questioned her acting abilities and complained she was in need of many cheeseburgers. While she could still likely blow away in a gust of wind, she has shown that she is charming and relatable enough to make movies pop.

"Laggies" is a film about an unlikely friendship between a grown-up (or is she?) and a teenager. Knightey plays Megan, a 28-year-old drifter who went to school and is now spinning signs outside of her dad's accounting office. She meets Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz) one night and buys her and her 16-year-old friends some booze, rocks their skateboard a bit, and hangs out. She seems more comfortable with them than with her own-age friends, like Allison (Ellie Kemper), who seems to find her every move embarrassing.

Annika is pretty lost herself, though that's expected from a teenager. Her mother (Gretchen Mol) bailed when she was young and is now modeling lingerie in catalogues, something every daughter loves to stumble upon by mistake. Her dad is a lawyer (Sam Rockwell) who is doing the best he can with her. She isn't interested in school and gets into some trouble but nothing too outrageous. After Megan's long-term "safe" boyfriend (Mark Webber) proposes and she sees her dad getting fondled outside of a party by someone who isn't her mother, she crashes at Annika's house for a little break from reality.

Their friendship, despite the hefty age difference, makes sense because Megan is  more like a teenager than an adult. Annika is a wise-ass and has a circle of vibrant friends and Megan is trying to reclaim a little bit of who she was before the late-20s crisis. It is interesting to watch their scenes together because they are sweet, effortless, and contain plenty of laughs.

Where it gets complicated is that like any dad who suddenly finds Keira Knightley roaming around his house in her pajamas, he starts to like her. And she likes him back because he is cool and smart and something new. Uh oh.

Lynn Shelton is a director who is big on letting scenes unfold naturally and playing more of an observer role, as she did in "Humpday" and "Your Sister's Sister." I like her style. There are a few script missteps by newcomer Andrea Seigel -- the drunk-driving bust is a touch absurd -- but overall it's well put together and works. "Laggies" is a simple story and a simple pleasure.