Released in the U.S. as Laggies, Say When sees Keira Knightley adopt a very impressive American accent as Megan, an overeducated twenty eight year old, with no real prospects on the horizon, content on coasting through life, leeching off those around her. When her boyfriend since high school proposes, Megan panics, and after befriending teenager Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz), decides she needs a week off from her life. Telling her friends and family she is going to a personal growth seminar, Megan instead spends the week with Annika and her friends, basically living like a teenager again.
Essentially a coming of age story for adults, there is a lot of charm on display in Say When, especially from Knightley, who makes the not entirely faultless character of Megan incredibly endearing. Everything about her feels very natural, and while sometimes Megan feels quirky for quirkiness sake, she ends holding the movie together. There is a strong idea at the heart of this movie, but, sadly, director Lynn Shelton and screen writer Andrea Seigel don't do enough to explore it, with the story becoming as directionless as its cast of characters. It moves forward at a good pace, but after an entertaining opening act, it soon gets bogged down in predictable cliches. While it still remains entertaining, you can see the missed potential, with many story threads and plot points just left dangling. This all leads to a rushed finale, that, again, makes you feel that there was more to explore.
Chloe Grace Moretz offers the usual strong support as Annika, and really impresses when she is given something to do, but most of the time just exists on the edge of Megan's story. Same goes for Sam Rockwell Annika's father Craig, but he does add a lot of depth to the role, toning down his usual manic persona somewhat, and delivering a very heartfelt performance. The rest of the cast, including Mark Weber and Ellie Kemper, feel especially underused, built up as important figures in the opening scenes, then just dumped once Megan decides to drop out of her life.
While still entertaining, the potential of Say When definitely seems wasted at times, but is helped immensely by some strong performances, especially from Knightley.
Essentially a coming of age story for adults, there is a lot of charm on display in Say When, especially from Knightley, who makes the not entirely faultless character of Megan incredibly endearing. Everything about her feels very natural, and while sometimes Megan feels quirky for quirkiness sake, she ends holding the movie together. There is a strong idea at the heart of this movie, but, sadly, director Lynn Shelton and screen writer Andrea Seigel don't do enough to explore it, with the story becoming as directionless as its cast of characters. It moves forward at a good pace, but after an entertaining opening act, it soon gets bogged down in predictable cliches. While it still remains entertaining, you can see the missed potential, with many story threads and plot points just left dangling. This all leads to a rushed finale, that, again, makes you feel that there was more to explore.
Chloe Grace Moretz offers the usual strong support as Annika, and really impresses when she is given something to do, but most of the time just exists on the edge of Megan's story. Same goes for Sam Rockwell Annika's father Craig, but he does add a lot of depth to the role, toning down his usual manic persona somewhat, and delivering a very heartfelt performance. The rest of the cast, including Mark Weber and Ellie Kemper, feel especially underused, built up as important figures in the opening scenes, then just dumped once Megan decides to drop out of her life.
While still entertaining, the potential of Say When definitely seems wasted at times, but is helped immensely by some strong performances, especially from Knightley.
