Lagging

LAGGIES (B-minus) -  It takes a lot to take a full movie's worth of Keira Knightley, especially when she tries to be funny. But this toss-away from indie heavyweight Lynn Shelton ("Humpday," "Your Sister's Sister") is not without its charms.

Knightley plays Megan, a 20-something who is frittering away her life 10 years out of high school. On the brink of an engagement, she disappears after meeting a bunch of high schoolers who ask her to buy booze. She befriends Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz) and quietly crashes at Annika's house, helmed by her quirky but lovable attorney single-dad Craig (Sam Rockwell flailing at playing Fred McMurray by way of Hugh Grant). 

You can guess the rest. Shelton is in a bit of a slump lately; this comes on the heels of the ho-hum "Touchy Feely." She has now graduated to swooping aerial shots of her beloved Seattle, but her filmmaking is not being well served by a bigger budget and brighter movie stars.

Yet I couldn't turn away. Knightley sells the thin script. (Luckily, others handle most of the comic scenes, including the irresistible Kaitlyn Dever from "Short Term 12" as Annika's best friend.) New writer Andrea Seigel can turn a phrase, and Shelton knows how to spin a few good lines into familiar patter.

FREE RIDE (B) -  Anna Paquin carries this slight but affecting period piece about a mom escaping domestic violence by taking her two daughters to Miami, where she gets caught up in the drug trade.

Set in the late '70s, actress Shana Betz's autobiographical tale has a whiff of "Night Moves," without the heft of that '70s noir classic. Betz's avatar here is the younger daughter, doe-eyed Shell (Ava Acres), who occasionally narrates. Older sis MJ (Liana Liberato) is 15 and restless. She gets corrupted by one of mom's druggy friends at a concert, the movie's flattest scene that, unfortunately, leads to the climax.

The supporting crew doesn't really register. Drea de Matteo struggles to bring depth to the role of Sandy, Christina's old stripper pal who introduces her to the drug ring's main players. Betz loses control of her movie in the final third, when she lazily manufacturers a car crash to bring everything home.

But there's something here that keeps you tuned in. Paquin's character reminded me of Janet McTeer's turn in the obscure mother-daughter road movie "Tumbleweeds" from a decade ago. Betz puts a nostalgic shimmer on the story but she never gets maudlin. A few small touches -- an outfit here, a "Waltons" reference there -- make this memorable.

And she wisely brings this home in under 90 minutes. 

BONUS TRACK
"Free Ride" features a strong, rootsy soundtrack. Here are the Figs over the closing credits with "To Sail the Sea":