For a Group of Longtime Friends, Playing Tag is a Way of Life

From left: Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Ed Helms,
Jake Johnson, and Hannibal Buress in "Tag"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

It seems like you can make almost anything into a movie these days: books, plays, television shows, toys, boards games, and even apps.  While many of the ideas that come from these sources end up working, there are just as many that don’t.  And, once you think that you’ve heard of every idea for a movie, another comes out that proves you wrong.

This is the case with director Jeff Tomsic’s new comedy, “Tag,” which focuses on…you guessed it.  However, the real shock isn’t that the film’s based on something as simple as the childhood game, but that it’s based on a true story.  And, despite the movie’s thin narrative, it’s still able to provide some fun with the help of its talented cast and zany premise.

Ever since they were children, Hogan (Ed Helms), Jerry (Jeremy Renner), Bob (Jon Hamm), Randy (Jake Johnson), and Kevin (Hannibal Buress), have played tag for the whole month of May every year, with Jerry having never been “it.”  When Jerry plans to retire from tag after the current game ends so he can focus on his upcoming marriage, Hogan decides to round up his friends to try to tag Jerry before he leaves the game for good.  Meanwhile, Rebecca Crosby (Annabelle Wallis), a reporter for “The Wall Street Journal,” joins the group to write a story about them.

Helms, Hamm, Johnson, and Buress are all given their own memorable moments, but it’s Renner who’s the standout of the quintet.  It’s not often that we get to see him in a comedy, and Renner seems to revel in the opportunity to let loose and dive into the on-screen antics.  

While the five main characters are enjoyable to watch, another notable performance is that of Isla Fisher, who plays Hogan’s wife, Anna.  Her character isn’t part of the actual game, but she still exhibits the same level of competitiveness as her husband, which leads to her own comical ways of getting involved with tag, despite not playing.  Although Renner may be the most-noteworthy of the five friends, it’s Fisher who gives the funniest performance of the movie.

The screenplay by Rob McKittrick and Mark Steilen, which is based on a “Wall Street Journal” article by Russell Adams, titled “It Takes Planning, Caution to Avoid Being It,” tries to make the most out of its slight premise by including enough characters that can play off of each other, and because of the chemistry among the cast, the story works better than it could have.  While there isn’t any depth to the characters, the narrative still manages to make use of the cast’s aptitude for verbal and physical comedy.

The film sometimes strains against its meager concept and becomes a bit repetitive with the various tag scenes, but Tomsic’s ability to keep those sections entertaining makes up for this flaw.  These sequences are made funnier by the use of slow motion as we hear the inner thoughts of the tag players when they contemplate their moves and predict other people’s moves, similar to Robert Downey, Jr. during his action scenes in his two “Sherlock Holmes” movies. 

Although you might be better off watching the narratively similar “Game Night,” which came out earlier this year, seeing “Tag” with a group friends for an easy night out will prove to be as diverting as the game itself.

Final grade: B