Tag

photo courtesy of weliveentertainment.com

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

     A true story provides the basis for Tag, an R-rated new movie about a group of grown-up friends who keep in touch through the titular game. In the movie, Hoagie (Ed Helms), Bob (Jon Hamm), Chilli (Jake Johnson), Sable (Hannibal Buress), and Jerry (Jeremy Renner) put aside one month each year for the game, in which no obligation, distance, hardship, or relationship are too great an obstacle to success. This year, the gang unites for one last chance to tag Jerry—who has a perfect no-tag record—before he retires from the game.

     Tag ends up being something of a mixed bag, and whether you find more positives than negatives will probably depend on what kind of moviegoer you are. The movie is built on a silly (and admittedly kind of awesome) premise, so we shouldn’t be expecting much high-brow, quick-wit comedy fare. The goals here are simple: we want some solid laughs, we want some warmhearted undertones mixed in, and we want to watch this cast have some fun. Yet on all three counts, Tag only halfway delivers, which means that even with measured expectations, it feels like a bit of a let-down.

photo courtesy of vulture.com

     Comedy. When you get this many talented actors together with any half-decent script, there’s gonna be some laughs. Tag gets mileage out of dialogue scenes between its main characters (mostly consisting of the guys pestering each other), but it’s at its best when they’re actually playing the game. It’s fun to see them come up with creative ways to outwit each other and (usually) throw themselves in/at/through various objects. Just as often as a scene works, however, another scene falls flat or feels awkward. Bad timing and lack of commitment spoil some of the best comedic potential.

     Heart. Part of the reason people find this story so engaging is that the game has a purpose: to keep this group of friends together as they grow old. That’s inherently adorable, and Tag benefits from exploiting that angle. The problem is that Tag doesn’t entirely know how to approach it—when to laugh and when to be serious, or how much gravity is appropriate in order to keep the laughs coming when the next scene rolls around. The filmmakers drop threads and leave weird emotional beats hanging in the air, and it just doesn’t feel right.

photo courtesy of geektyrant.com

     Cast. Jake Johnson is probably the all-star here; he’s sort of born to play the role of loveably immature stoner. Ed Helms, Rashida Jones, Jeremy Renner, and Leslie Bibb deliver enjoyable performances, too. Annabelle Wallis, whose character is totally superfluous, is along for the ride. The rest of the cast (Hannibal Buress, Isla Fisher) gets shortchanged. Tag wants those two to be outliers: Buress stands to the side and makes sarcastic remarks, and Fisher does the whole “crazy-intense-wife” routine (in the vein of Megan Mullaly’s role in Parks and Recreation). The actors are dedicated enough, but the filmmakers don’t commit—with pacing, editing, or screentime—to letting their beats land.

     FINAL VERDICT: Tag has characters you can root for and plenty of zany comedy, but you might still leave with a sense of disappointment.  

TRAILER

Watch the trailer here.

photo courtesy of youtube.com