Review: Tag

Based on an improbable true story, chronicled in a 2013 Wall Street Journal article, Tag revolves around a group of friends who, every May for the past 30 years, have engaged in a game of tag. With a cracking comic ensemble, well-executed action slapstick, and breezy pacing, the film proves itself a surprisingly fun watch.

"Someone once said we don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing," says Ed Helms' Hoagie Malloy, a veterinarian first seen applying for a job as a janitor in the insurance firm in which Bob Callahan (Jon Hamm) is the CEO. Seems Hoagie was it the last time the game was played and he's gone to great lengths to ambush Bob, who happens to be in the middle of an interview with Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca (Annabelle Wallis). Not only does Hoagie tag Bob, but he has exciting news: he has a plan to trap the elusive Jerry Pierce (Jeremy Renner), who has never once been tagged in the history of their game-playing, at his upcoming May 31st wedding to Susan Rollins (Leslie Bibb). Piqued by this bizarre story, Rebecca decides to accompany the guys as they round out the rest of their crew - stoner Chilli (Jake Johnson) and highly insecure and paranoid Sable (Hannibal Buress) - and execute Hoagie's master plan.

This would be the perfect time to sing the praises of Jeremy Renner, who plays Jerry as a tongue-in-cheek version of his character from The Bourne Legacy. Goofy yet ninja-cool and full of swagger, Jerry thwarts all his buddies' extreme attempts to tag him, whether it be by booby-trapping a forest or, when Hoagie dresses as an old woman to waylay him at a mall, using Hoagie's purse and walker as weapons against him. Director Jeff Tomsic and cinematographer Larry Blanford stage these sequences as if straight out of an action film, using slow motion for hilarious effect. That Jerry also has a Sherlock-like running commentary in his head as he assesses the situation and his surroundings contributes to the zaniness.

Unsurprisingly, considering that the film focuses on the childish behaviour of grown men, the women are given little to do though Isla Fisher galvanises her scenes as Hoagie's wife Anna, whose intensely violent passion for the game is more than anyone can handle. Also making an impression is Bibb, who brings a steely sunniness to Susan.

Though the film espouses the quintet's long-standing friendship, it sneaks in some intriguing questions every now and again. If the game is the reason for them to be in one another's lives, what happens during the other 11 months? Do any of them even hang out with each other? Screenwriters Rob McKittrick and Mark Steilen never really explore this intrigue, or any real conflict for that matter, but it might be a theme well worth plundering for another film.

Tag

Directed by: Jeff Tomsic

Written by: Rob McKittrick, Mark Steilen; based on the 2013 Wall Street Journal article, "It Takes Planning, Caution to Avoid Being It" by Russell Adams

Starring: Ed Helms, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress, Annabelle Wallis, Isla Fisher, Rashida Jones, Leslie Bibb, Brian Dennehy, Thomas Middleditch