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Tag (2018), R, ★★★


Tag, you're it! *running around, tagging someone else* You're it! We have all played around where a group of friends either play that game either in recess or in some occasion like a birthday party. Hearing about a group of friends playing for 30 years is unheard of until this movie came along which is weirdly based on a true story. This movie felt episodic full of inconsistent jokes, which are hit-and-miss, but I laughed a little more than I thought and also the theme of friendship surrounds the whole story in context and made me care about the characters.

Since 1983, five best friends have been playing Tag. Now they have gone their separate ways as they gather in the month of May every year to resume the game. Hogan "Hoagie" Malloy (Ed Helms) is applying for a janitorial job where his friend, Bob Callahan (Jon Hamm), is the CEO. Hoagie tags Bob at the office but they get ahold of the news that their friend, Jerry Pierce (Jeremy Renner), who have never been tagged, is planning to retire as he is getting married to his fiancee, Susan (Leslie Bibb). Despite on some ways to attempt to tag them, Bob and Hoagie think that he is too agile but they plan to get him this year at the wedding as a journalist named Rebecca (Annabelle Wallis) follows them as she thinks that it is a good story.

So, they along with Hoagie's wife, Anna (Isla Fisher) recruit their friends, Randy "Chilli" Cilliano (Jake Johnson) and Kevin Sable (Hannibal Burress) to join in on the fun. The gang flies home to Washington where the wedding is held at a country club. The guys hide and get ready as Jerry shows up but they are too slow as Jerry jumps out of the window from the second floor and escapes. He then introduces everyone to Susan and the guys are disappointed that, in addition to not tagging him, that they did not get invited to the wedding. He replies that they would grasp the opportunity to tag him once he lets his guard down. So, they make an agreement to not play the game at any wedding-related events. But, it is not over.


Yeah, this was fun and light and a bit raunchy as the story mixes up some gags that seem childish but that is the point. They are basically children who have been traditional with the game for 30 years and it does not seem to stop. You are just it in for the fun as you start to see the characters strategize how to get Jeremy Renner's character. There are a couple of moments where I laughed out loud but I cannot dare to give it away.

Again, the movie is really the cast and most of them deliver. Jon Hamm is quite funny alongside Ed Helms' chemistry even though Helms is playing himself throughout the movie. Hannibal Burress is quite funny with his deadpan humor and Jake Johnson gets the role of him reciting quippy, quirky one-liners that would once again, hit-or-miss. Jeremy Renner, in a supporting role, stands out as the main center, who gets avoided playing Tag and anticipates everything. Leslie Bibb has surprisingly a well-rounded character to play with as she does not want her wedding ruined but also has a few surprises along that seem a bit mean-spirited. Also, I like Isla Fisher in this too as she knows that this is a traditional event between those friends. I felt like Rashida Jones was underused in this.

Director Jeff Tomsic takes his first crack at it behind the camera and displays the comedy quite well but needs to work on flowing the comedy a bit better with a good balance of jokes. Plus, the transitions from comedic to dramatic does not flow as smoothly especially at one moment towards the end where the revelation is a bit more sad than I thought. It does not quite earn that moment. However, I had a good time with these characters as I liked every single one of them and there was a moment in me in which I could just play Tag one more time like back in the day when I was a kid. So, it is not a revelation, but it is fun entertainment.

***



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