“We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” -George Bernard Shaw
For those that aren’t aware, Tag is based on a real life group of friends. For real, it is. The “Wall Street Journal” wrote an article about the friends back in 2013. Check it out, it’s a fun read and doesn’t spoil anything in the movie. The movie keeps the basic gist of the story. In May of every year, the friends play an epic, cross-country, global game of the childhood game Tag.
When the movie picks up, the game has been active for 30 years and in all that time, Jerry (played by Jeremy Renner) has never been tagged. As June draws closer, Hoagie (Ed Helms) tells Bob (Jon Hamm) that Jerry is getting married on May 31st and plans to retire from the game, perfect record in tact. They can’t let that stand so they gather the other two members of the group, Chilli and Sable, played by Jake Johnson and Hannibal Buress, respectively.
If it sounds like a ridiculous story, it’s because it is. But it works. The best thing the movie has going for it is the chemistry between the five friends. You can fully believe that these guys have been friends for 30+ years. And that’s critical to the movie. If you don’t buy their friendship, the whole movie falls apart. The friendship just seems easy, which you can feel throughout the rest of the movie.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way first, before getting back to what it did right. Some of the physical humor was too over-the-top. And over-the-top in the sense that some of what happens is too unrealistic. At one point Chilli falls off a fire escape and lands on a car and then onto the ground. He’s hurt but gets up with no real ill effects. There are other examples but the fire escape played in one of the trailers so it’s not really a spoiler. This could have worked if they leaned into it more. But there were just a few instances and they stuck out in a bad way.
On the other side of that are some of Jerry’s physical abilities. He’s made out to be this incredibly athletic guy, and he is. But what he’s able to do is so far from what any regular guy would be able to pull off. Like the cartoonish violence, these moments felt out of place. For a movie that is grounded in reality, some of these moments disrupted the flow of the movie.
While those parts weren’t great, there was one part that I really couldn’t stand. Unfortunately I can’t say what it is as it would be a pretty big spoiler. It really turned me off. That being said, I can guarantee a large chunk of people won’t bat an eye at it, and that’s fine. It was just something I wasn’t into.
Okay, back to the good stuff. The story is great. It’s so unique; we get something a little different. However, it still ends up being fairly predictable. I don’t mind that too much in comedies, because I’m not there for an intense, complex plot. So I can’t knock it down too far. But still, predictable is predictable.
With the outstanding chemistry it makes sense that solid performances would follow. All five of the main characters bring their own individual flair to the movie. They’re five unique individuals and each one gets his chance to stand out. As great as they are, it’s Isla Fisher who is the surprise of the. movie, as Hoagie’s ultra-competitive wife. I knew she would be good in whatever role she was given, but that role ended up being much larger than I anticipated. Thomas Middleditch — of “Silicon Valley” fame — has a small guest spot that I liked a lot.
But the thing that really drew me into the movie was the dynamic of friend group. I saw my close friend group in these guys. If we had the financial means and other freedom to allow it, I could see us doing something along the same lines. We’ll turn anything into a competition and we always look for new twists to add to traditional games and activities. It was fun thinking of us in the place the characters. It gave me a perceived personal connection to the characters and what they were going through. I get this is specific to me, but I approve anything that increases my enjoyment in a movie. And for movies — and this isn’t exactly a hot take — that’s what I’m all about.
Movie: Tag
Starring: Ed Helms, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress, Isla Fisher, Leslie Bibb
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R for language, drug use, sexual content, brief nudity
Rating: 82/100
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