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Tag (2018)

Directed by Jeff Tomsic

I went to see Tag again to ensure I was in my right mind the first time. Yes, this comedy, based around a children’s playground game really is that funny. A picture that will endure the ages? Probably not, and it isn’t as good as Game Night from earlier this year, but it's a blast while it lasts.

Based on a true story, best friends Hoagie (Ed Helms), Bob (Jon Hamm), Chilli (Jake Johnson), Kevin (Hannibal Buress), and Jerry (Jeremy Renner) have been playing the same game of tag for thirty years. Every May, they do whatever it takes to make each other 'it' but despite the others’ best efforts, Jerry has never been tagged. When they learn he's getting married, and that this will be his last year playing, his friends decide the wedding will be the perfect opportunity (and their last chance) to get him.

It sounds as if the boys are about to ruin Jerry's wedding, but that's because you don't understand the stakes. Much of the film's comedy comes from how seriously everybody takes the game. They’re dressing up in costumes, hiding in bushes, setting up traps, carefully planning their schedules to ambush their target, etc. These friends take Tag to a level children only dream of, which is hilarious... particularly when their efforts fall flat and they wind up injuring themselves. Even when you think you've seen it all, you haven't seen how far Jerry will go to avoid being tagged. His end of May wedding? it REALLY feels like a dare.

That’s only partially what this vulgar, R-Rated comedy is about. Throughout the story, the friends catch up on what's happened since they last saw each other, joke around, and reminisce about the good times. You or I may not play with them, but we all have that one thing, that ritual, game or activity that forms a bond between longtime friends. If you're not in the circle, you just don't get it. That's what Tag is really about. If Jerry quits, it means firstly that he is better than them, which is embarrassing enough, but also that there won't be anything to keep them together anymore. It'd be a shame too, as these actors play off each other very well. You can feel their friendship even in the nasty remarks they toss at each other.

When they're not taking things way too far (it happens more than once), every character  (even the sides) are so emotionally invested in their traditional game, it becomes contagious. And.. sometimes you just want to see people get unexpectedly but deservedly hit on the head. You'll be hard-pressed to keep yourself from wanting to join into this game of Tag. If you do, stick around for the end credits, which feature an amusing music video by the leads. (Theatrical version on the big screen, June 20, 2018)

"Who's bad now, bitch?"