Movie Review: Tag (+trailer)

The increasingly elaborate attempts to tag the 'untaggable' one is a dumb idea. But it's also brilliant.

It's hard to believe that among the homes and workplaces of 10 "ordinary" men, there is a very serious and highly spirited game of tag happening.

Director Jeff Tomsic has teamed up with screenwriter Mark Steilen to tell their story. Better known for their TV comedies, the duo have adapted for film an article written by Russell Adams in The Wall Street Journal that outlined the aforementioned group of grown men who every February enter into a month-long season of tag.

The only taboo?

You can't tag the tagger — other than that, hunting season is open right across the country.

Wary of overcooking his cast Tomsic has wisely narrowed the film's focus to five friends; Hoagie (Ed Helms) who is the spiritual hub to the group, Randy (Jake Johnson) the drug addled goof, Callahan (Jon Hamm) the successful businessman, and Sable (Hannibal Buress) the fragile and intellectually curious one.

And then there's Jerry (Jeremy Renner). He has never been tagged, much to the umbrage of the other four. His "untouchable" status is a comical MacGuffin that provides the film with its narrative direction.

However, at its heart Tag is just as concerned with exploring the bonds of their friendship.

Any comedy worth its salt does more than make you laugh, and Tag does a wonderful job of hilariously endearing you to their relationships. Not just with each other, but also with Hoagie's ultra-competitive wife (Isla Fisher) who acts as his support crew and spy, tipping him off against an impending tag.

But the film's real strength lies in its physical comedy and lets the reins loose on some downright hilarious hijinks and clever slapstick moments. Yes, it's commercial and incredibly silly; but it's also fun, irreverent, sometimes awkward and often cringe-worthy — the kind that'll have you watching between your fingers.

It's normally everything I shy away from but here they've got the balance bang on ... and right now there are not many comedies that can touch it.

Tag
Director: Jeff Tomsic
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress, Isla Fisher, Annabelle Wallis, Rashida Jones, Leslie Bibb
Running time: 100 minutes
Censor rating: M, offensive language, sexual references and drug use