Tag

Starring: Ed Helms, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Burress, Isla Fisher, Lil Rel Howery, Annabelle Wallis, Nora Dunn, Leslie Bibb, Rashida Jones, Brian Dennehy (uncredited)
Directed by: Jeff Tomsic
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of friends have played the same game of tag for almost 30 years.

Review:

Tim: Tag is one of the funniest comedies I have seen in the last few years. Comedies are difficult, but it felt like everything came together effectively here. The premise is inherently funny (especially since it's "based" on a true story), it's unique, the cast is impressive and the movie is legitimately funny. I had a great time watching this movie.

The cast worked so well together. This is a movie about a group of friends, so you had to get the right actors to play these parts. It felt like the main cast members hit the right notes- there was this familiarity with each other, but also some distance, as these were childhood friends who didn't see each other all that much in their adulthood years. That felt genuine to me as I watched their interactions. Ed Helms does a very good job in his role. He has an important role and he connects well with the audience, at various times acting as the voice of reason, yet not afraid to go over-the-top when necessary. Helms is a veteran comedy actor and that experience shows here. I actually really liked the casting of Jeremy Renner here. He made the more outlandish aspects of his character seem believable, while also connecting well with the rest of the cast. I loved how his distance from the others was believably explained in the context of the film. Renner did a good job. I'm not a huge Jon Hamm guy, but he felt relaxed and fun here. I enjoyed his performance. He isn't as instantly funny as the rest of the cast, but the movie leveraged his personality well. Jake Johnson was solid, although his character felt a little obvious. Still, he's always fun to watch. Hannibal Burress was a good addition as well. I felt like his character was shortchanged some, but he still had a few hilarious moments of his own. I do think the movie needed to spend more time with his character. Annabelle Wallis was good, although the movie seems to forget about her for stretches of time. I wish she had been more integrated into the film. Isla Fisher certainly has some funny moments, but her performance felt forced and too over-the-top. I loved seeing Rashida Jones and (especially) Brian Dennehy here, but I wish they had more to do. As a whole, I have to give the cast credit. They brought energy and enthusiasm to their roles and seemed to genuinely have fun together.

The film effectively told the story of five friends who've been playing tag for decades. That by itself is incredibly fun and engaging. However, the script really explores what it's like to try and keep in touch with your childhood friends, when life seems set up to tear those relationships apart. I thought the exploration of the friendship of these men (and the women just outside their circle) was thought provoking and added bonus to the film. The movie actually has some emotional moments, which is rare for a comedy. That's certainly a reason why I enjoyed this movie more than most comedies. I also have to give the film credit for being legitimately funny. I'm not sure there were any moments that elicited tears from laughing, but I found many of the jokes quite humorous. It was a fun movie to watch and I laughed throughout the film.

Tag was far better than I expected it to be. I went into it with an open mind, but there's been so many lackluster comedies over the last few years (many starring people in this cast) that it wasn't out of the question to assume this would be another forgettable time. Fortunately, that's not the case. This was a funny, entertaining film and I'd highly recommend it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



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