Movie Review – Tag

For one month a year, for the last 30 years, a group of men has been playing the same game of Tag (2018). During the month of May, everyone is suspect, elaborate costumes are employed and the last man It from the previous year is out to make his mark.

Hogan kicks things off by tagging his successful businessman Bob (John Hamm) who’d in the middle of a very important interview with the Wall Street Journal. Rebecca (Annabelle Wallis) decides that this epic game of tag is way more interesting than another article on another businessman and joins the fray as an impartial observer. Hogan knows fellow player, Jerry (Jeremy Renner) is getting married and may retire from the game at the end of this season the so it’s off to wreck a wedding and destroy Jerry’s perfect No Tag streak. Picking up stoner Chilli (Jake Johnson) and token neurotic Sable (Hannibal Buress), they think it’ll be simple to corner Jerry and continue the game – but Jerry’s fiancé Susan (Leslie Bibb) is a devious as she is borderline psychotic.

Girls aren’t allowed to play because of the rules they made when they were kids, but it’s doesn’t stop Hogan’s wife, Anna (Isla Fisher) from playing armchair tagger, or even Susan from inserting herself into the game. Jerry even employs a former romantic rival (Rashida Jones) to distract a few players, so nothing it seems is out of bounds.

Jeremy Renner gets to display all the cool superhero moves they won’t let him use in the Marvel movies and we get a sneak peek into Jerry’s head as he meticulously anticipates his opponent’s next movie in super slow-motion

Will this make you teary towards the end – maybe, but I didn’t cry during Book of Henry (2017) while everyone around me sobbed, so I’m really not the person to ask.

I’ll be honest – Tag isn’t as good as Game Night (2018) and I think this is more of a bros-bonding movie than anything else. It goes to some really dark places that and the game is played in some very questionable locales. I’m sure while this parallels the true-life antics of the original true-life 10 players, a lot of gags are played for laughs, and some of them admittedly fall flat. It’s mostly harmless fun with manipulative drama thrown in so it’s not as frivolous as The Hangover (2009) or 40-Year Old Virgin (2005), but it’s missing the engaging fun. For all of its joyous connectedness among far-flung friends, we’re watching this from the sidelines, and we feel left out.

Tag (2018) is rated R for swears, blink and you’ll miss it nudity, locker-room jokes, campy pratfalls, and a very questionable prank that would have me re-evaluating potential life partners.