Review of Tag (2018) by Lane Z — 11 Sep 2018

You're it! TAG came from first-time director Jeff Tomsic with a plethora of over-qualified actors to tel the semi-accurate story of a group of buddies who play a universal game of Tag over a single month. While the movie timeline takes place over the entire month of May, we time jump considerably through the story to basically put us in the final week. The premise? Tag the only guy of the group who's never been tagged.

What really works for Tag is how committed everyone seems to be over such a silly plot. Ed Helms takes the 'lead' role while Jon Hamm, Hannibal Burress, and Nick Johnson fall into supporting roles all while Jeremy Renner plays the 'villain'. There's no diddle-dallying on anyone over the other, and we get a pretty clear-cut picture of who each of these characters are through small introductions into their current lives at the beginning of the film. Tag wastes no time in setting the goal.

So while pacing is never an issue, how goofy and how serious and how demented this film wants to be, its identity, certainly is one. There are times where the plot gets pretty dark and twisted at least two times I can remember, and with a film about a kids game and staying young and all that jazz, it weighs heavily on the audience.

In the long run, there was absolutely no need to make this movie, but because it seemed like everyone was on board and ready to commit, we get a pretty enjoyable experience. It won't win awards and it may not surface again after it leaves theaters, but for a fan of the actors and a mostly light-hearted affair, you can't go wrong.