Jeri Jacquin
Coming to theatres this week from director Jeff Tomsic and
New Line Cinema is a game that takes childhood into adulthood just by a simple TAG.
Hoagie (Ed Helms), Chili (Jake Johnson), Callahan (Jon
Hamm), Sable (Hannibal Buress) and Jerry (Jeremy Renner) have been friends
since childhood. Following them into adulthood is a game they look forward to
for a whole month – tag!
Well, May has rolled around and it’s on beginning with
Hoagie recruiting the guys with a new plan aimed at the one man who hasn’t been
tagged in thirty years. Jerry is a pro at the game and plays with precision
and, well, ingenuity really. This time Hoagie convinces the guys that the best
place to finally make it happen is at Jerry’s wedding.
Following the group is Rebecca (Annabelle Wallis), a
reporter who started one story but found this to be much more interesting.
Also, Hoagie’s wife Anna (Isla Fisher), a very intense and hands on supporter
of her husband’s dream of getting Jerry.
Heading home for the wedding, the boys meet Jerry’s bride
Susan (Leslie Bibb) who knows about the game and begs them all too please hold
off and let her have her dream day. Signing a pact to be off limits to certain
events, it doesn’t stop them from trying.
Jerry brings in the big guns when Cheryl (Rashida Jones)
manages to keep Chili and Callahan emotionally busy, Sable just goes with the
flow and Hoagie continues to plot. Mayhem and friendship go hand in hand with
these boys in the longest running game of tag ever.
Helms as Hoagie is dedicated to one goal – getting Jerry.
Putting himself in crazy situations to make that happen is something Helms is
used to doing because he does it so damn well. Johnson as Chili may have
started out with a few goals but finds himself pretty much back to life’s
square one. As much as he fights getting into the game, it doesn’t take much to
become all in.
Renner as Jerry is the obvious ninja in the group having
perfects his moves and ability to remain untouched after 30 years. Looking
sharp and having all the right connections, Renner’s character is sharp and
prepared for anything.
Fisher as Anna can be hostile, explosive and charming all in
2.5 seconds and I loved it. Supporting her man she wants in the game so badly
but a rule created in the initial tag agreement doesn’t include girls. That’s
not going to stop her from trying! Bibb as Susan smiles her way into the group
wanting a beautiful wedding without boyish tricks. Jones as Cheryl is a
diversion sent in by Jerry with a history that plays to his advantage.
Other cast include Brian Dennehy as Chili’s father, Nora
Dunn as Linda, Sebastian Maniscalco as Pastor, and Steve Berg as Lou.
TAG is based on an article written in The Wall Street Journal about a group of men from Spokane , Washington
TAG is just that, a romp of a film that proves boys can
still be boys in the most epic way possible. Personally I think it’s fantastic
that this band of mischief (great name guys if you want to start a rock group!)
continue to find the most creative ways of keeping the game alive. The film is
also about a rock solid friendship that has just found a way to stay connected.
Isn’t that what we are all trying to do in this world of
disillusion and disconnect? These men who really continue to do this are
defying the odds in that childhood friendships are just memories for most of
us. The game of tag for these tag-artists is based around the one thing we seem
to forget as we get older – mashing memories, fun and a genuine effort to stay
connected through a simple game.
TAG is fun, funny, charming and doesn’t ask a lot of its
audience. It’s more of a ‘sit back – we got this’ kind of movie and I’m more
than okay with that. The laughs are there and a bucket of popcorn is icing on
the cake. The ending is a tad hokey but then again who said it stops there?
In the end – based on a true story and we’re not kidding!
