Tag (2018)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  6 / 10

  Tag shouts "You're It!" through fun slow motion carnage and true friendship. You would think a group of grown men playing tag once a month every year would make for a silly disposable comedy, right? Well, you're right. Is that necessarily a negative to the film? Not in the slightest. It's just plain fun. Four of the five friends meet up at the start of their "tag season" to plan an ambush on their untaggable friend, who remains the champion of tag. Rapidly, the game is afoot! On the surface, it resembles a story about friendship (especially as it's based on a true story). Being able to maintain a close relationship with friends for such a long duration of time is a testament and a rarity in itself, where occasionally this gratifying eternal game of tag intrudes on their personal lives. However, if you look beyond the game itself you will find that it's a story about maturity. Balancing the inevitability of ageing with the persistence of retaining stupid fun. It's something, regrettably, I wish I did with my friends. The game of tag is a plot device in grouping the friends together on an annual basis, and it works. This is a film where its success hangs on the balance of its cast members. Fortunately, they exhume natural chemistry. Hamm, Buress, Johnson and even Helms (who I didn't hate!) felt like true friends, as if acting wasn't required. Renner, performing most of the action, clearly looked like he was enjoying himself. That in itself is very contagious. Tomsic's usage of slow motion during the tag scenes elevated the comedic intensity that the screenplay may have lacked. The latter is the weakest element, relying on crude humour and some rather insensitive material. The joke about the miscarriage was unnecessary and seemingly felt ridiculously prolonged. The tag scenes themselves could've been more inventive and outlandish, which would've enhanced the memorability of this comedy. Also, the male dominant onscreen antics felt rather fatigued, with Fisher and Wallis frequently sidelined. Alas, it knows what it is. A high concept disposable comedy that makes for a good time rather than a long time.

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