Tag

This review may contain spoilers!

This is a brilliant example of a great comedy film with a sense of meaning behind it that few comedies possess these days. I would give Tag a 7.5/10.

This is a really entertaining and fun film that captures the whimsical energy of a child's sense of fun and what it's like to keep that feeling into your adult years. The incredible chemistry between the main characters and the bond they have around playing tag together their whole life makes this a charming film to watch, and the humour stems really strongly from the ludicrous attempts of 'one-upmanship'. At its heart this film just simply works because it knows how to deliver a message; the strength we gain from the bonds of friendship and the value of having fun in life is really presented extremely well here. The over the top action sequences set alongside to this game of tag is really well presented and will really impress you. The score for the film kept the mood for the film very consistent, yet the soundtrack was the true triumph with many of the tracks enhancing the scenes or being used to incredible comedic effect.

Ed Helms, who played Hogan 'Hoagie' Malloy, is a great protagonist for this film and has found one of his best roles to date; Helms has a real knack at presenting ridiculous boyish charm while juxtaposing this with an incredibly meaningful delivery of the film's moral. LilRel Howery, who played Reggie, was a nice introduction to the film's sense of humour; Howery's ability to ground exaggerated and heightened moments back to reality is a nice way of circumventing expectations. Jon Hamm, who played Bob Callahan, is quite a charismatic and charming member of the main cast; his portrayal of being more arrogant and worldly than the others due to his success was a fun persona to see played out. Isla Fisher, who played Anna Malloy, is completely crazy throughout this whole endeavour; Fisher's aggressive, almost violent role is incredibly full of energy in any given scene that she's in. Hannibal Buress, who played Kevin Sable, has a really interesting role who tends to speak what first comes to his mind; Buress plays a very unpredictable role who's wide range of knowledge and vocabulary often make him a random, yet funny character to watch. Leslie Bibb, who played Susan Rollins, plays such a heightened sweet role when first you meet her that you can't help but empathise with her; yet Bibb does an amazing job of flipping your expectations and revealing a role who is devious and driven by a desire to win like her onscreen fiance.

However, the best performance came from Jeremy Renner, who played Jerry Pierce. Renner does a great job of balancing this role so that he feels like a good friend to the main cast but also a worthy antagonist for the film. Renner has a very cocky and confident demeanour throughout, a certainty of winning that makes him a hard opponent in this relentless game of tag. Jerry's tactics really go to extreme depths and Renner seems to have a ton of fun feeling out the extremes his character would go to win. There is a fantastic scene at the film's end in which Renner reunites with his friends and you truly feel the sense of camaraderie this game has brought about.

This is a really strong comedy but it suffers quite consistently with common flaws in modern comedies, often there are minor scenes fuelled by lowbrow jokes that rob the film of its heart and humour. The use of love triangle subplots is another angle that just feels like a reason to make up some time in this film, the Cheryl subplot is an awkward fit and adds nothing to the main story of worth. The cinematography looks great in moments of action for the most part, yet most of the film has ill shot dialogue scenes or moments where the framing could look a lot nicer than it is. The editing for the film is slow and sets a leisurely pace, the film suffers from this a bit and could have certainly benefitted from some better cutting.

Annabelle Wallis, who played Rebecca Crosby, sits in the background a lot until the film really demands that she be there; Wallis' role only really exists to prompt exposition and affirm the film's 'based on a true story' angle. Jake Johnson, who played Randy 'Chilli' Cilliano, is quite definitively the weak link of the main cast; Johnson presents a stereotypical stoner role with little charm and presence. Nora Dunn, who played Linda Malloy, is just a creepy character; there's nothing funny or entertaining about her role and it's probably for the best that she has so few scenes. Steve Berg, who played Lou Seibert, is a rather hapless character who feels like he really forces his role quite a bit; Berg's performance doesn't do anything new and he doesn't add much more than exposition in a couple of scenes. Rashida Jones, who played Cheryl Deakins, looks like she knows her role has been tacked on to make the most meaningless subplot ever; Jones doesn't put much into her character and you feel that when it comes to her chemistry with Johnson and Hamm. Thomas Middleditch, who played Dave, is a real speedbump in this film; the feature had a couple moments where crude humour won out over some of their better material and Middleditch's role is probably the biggest example of that. Brian Dennehy, who played Randy's Father, is such an out there and gross role that it helps shape a poor perception of Johnson's character; the pair don't feel like father and son and the whole scene just feels like something more out of a stoner comedy.