#robmckittrick | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

doomonfilm · 6 years

Text

Review : Tag (2018)

Fun is a huge factor when it comes to the average movie experience. As thought-provoking, emotionally impactful or groundbreaking as some films can be, some films are just meant to make you laugh, smile and come out of the theater feeling as good, if not better, than you did when you entered. Tag not only fulfills in the fun category, it ends up being a surprisingly reflective film as well.

Since the age of 9, friends Hoagie (Ed Helms), Jerry (Jeremy Renner), Callahan (Jon Hamm), Chilli (Jake Johnson) and Sable (Hannibal Buress) have used the month of May for an epic game of tag. After 30 years, Jerry has remained the sole member of the group to never be tagged. Determined to change that, Hoagie develops a plan to gather all of his friends and tag-mates at Jeremy’s wedding to finally tag him. Hoagie goes around telling everyone that Jeremy plans to retire after this May, which gets everyone riled up and in on the action, including Hoagie’s wife Anna (Isla Fisher) and Rebecca Crosby (Annabelle Wallis), a reporter for the Wall Street Journal present when Hoagie informed Callahan of the plan. Throughout the course of the next few days, the group does everything they can to tag Jeremy and finally make him ‘it’, learning much about themselves and the nature of their friendships in the mean-time.

For a film with such a simple premise, the story manages to focus on it’s main narrative and make it interesting while providing character development and interactions. Luckily, these character interactions and moments are handled with humor more so than basic writing, thus eliminating the trope of the ‘buddy-based lessons’ present in much Hollywood fare until a moment that it will actually be meaningful. When solely focused on the tag element of the game, character development and growth aside, you are still given a set of stakes, rising action, and a resolution that fits the elements you are presented with throughout the run time of the film.

Where the film really excels is when it flips between deep substance and high style, pretty much seamlessly for the most part. For the majority of the character introductions, we’re given solid plans for them to tag one another, using things like costumes and diversion to achieve tags. When Jerry steps into the game, however, we are given a precise inner monologue full of John Wick-esque calculations, calculated actions, and super-hero reflexes, turning a deeply fun game into a suddenly thrilling competition. The stunt-work is ramped up, the frame rate is ramped up, and the overall look of the film turns into high-action reminiscent of Mission: Impossible. The entire choice works well, playing a bit off of our informed knowledge of Jeremy Renner constantly doing the impossible with nearly nothing as Hawkeye in the MCU to great effect.

The film manages to subvert expectations in other places as well. For one, Isla Fisher, normally typecast as a sweet and unassuming character, is given full reign to cut completely loose, transforming into a hilariously intense and crude wife to balance off of Hoagie’s easy going nature. The soundtrack is almost perfectly tuned for me or people my age, mixing a handful of wonderful hip-hop and gangster rap songs with the occasional grunge song thrown in for the emotional or dramatic moments. Even the ending (which could have been considered extremely heavy-handed or an easy card to play) does not reveal itself until the right moments, making it the perfect emotional linchpin needed for a mostly lighthearted film.

Ed Helms, though probably not award-winning in this case, turns in another great performance for 2018, taking all of the aspects we love about him in The Hangover and turning the ridiculousness down just a tad. Jeremy Renner is the epitome of cool in this flick, being the action hero the comedy needs. Jon Hamm proves he has the comedic chops to hang with the heavyweights. Jake Johnson was born to play this role, balancing tons of charm with an equal ton of slackerness and potheadedness that makes him one of the funnier people in the film. His funny is matched beat for beat by the dry with of Hannibal Buress. Leslie Bibb, Rashida Jones and Annabelle Wallis all turn in solid roles with limited screen time, making their expositional moments humorous and memorable. Isla Fisher, as mentioned before, is running on cylinders we’ve not seen before... I hope she gets to do another role of this nature sooner than later.

I went into Tag expecting to be entertained, but I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the film. The film may get slept on based on the monumental releases on both sides of the film, but I anticipate a solid life on DVD, BluRay and streaming services for this one.

#DOOMonFILM #ChiefDoomsday #JeffTomsic #RobMcKittrick #MarkSteilen #Tag #EdHelms #JakeJohnson #AnnabelleWallis #IslaFisher #RashidaJones #LeslieBibb #JonHamm #JeremyRenner

1 note · View note