After a lackluster year in 2017 (and arguably even longer than that), comedy has seen a bit of resurgence in quality and improved performance at the box office. Game Night was released earlier this year and surprised critics and audiences alike, which resulted in it becoming the highest grossing comedy of the year so far. That film was followed by Blockers which also saw critical and financial success while even a comedy aimed at the older female demographic, Book Club, was able to become a sleeper success this summer. Needless to say, it’s fun to laugh at the movies again and it’s a nice thing to see.
The upward trend in quality for comedies continues with Tag, which came as a total surprise for me because my expectations were to the floor. Despite its game cast, I wasn’t wholly invested in the premise based on the trailers but I’m happy to report that Tag delivers on its R-rated laughs and definitely has fun with its off the wall concept, which is actually based on a true story of a group of make friends who have kept this childhood game alive. Tag certainly generates laughs but there is also a sincere story here about friendship and while I don’t like when R-rated comedies slip into manipulative melodrama in the end, Tag manages to maintain its edge while also showing its heart.
Five friends – Hoagie (Ed Helms), Callahan (Jon Hamm), Randy (Jake Johnson), Sable (Hannibal Buress), and Jerry (Jeremy Renner) – began a tradition in boyhood that they have maintained through all the intervening years. Every May is “tag month” and, despite living in different cities, they travel all over in pursuit of passing on the “it” mantle to someone else. There are ground rules, but they can be amended. And touching is permitted in eleven out of twelve months. Four of the five are close but Jerry, who has never been tagged, remains aloof, isolated by his greatness. But, on the occasion of his wedding to Susan (Leslie Bibb), Jerry may be vulnerable. The others see opportunity. The hunt is on.
A lot of the comedy in Tag is a result of the absurdity of its premise. Director Jeff Tomsic has to make us buy into the fact that grown men would still participate in this and not make them look like giant man-children and he’s actually able to make us do that. What could seem ridiculous, actually comes off as fun and there is a devilishness to the proceedings that give the film a bit of an edge. The sequences of “tag” aren’t exactly how we remember playing it as kids, a lot of the sequences poke a bit of fun at scenes that would be likely to take place in an action film and this sort of self-parody allows Tag to poke fun at itself, and various genres at the same time. The fact that Jeremy Renner broke two arms on this film, rather than filming the second part of Avengers: Infinity War, is very telling of just how big they go with some of the “tag” sequences here.
Cast chemistry goes a long way in films like this and Tag also succeeds due to the fact that we buy all of these guys as friends. They each represent a different personality that the audience could relate to while as a unit they truly shine. Ed Helms is suitably likable while Jon Hamm puts a comedic spin on his suave acting persona that he hasn’t seemed to break since Mad Men (not an insult, if you’ve got it, why not use it). Jake Johnson reminds us why he was one of the best things about New Girl while Jeremy Renner gains laughs from being dark and cunning, something he’s particularly good at. The ladies also get some laughs but the MVP, as always, is Isla Fisher as Helms’ wife who reminds us that she once stole the show in Wedding Crashers. Fisher drops F-bombs in almost every sentence she utters and while some may call it cheap and easy, I found it to be hilarious. Her comedic chops definitely haven’t lost their bite.
The first half of Tag is a bit better than its wrap up since things get a bit maudlin in the end. This isn’t entirely a detriment because while the first half has bite and is darkly funny, the film becomes a bit more relatable as it speaks to the importance of friendships and doing what you can to maintain them. You move to different cities, you meet new people, you get married and everything can change but the film makes a strong argument about keeping the longterm friendships that have helped shape you as a person.
Tag was released as against Incredibles 2 last weekend as a sort of counterprogramming for dudes and I think it really works on that level. There are a lot of comedies made for the male crowd but there isn’t a lot that shows the camaraderie between a group of guy friends. It may revolve around an unconventional premise, but Tag is a solid representation of this and it’s able to deliver on the very laughs that we’re all accustomed to sharing with our boys.
