TAG: You're 'It'

Most people have played the game at one time or the other with their friends. Now can you imagine playing Tag with those same friends...over the span of 30 years?

TAG arrived August 28 on Blu-Ray combo pack and DVD. The Digital format already appeared on August 17.

TAG

Tag made over $77 million worldwide. The Rotten Tomatoes score settled at 55%. Many critic reviews were mixed.

The story is grounded in truth too.

Yes, truth.

Tag is based on The Wall Street Journal article titled, ‘It Takes Planning, Caution to Avoid Being It,” by Russell Adams.

Rob McKittrick and Mark Steilen wrote the screenplay. Jeff Tomsic was behind the camera. It was a Warner Bros Pictures, New Line Cinema and Broken Road production.

The ensemble cast is tough to knock. Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Annabelle Wallis, Hannibal Buress and Isla Fisher, Rashida Jones, Leslie Bibb, Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner.  

TAKE

Would I buy this film?

At most…a rainy day selection. I wouldn’t rush to watch it.

As mentioned before, comedy is a very subjective genre.

Did I laugh? Not really. (Some people will.)

I’m learning quite a few R-rated comedies are not my cup of sense of humour. It’s crude in different ways and has plenty of language. A few jokes go for the gross-out route and probably a little dark.

In the filmography of Ed Helms though, I would slot it above Father Figures.

The story is nothing too complicated. It’s silly at times too. It’s the ‘true’ aspect of what kept my interest for the 100-minute timeframe.

Ed Helms is Hoagie and he gathers up his friends (Johnson, Buress, and Hamm), to play one last round of Tag. They have a mission. Jeremy Renner is Jerry, who is getting married and wants to retire from the game. The catch is Jerry, in all the years of playing has never been ‘it.’

There's even a Wall Street Journal reporter along for the ride.

There are rules. The game is only played in the month of May. There are no tag backs. The person who is ‘it’ must be truthful, when asked.  

Of course, being a movie, the story gets the Hollywood spin.

Overall, the movie could have been better. While I didn’t find it to be a ‘comedy,’ it earns a few redemption points for a kind-of-a-sweet-but-silly-ending.

“Someone once said we don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The standard DVD only has the ‘Meet the Real Tag Brothers’ featurette.

Meet the Real Tag Brothers (5 minutes, 23 seconds)

This is most interesting of the slim Blu-ray special features.

- The real Tag crew played in February. They are also a group of 10. They have traveled across country, used disguises, used golf carts, and even played the game at a funeral. Which all factor into the movie, in some form.

Deleted Scenes (6 minutes, 20 seconds.)

- None of the scenes grabbed my attention. Most don’t seem to last longer than a minute.

Gag Reel (8 minutes, 5 seconds)

- Nothing to write extensively about. Silliness, mix-ups and cursing.

The most intriguing outtakes go to Hannibal Buress. Of all things, he discusses PCP and the Air Bud franchise. He also shows his disinterest in someone else’s conversation.

Warner Brothers Homes Entertainment. 

Life of the Party: McCarthy Spotlight

Melissa McCarthy is the Life of the Party.

McCarthy re-teams with her husband, Ben Falcone for the third time. He directed and she starred in The Boss and Tammy.  

Life of the Party shakes things up on August 7. It's on Blu-Ray combo pack and DVD. The Digital format already appeared on July 24.

PARTY

Life of the Party made over $65 million worldwide. Rotten Tomatoes scored at an unimpressive 37%.

(This is a much lower result compared to movies like Bridesmaids, Identity Thief, and The Heat. Which all featured McCarthy.)

McCarthy co-wrote the screenplay with her husband. The couple produced through their production company, On the Day.

The cast includes Gillian Jacobs, Maya Rudolph, Julie Bowen, Matt Walsh, Molly Gordon, Stephen Root, Jacki Weaver, Jessie Ennis, Adria Arjona, Debby Ryan and Jimmy O. Yang.  

TAKE

Would I buy this film?

More of a rainy day selection, a rental, streaming or discounted price.

As mentioned in the past, comedy is a very subjective genre. What some people find funny, others won't.

Is it a great movie? Not really.

The cast appears to have improvised many of their scenes. (The special features highlight this fact too.) Found it a little hard to get into the rhythm at the beginning.

Are there laughs? Yes.

Father Figures and Game Night didn't make me laugh. Life of the Party has a few scenes with big laugh-out-loud moments. This is combined with a handful of chuckles sprinkled throughout the 105 minutes.    

The points drop when the jokes don't hit the mark. And it happens.

The story is simple. McCarthy’s Deanna drops off her daughter, Maddie, for the last year of college. As they drive away, Deanna’s husband, Dan, says he wants a divorce. Deanna starts thinking about the college life she never finished. She decides to join her daughter at college.

I guess the story highlights what boils down to a mid-life crisis. There's also mother and daughter talks, classes, parties, weird roommates, late-night relationships, friendships and more. It’s kept very PG-13.

There are sprinkles of drama too, but it doesn’t get too complicated.  

If you are not a fan of Melissa McCarthy, it's probably best to avoid this.   

If you like McCarthy, well, there is hardly a scene in which she is not included.  She does seem to give it her best effort and appears to be having fun with the role. 

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The standard DVD only has 80’s Party.

80’s Party (4 minutes, 51 seconds)

- There is an 80’s Party sequence in the movie. This discusses the costumes, dancing, and some 80’s references.   

Mom Sandwich (2 minutes, 45 seconds)

- McCarthy and her husband, discuss that Deanna’s parents are loosely based on Melissa’s real parents. Something to do with sandwiches. 

Deleted Scenes (46 minutes, 36 seconds)

- The time length here is quite surprising. Only a few scenes are not featured in the final cut. Most are actual scenes straight out of the film. The story beats are the same, but play out differently as the actors try out other lines. Some scenes stretch out way too long.

Line-O-Rama (3 minutes, 2 seconds)

- Other scenes as improvisation mode continue.

Bill Hate-O-Rama (2 minutes, 44 seconds)

- Creative insults are found here…a couple gets reused from the deleted scenes.  

Gag Reel (5 minutes, 25 seconds)

- What you would find in most Gag Reels. I have seen better and funnier ones.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment