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.
