Movie review: ‘Tag’ (2018)

FloridaGator80
A promotional still photograph from the movie “Tag.”

I missed the movie “Tag” when it arrived in movie theaters five years ago, but I snagged it on DVD, tucked it away and didn’t watch it until this past weekend. I can’t say that I’m sorry it took that long to see a nice comedy that I enjoyed and that’s because “Tag” isn’t a fall-down, side-splitting comedy. “Tag” is nowhere near being bad as evidenced by my laughing at most of the jokes and it offers a solid comedy cast that can hold itself with most others. Still, the film overall doesn’t grade out A+ in my book. However, it is watchable and funny and that’s better than 90-percent of what’s out there today on the big screen.

‘Tag’
(2018; 100 minutes; rated R; directed by Jeff Tomsic and starring Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson and Hannibal Buress)

GROWN UPS DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN GROWN UP

(NOTE: I expanded this review with additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on May 4, 2026.)

The movie “Tag” is adapted from the true story of 10 friends who made a mission in life of playing a game of tag for one month each year over nearly three decades into their adulthood. Their story was captured in an article by a Wall Street Journal reporter and was turned in a comedy movies … albeit changed to five friends to facilitate on-screen storytelling.

“Tag” is about the group friends banding together one more year since a member had decided to make it his last with the group. It quickly becomes four of the five teaming up against the fifth member, who has never been tagged as “it” during the game over the decades (it’s 30 years in the film; 28 years in real life). The never-been-tagged friend is getting married – Jeremy Renner as “Jerry Pierce” –  and the others see the upcoming nuptials as an opportunity to get him.

A promotional still photograph from the movie “Tag.”

Of course, they pull a bunch of stunts just to show how cool, clever and willing to go any distance for the game. One character, a veterinarian, applies for a job as a janitor at another’s company to be able to penetrate his security. The friends even hand off the “tag” to each other like pro wrestlers as the four conspire together to tag “Jerry.”

While women aren’t allowed in the game because as boys the friends didn’t want to let “girls” play, two become involved: the Wall Street Journal reporter and one of the guys’ wife – and she’s a holy terror in helping her husband at the game.

A promotional still photograph from the movie “Tag.”

At first, I thought I was going to be critical of just how much the director forced the timeline of events, but ultimately arrived at the conclusion that it was the best way to tell the story. Look, just regular guys tagging each other would have been a joke going dry with the second adventure, but “Tag” manages to be over-the-top through both cast and action.

The film takes a story that covers decades and compresses it by focusing on one event (the wedding that brings everyone together) and using a few flashbacks (“tagging” someone at their father’s funeral or as another’s wife gives birth) manages to keep the story reigned in and not letting it stray too far.

Naturally, scenes such as where the four friends wind up in a chase over a golf course and physically lock-down a church to trap the fifth at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous is blisteringly over-the-top, but they fall into the overall context of the film and are less a negative than you might imagine.

Now, let’s take a look at the “guys” …

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Tag.”

    Ed Helms plays “Hogan ‘Hoagie’ Malloy and is the driving force behind the intensity of the current year’s game of tag. The movie opens with him getting a menial job at the company owned by Jon Hamm, who plays “Bob Callahan.” Helms remains intense throughout the film, but never reaches the level of comedic competence he does in the opening scene. Of course, Helms was one of the “guys” in drop-dead funny “The Hangover” (click here to read my review and forget the putrid sequels) and he had a small part in the equally hilarious “We’re the Millers.” Helms has impeccable comedy credentials from TV’s “The Office” to even the somewhat pathetic reboot of “Vacation” as well as a few episodes of the critically acclaimed “Arrested Development.”

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Tag.”

    A Primetime Emmy winner and incredible 17-time Primetime Emmy nominee, Hamm has his character manage to bring the Wall Street Journal reporter into the story and he is a foundation of quiet competence that all of the others are missing – except “Jerry.” Hamm does efficient, solid work as “Bob Callahan,” but he doesn’t offer much in the way of comedy in the way that Helms or especially Lil Rel Howery brings to the film (read further for why Howery is hilarious). Hamm is best known for his work on TV’s now-legendary “Mad Men,” from which he won his Emmy and had 11 nominations. He was also nominated for TV’s “30 Rock” and “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Tag.”

    A two-time Oscar nominee and Golden Globe nominee (not for this one), Renner is the smooth, confident and supremely talented tag player whom everyone wants to tag. However, Renner pushes the “competence” thing too far and comes off as too-far over-the-top with outwitting the others. I’m not sure why, but his work as “Jerry” didn’t earn a grade as having a solid effort in this one. A different actor in the role would have been much more interesting, as would the director having him play it a little differently. Renner’s Oscar nominations are for “The Hurt Locker” and “The Town,” which also earned him his Globe nomination. He was also in “Avengers: Endgame” as well as a couple of the “Mission: Impossible” films with Tom Cruise.

  • Jake Johnson plays “Randy ‘Chilli’ Cilliano” and is the stoner in the group who’s the only loser in life. Johnson does a solid job with his character and gives it some mettle to go along with his constant puffing on a joint or vaping. However, Johnson never manages to project “Chilli” (yes, it’s spelled with two “Ls” because of his last name in case you didn’t notice) as anything more than part of the team. I much more enjoyed Johnson’s effort in the small role he played in “Jurassic World” (click here to read my review) and he’s also been on TV’s “New Girl” as well as “A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas” and “21 Jump Street.”
  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Tag.”

    A Primetime Emmy nominee, Hannibal Buress plays “Kevin Sable” and his opening in the film is a quietly hilarious session with his therapist that delves deeply into … well, sex. Buress, while always having a strange philosophical view on many topics, is the quiet, orderly personality that all the others could use a slice of in their own lives. Buress doesn’t get much in the way of over-the-top action, but he comes off with better comedy than Johnson and Hamm. Buress earned his nomination for writing on “Saturday Night Live” and was in “Neighbors” with Seth Rogen and Zac Efron as well as “The Secret Life of Pets” as well as a variety of the popular superhero stuff that I don’t watch.

Although the tag rules did not allow “girls” to play (until the very end of the movie), several women make a solid mark on the film.

Now, let’s take a look at the “girls” …

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Tag.”

    Isla Fisher plays “Anna Malloy” and is “Hoagie’s” wife. Fisher is the most combustible character, even out-doing Helms. She basically kicks butt and takes names at every turn. Although “girls” are not allowed to play, she’s been incorporated into the game as “Hoagie’s” partner in schemes to tag other players. Although her character is totally over-the-top, Fisher manages to make sure she doesn’t come off as just shrill or annoying, which is a difficult tightrope for any actor to navigate. Fisher has been in “Wedding Crashers,” “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and the critically acclaimed Peacock series “Wolf Like Me.”

  • Annabelle Wallace plays WSJ reporter “Rebecca Crosby” and, along with Fisher, makes a major contribution to the film, but at a lower volume. The reporter in real life is a man, but filmmakers made a great decision to have the character as female. Wallace at first tags along (pun intended), but then gets drawn further and further into the friends’ lives and ultimately the game. Wallace is smooth in the role gets top marks for her effort in this one. She has a nice resume in horror with “Malignant,” “Annabelle” and 2017’s “The Mummy” with Tom Cruise. Most recently she was on the TV series “Star Trek: Discovery” for a baker’s dozen episodes.
  • Leslie Bibb plays “Susan Rollins” and is the bride-to-be. Just like Fisher, she is recruited to help “Jerry’s” plot to escape being tagged. Bibb does an efficient job, but I wouldn’t put her down as being top-shelf in the comedy world. Bigg has been in the “Iron Man” franchise as well as recently in “About My Father.” She has a solid resume of 79 acting credits since the first in 1996, but I’ll have to check out “About My Father” to see how much better she can be on the big screen.
  • A Primetime Emmy nominee, Rashida Jones plays “Cheryl Deakins,” who is a girl from the boys’ youth. She had schoolyard crushes on both “Callahan” and “Chilli” (and there’s a hilarious, R-rated scene on a swing set for the two youngsters), and she is part of “Jerry’s” plot to avoid being tagged. Jones pops in and out before becoming more of the film at the end. Like all competent actors, she’s solid and conveys her character with aplomb. Jones was nominated for being a co-producer on the Netflix documentary “Hot Girls Wanted.” She’s been in “The Social Network” and “I Love You, Man” as well as on TV for such hits as “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation.”

After these main characters, there isn’t much in the way of notable work by the supporting cast. Still, I’ll mention these five:

  • Nora Dunn plays “Linda Malloy” and she’s “Hoagie’s” mother. She’s also over-sexed and flirts shamelessly in a double-entendre way with “Chilli.” Dunn doesn’t get much screen time, but she more effective than some others with more screen time. Dunn has an impressive 130 acting credits spanning five decades from the first movie in 1988 with “Working Girl.” She’s also been in “Pineapple Express,” “Runaway Jury” (click here to read my review) and the “Entourage” movie (click here to read my review), as well as a variety of TV including “Law & Order” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.” I liked her small part as an SAT tutor in “How I Got Into College” (click here to read my review).
  • Lil Rel Howery plays “Reggie” and he’s the hiring manager for janitors at the beginning of the film. His interview with Helms, who’s looking for a way to get to Hamm and can do it as a company janitor, is simply wonderful and among the funniest in the film. It’s too bad the producers couldn’t have found a bigger part for Howery. He’s been in “Free Guy” with Ryan Reynolds and received critical acclaim for his work in Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.” Howery had notched 56 acting credits since the first in 2008 on the date of the posting of this review and had nine more projects in production for later release.
  • Finally, Sebastian Maniscalco is the creepy pastor at the wedding while Steve Berg plays “Lou Siebert,” who is the bartender that is a friend of the guys and they don’t let him into the game. Maniscalco, like Howery, needed more time and he’s totally hilarious as he officiates at the wedding. He’s better known as a stand-up comedian and has been in “About My Father” with Robert De Niro (click here to read my review) as well as a few other comedies. Berg gets decent screen time, but he only manages a mediocre effort and therefore is pretty much forgotten as the credits roll. Berg has been in single episodes of a variety of TV shows and in film with “Don’t Worry Darling.”
  • Brian Dennehy has an uncredited bit part in the film as “Chilli’s” father “Mr. Cilliano” (he’s totally atrocious, but, then again, the putrid little part shouldn’t have been written into the movie in the first place). Interestingly, one of the actual “Tag Brothers” that the movie is based on is also named Brian Dennehy. The actor passed away at 81 in 2020 of sepsis.

In the end, first-time director and Primetime Emmy nominee Jeff Tomsic does a solid job by bringing the over-the-top scenes together well and weaving the semblance of a story on film. Tomsic could have found it all too easy to fail, but didn’t … and that’s a solid mark for all first-time directors. “Tag” is the only motion picture on Tomsic’s resume, which includes a nomination for directing the TV special “Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special.”

“Tag” was the 54th ranked movie at the U.S. box office in 2018 with $54.7 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. The No. 1 film of the year was “Black Panther” with $700 million, while coming in at No. 2 was “Avengers: Infinity War” with $678.8 million and at No. 3 was “Incredibles 2” with $608.5 million. Here are the other films from 2018 that I’ve reviewed for my blog:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Johnson’s full birth name is Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger; Howery’s full birth name is Milton Howery Jr.; Fisher’s middle name is Lang; Helms’ middle name is Parker; and Dennehy’s middle name was Manion.
  • The Wall Street Journal story (subscription required) was originally published in 2013.
  • Fisher was born in Oman to parents from Scotland. She was mostly raised in Australia and was on TV there and won acting awards in that country for “Wolf Like Me.”
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “Second film starring Jake Johnson to be inspired by a printed article. Johnson also starred in Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), which was inspired by a classifieds ad seeking someone to ‘travel back in time’.”
  • Renner suffered a fractured right elbow during filming and in some scenes wore a green cast so it could be edited out later.
  • Despite Helms’ scenes where he goes to Hamm’s office to do a tag, the real-life “Tag Buddies” had a rule that put office environments off-limits.
  • The movie was filmed in metro Atlanta.
  • Click here to read a story about differences between the movie and the real-life “Tag Brothers” … or click here for the Wall Street Journal story from 2013 (subscription required) …
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “The design of the Bud Light beer cans in Hoagie’s Mom’s fridge were introduced into circulation in 1990 and replaced in 1995. Those are not actually 20 year old beers but custom printed props from a comping house.”

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