Tag (2018) * * *

Directed by:  Jeff Tomsic

Starring:  Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Hannibal Burress, Leslie Bibb, Isla Fisher, Annabell Wallis, Jake Johnson, Rashida Jones, Nora Dunn

Based on a 2013 Wall Street Journal article, Tag is based on a true story of a group of lifelong friends who play a game of tag in May of each year.    They've been playing the same game for thirty years and they want to take one last crack at Jerry (Renner), who has never been tagged and is soon to be married and dropping out of the game.    Just to prove the events portrayed in the film aren't completely exaggerated, we see video recordings of the real players at the end of the movie dressing in disguise, enacting silly pranks, and sneaking up on other players in the shower all in the name of saying "You're it,"

There is an oft-repeated phrase in the film which serves as the group's mantra:  "You don't stop playing because you get old.   You get old because you stop playing."    They say Ben Franklin coined the phrase, but there is doubt.    The guys (and wife of one of them) use the game as an excuse to stay in touch, which isn't a bad thing.    But, on the basis of this film, they must have an awful lot of free time and unlimited income to do all of the traveling and put in the time to play the game for a whole month.

Tag is naturally preposterous, and once you accept that, you can sit back and revel in its absurdity.    Jerry is not an easy target.    Here is a guy who doesn't just run away from tags, but sets up Rambo-like traps and has the stealth and energy of an action hero.    He is not going to give up his undefeated streak without a fight and some underhanded tactics, including having his fiancee play a role in the festivities.    The film begins with Hogan (Helms), a successful veterinarian who applies for a job as a janitor at a Fortune 800 company.    Why?    So, he can get close enough to take his friend Bob (Hamm), who runs the company.    Bob is in the middle of an interview with a Wall Street Journal reporter when Hogan, disguised as the janitor, tags him.    The reporter, Rebecca (Wallis) is more curious now about the game than Bob's company and comes along when the duo declares their intentions to finally tag Jerry after all these years. 

Jerry is about to be married and some ground rules are set up among Bob, Hogan, and the other players.    No tagging during the rehearsal dinner nor during the wedding ceremony.    Anything else, including Jerry's AA meeting, is fair game.    The crew schemes and pays people off for intel on Jerry (remember the unlimited money comment from two paragraphs ago).    If these bozos would put as much thought into curing cancer as they do this game, cancer would be a thing of the past.    Isn't that the case with a lot of misdirected passion?

I can't say I wasn't entertained on a basic level with Tag.    The actors bring the same passion for the ridiculousness as the real life players did, and Renner provides the movie with an elusive, mysterious target.    His escapes at times border on the supernatural.    I'm quite sure some dramatic (or comic) license was taken with this story, but then again, maybe not.    Based on the real videos which were shown at the end, I wouldn't put anything past these players.