Tag (dir. Jeff Tomsic)

If the TV show "Entourage" taught us anything worth remembering, it was that commonly used phrase "bromance" was the worst thing to happen to male relationships since the invention of the high-five. With that TV series and it's subsequent "movie" rightfully resting in the fire-pits of hell, Jeff Tomsic's irreverent and often ridiculous comedy about a bunch of grown-men (and a few women) playing a thirty year-long game of tag is a welcoming antidote to such oversaturated masculine offerings. This "true life" zany comedy subverts it's "boys only" mentality, and finds an emotional streak to it's original idea, creating something witty and inherently entertaining.

The tagline (no pun intended) of Tomsic's fanciful comedy is: "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing becomes the thesis for this unconventional comedy, and though it sounds generic, through the help of an eager cast and an confident filmmaking team (who clearly have their eye on future installments), it surfaces with a resonant spark.

Let's begin with our players. Hoagie (Ed Helms) is a veterinary physician, married to his over-serious high-school sweat-heart Anna (Isla Fisher). He's seen first early on applying for a janitors position at a Fortune-500 company. To us, it appears his life has taken a sharp decline - and he's looking for modest work to keep himself afloat. But it's all a con, he's actually hoping to acquire employment so he can surreptitiously gain legal entry into the building, and "Tag" best friend Bob (John Hamm) - his childhood friend and perennial handsome so-and-so - just when he least expects it. Adorned with a fake mustache and ridiculous wig, this set-piece brings early laughs, and thankfully becomes an on-going moniker of "Tag", which takes it's genesis from the true-life account, where elaborate disguises become necessary to catching your foe when they are at their most vulnerable.

But Hoagie has news for Bob: fellow competitors Chilli (Jake Johnson) - a love-able pot smoking burnout - as well as smooth-talking Sable (Hannibal Burress)- may see their beloved game come to an end, as news of perennial champion Jerry's (Jeremy Renner) eagerness to end their three-decades long match and settle down with his recently acquired fianceé Susan (Leslie Bibb) has the potential to end their fun once and for all.

But here's the thing, it's not just about the ending of the game, their is pride at stake here. Jerry (Renner) is known for his lightning speed and dynamite reaction times, and sequences of him outsmarting the incoming advances of his compadres are akin to Sherlock Holmes-esque intellect. Through the course of their games thirty-year running time, Jerry has never been tagged, so the team must track down their ruthless foe and take him down for the first time in history.

Though it's not always the case that slapstick humor is the greatest asset to a comedic vehicle's arsenal, in the case of "Tag", several of the set-pieces pit our childhood friends against their most dastardly foe, often with hilarious results. Credit must go to director Jeff Tomsic, with what is his first feature-film after a glistening career behind the television camera, for injecting an energetic narrative style and handling the tonal shifts with a effortless fluidity. Add to the mix the witty exchanges between with the characters, helped immensely from the snappy script from Rob McKittrick and Mark Steilen, which allow our experienced comedians to really bring the comedy to life.

Helms has managed to creep away from the indignity of those disastrous "Hangover" sequels successfully and is charming and engaging in equal measure, whilst Buress, Hamm and Fisher are all well-cast, and even Jeremy Renner does a great-job - even though he is essentially playing his most famous role of Hawkeye - especially since he had broken both his arms throughout production and had to have them computer generated into the final film. So i guess it's a science-fiction kind of comedy? But the real standout for me is Jake Johnson; perhaps known to TV audiences as his classic role as Nick in FOX's New Girl, every single one of his lines illuminates the screen, as his definite comedic timing and ability to engage are only getting better.

In the end, "Tag" has an underlying message about the roles we play as we get older and how growing up is never a good thing. Thankfully, though this sounds inherently cheesy, Tomsic and co never ram this message down your throat, and it's the lack of sentimentality which makes "Tag" a down-right winner. Despite a strand of vulgar jokes which seemed excessive - especially in the kind-friendly vibe with which the trailer exposits - this true-life comedy really proves that being original is the key to good comedy, and that truth really is stranger than fiction.

Rating 3.5/5.