Tag plays game that doesn’t go all the way for large comedy cast

INSPIRED by a true-ish story about a group of friends playing the same game of “you’re it” since childhood, Tag has its amusing moments, but not many you’ll remember a few weeks from now.

FOR a good while, Tag proves to be a comedy worth catching.

Mainly because the way in which it revels in its so-dumb-its-kinda-cool premise is so darn infectious.

Exactly when and where the spell wears off in Tag will come down to a judgment call from each individual viewer.

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However, there can be no denying there isn’t quite enough movie here to fill a relatively brief allotment of running time.

Jeremy Renner on the run again in Tag. Picture: Roadshow/Warner Bros

Vaguely inspired by a true-ish newspaper story from a few ago, Tag works up some wacky exploits from five male friends who have been kept playing the same game of “you’re it!” since they started primary school.

Among the quintet letting their inner child govern their adult idiocy are comedians Ed Helms (Vacation), Hannibal Buress (TV’s Broad City), Jake Johnson (The Mummy) and ex-Mad Men icon Jon Hamm.

However, MVP honours go to Jeremy Renner and a very funny, laser-focused portrayal of the LeBron James of the sport of tag, a dude who has never once been caught in 30 years.

(Running a close second to Renner is Australia’s Isla Fisher as one of the errant players’ wives. Her energised and often deranged handling of certain scenes is a wonder to behold. How was she overlooked for a part in Ocean’s 8? Fisher could have saved that movie single-handedly.)

Isla Fisher shines in Tag. Picture: Roadshow/Warner Bros

All threads that can be detected in a very thin plot lead to the impending wedding of Jerry (Renner), an occasion that could provide the only chance his buddies will ever have of defeating him.

After Jerry initially disinvites his close friends in the interest of preserving his perfect tag record, a truce is negotiated.

Everyone can attend as long as they agree to a ceasefire whenever the obligatory nuptial duties (suit fittings, rehearsals, cocktail parties, the ceremony itself) must be seen to.

It is around about this point in the story that Tag starts running on fumes after getting off to such a promising start.

In fact, much of the comic gold is indeed buried in the first act, where the intricate rules of how tag must be played in the real world are explained.

Overall, Tag is definitely as average as mainstream movies get these days.

Though not without its amusing moments, it remains without many you will remember a few weeks from now.

TAG (M)

Playtime ends before game is over

Rating: Two and a half stars (2.5 out of 5)

Director: Jeff Tomsic (Feature debut)

Starring: Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Hannibal Buress, Jake Johnson, Isla Fisher.