In Tag, Jeremy Renner is an enigma, on multiple levels.
In the plot, he鈥檚 the elusive white rabbit, the Moby Dick to Ed Helms鈥� Captain Ahab, the driving force of the movie. His four 鈥渇riends鈥� (in the loosest sense of the term) spend 100 minutes trying to tag him for the first time in 30 years. He maims, brutalizes, and incapacitates them in his efforts not to be tagged. He鈥檚 vapour.
But in a metanarrative sense, Renner is a bigger enigma. Watching Tag unfold with its decent amount of funny, but forgettable, jokes, Renner emerges as a strange figure. He鈥檚 distanced from the main cast due to his status as the plot McGuffin. In many ways, he鈥檚 the true antagonist of the film. But he stands out for more than that reason. Renner鈥檚 performance poses an interesting question: Why is he a movie star?
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Renner seems to have all the tools for a top-shelf movie career. He has a chiseled body shipped straight from a CrossFit factory. He has critically-praised performances in movies like The Town under his belt. He鈥檚 latched himself onto the mega-successful Marvel movies (whose weakest movies are consistently funnier than Tag). Everything about him screams Hollywood A-lister. But there鈥檚 one problem: He might be a terrible actor.
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Renner clearly has talent (he鈥檚 probably single-handedly elevated Hawkeye鈥檚 public perception with his performance). But as a comedic foil in Tag, he鈥檚 dreadful. His faces seems frozen in a permanent state of smugness and self-satisfaction, even when his character attends an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. His voice-over narration drones on in a dull monotone. He doesn鈥檛 interact with other characters so much as he recites his lines next to them. Renner鈥檚 performance is so bad it makes one wonder how he achieve his level of fame. But perhaps his success is the only answer; when you鈥檙e this rich, why try in an average comedy like Tag?
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That sounds harsh. On the whole, Tag is an acceptable midsummer comedy. It leans heavily on crass humour and mawkish sentimentality, but its solid roster of jokes elevates it above dreck like Life of the Party and Super Troopers 2. It鈥檚 a mild film in a mild movie season.
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Five friends (Renner, Helms, Hannibal Burress, Jake Johnson, and Jon Hamm) have been playing tag for decades. When it looks like Renner (the un-taggable friend) might retire from the game after his impending wedding, the four hatch a plan to finally bring him down. Hi-jinks (and attempted murder) ensue.
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Tag is a functional comedy. It鈥檚 breezy, light, and never drags. The jokes aren鈥檛 gut-bustingly funny, but most of them merit a chuckle. When the film focuses on its characters working out the best tag strategy, it鈥檚 pretty solid. When it strays from this formula, things fall apart.
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Thematically, Tag is a mess. The movie is split between to warring ideas. On the one hand, it suggests that decades-old friendships are built more on tradition than actual affection. The group of five have structured their relationships around a children鈥檚 game and they gradually realize they don鈥檛 have much else in common. It鈥檚 a devastating notion. But the film shies away from it due to its other main idea: 鈥淕ee, isn鈥檛 friendship just the best?鈥� Tag chickens out from its darkly funny premise to reinforce the tired cliche of 鈥渇riends for forever.鈥� It鈥檚 a nice-enough idea, but it feels undercooked, especially when the film reveals a disgustingly feeble stab at the heartstrings in the third act.
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The talented cast does little to resolve this thematic disharmony. Ed Helms is the same over-eager schlub he plays in every movie, while Isla Fisher as his wife is just as foul-mouthed and crazy as her character in Wedding Crashers 13 years ago. Renner, as mentioned, is awful, while Hannibal Burress suppresses his trademark low-key delivery into quasi-comatose.
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If there鈥檚 one bright spot in the cast, it鈥檚 the pairing of Jon Hamm and Jake Johnson. They act as best frenemies fighting over the affection of Rashida Jones鈥� underwritten character. They have a genuinely enjoyable chemistry that leaps off the screen. They don鈥檛 share many scenes together, but when they do, it鈥檚 a major highlight. They need to be in a buddy cop comedy yesterday.
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Tag is a fine-enough entry to the growing pile of middling summer comedies. It evokes the requisite amount of laughs to be labelled 鈥済ood.鈥� But beyond the existential questions it raises about Jeremy Renner鈥檚 continued relevance, there鈥檚 not much to remember once the credits roll.
