Tag (2018)

Despite the concept, this film isn't the worst film of the year, far from it.
A group of now grown men, in cities all across the country, still play the childhood game of tag, thus the title of the film.
They go through such extreme lengths, including getting a new job just to bombard another during an interview. And this year, they are all determined to get Jerry (Jeremy Renner) who takes the game to a whole new level, spending way too much time and money to avoid getting caught.
That is the whole concept of the film, there's really not much more to it than that. They keep playing the game to avoid falling out of touch and getting old, though it isn't working. Chili (Jake Johnson) gets high all the time while Sable (Hannibal Burgess) believes his wife is cheating on him.
However, this year, they plan to get Jerry at his wedding to Susan (Leslie Bibb) and to do so, it involves bribery, near torture and careful planning, though Jerry is always one step ahead of the rest, including having his fiance fake a miscarriage (she actually faked the whole pregnancy), and that is unacceptable. You do not do that, ever, period, point blank, end of discussion. That was a low move and the guys absolutely agree with that, though Jerry and Susan aren't especially apologetic about the whole thing. But it turns out that Hogan (Ed Helms) is the one who is actually dying, of liver cancer so he needed this, to get the whole gang together again for one last time. And the film ends with the group playing the game they loved so much.
The craziest thing is that this whole film is based on a true story, and a reporter for the New York Times (Annabelle Wallis, in the film) really does write a story about the whole thing.
Despite the faking of the pregnancy and miscarriage, the film does have funny moments without even trying and the performances are solid, though they are not the most complicated roles. Still, the film could have been far worse and truly dreadful, instead you just wonder why this game means so much to them, when they could have spent the time together just enjoying each other's company. Grade: B