Hollywood has taken stabs at creating movies based off the simplest concepts and throwbacks to our collective childhoods for ages. In recent years we have seen films inspired by video games (Wreck-It Ralph… Pixels), but never before has there been an attempt to build an entire plot over the simple schoolyard game of tag until now. Tag from New Line is putting together quite the cast to star in a comedy film about a group of adults who have been playing their own version of tag for over 30 years.
Jon Hamm is the latest addition to the cast that already includes Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress, Annabelle Wallis and Rashida Jones, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film is also scheduled to begin shooting in Atlanta later this month, so this movie about an ongoing game of tag really is going to be happening. The film is scheduled to release in theaters on June 29, 2018.
The story is inspired by a true story that was featured in The Wall Street Journal in 2013. Sure, the game may be something many of us have stopped playing years ago, but it is a pretty unique way for this group of friends to stay in touch and keep things lighthearted in their adulthood. And this is no simple game of tag. There are outlined rules, deadlines and more. The stakes are high between these friends and the lengths some will go just to avoid being “it” is extreme. According to The Guardian, one friend flew 800 miles from Seattle to San Francisco to tag another friend. Another time a tag was made in the middle of a funeral service!
Hamm will play a character that has a history of being the typical over-achiever from high school into adulthood. Johnson will play the role of a pot-smoker coping with the loss of a loved one. The roles the other actors will be taking on is unknown.
Considering the use of the word tag in social media verbage these days, it is nice to see Hollywood didn’t use Tag to focus on the act of tagging friends in social media posts. As odd as it may seem, this plot actually could have more staying power, if the movie is any good. Ensemble casts can be hit or miss at the box office for comedy films, so we’ll see how this summer comedy performs next summer.
