Tag

Your appreciation, or perhaps tolerance, for Tag might be directly tied to your feelings about grown men engaging in child’s play, taken to an extreme.

This zany ensemble comedy is based on the true-life saga of some middle-aged friends who have been playing an elaborate game of tag every May for decades, crisscrossing the country and interrupting their personal and professional lives for the thrill of shouting, “You’re it!”

But is that behavior an example of arrested development run amok, or an innocent exercise in celebrating the value of lifelong bonds of brotherhood? The film clearly believes the latter is true, although it doesn’t sell that stance with much conviction.

It doesn’t take long to assemble the participants, including a veterinarian (Ed Helms) who has the full support of his hyper-competitive wife (Isla Fisher), an insurance executive (Jon Hamm), an eccentric bachelor (Hannibal Buress), and a womanizing stoner (Jake Johnson) who sums up their motivations to a curious journalist (Annabelle Wallis) following the story: “There are no winners, only not-losers.”

Their collective target is a fitness instructor named Jerry (Jeremy Renner) who’s never been tagged in the game’s 30-year history and is intent on keeping it that way. But he’s also got a wedding coming up, prompting the remaining players to conspire and crash it. After all, nothing is off limits.

The screenplay, which was inspired by a Wall Street Journal article, embellishes and exaggerates many of the true-life details, of course, although a closing montage provides some validation that some of these crazy stunts indeed took place.

The feature debut of director Jeff Tomsic (TV’s “Broad City”) strings together a series of frenetic and increasingly ridiculous slapstick sequences, perhaps appropriately given the titular game, before transitioning awkwardly and predictably from crude and obnoxious to warm and fuzzy in the final act. The broad combination of sight gags and one-liners too often feels labored and uninspired.

There are some scattered big laughs along the way, perhaps none bigger than a Crash Test Dummies song cover over the closing credits, if you make it that far. Plus, the cast conveys a convincing camaraderie and seems to have fun with the mediocre material.

Moviegoers might not share their enthusiasm, however, for a one-joke film that offers only minimal nostalgic value. What’s next? Hopscotch: The Movie? Let’s hope it doesn’t start a trend.

Rated R, 100 minutes.