Tag (2018)

Something I like to do is go on IMDb and look for movie suggestions --as if having 1,000+ movies on my list wasn't enough. That's how I stumbled across Tag and, convinced it either had Amy Adams or Charlize Theron, I decided to check it out.

The film tells the story of a group of friends, Hogan "Hoagie" Malloy (Ed Helms), Bob Callahan (Jon Hamm), Randy "Chilli" Cilliano (Jake Johnson), Kevin Sable (Hannibal Buress) and Jerry Pierce (Jeremy Renner), who has been playing the same game of tag for 30 years. When Jerry who has never been tagged plans to retire from the game after his upcoming wedding, the four remaining friends team together to finally tag him.

It's probably one of the most idiotic premises ever which is why I'm still trying to process the fact that the film is based on a true story and grown men actually did something this stupid. That said, although pretty thin and predictable, the story is quite engaging and never boring, and delivers a heartwarming message about friendship.

Unfortunately, that message isn't properly developed and the blame is on the characters. They barely have a characterization and development is nowhere to be found. In other words, they are bland, boring and uninteresting. Also, some of the characters are completely useless, specifically Rashida Jones's Cheryl Deakins, a girl Bob and Chilli have a crush on since always, as she is nothing but a (beautiful) distraction, and Annabelle Willis's Rebecca Crosby, the Wall Street Journal journalist who wrote the article about these guys as it feels like the character slows down the film. At least each character gets a decent amount of screen time, even Jerry's soon-to-be wife (Leslie Bob).

Warner Bros. Pictures

The cast is quite strong throughout the film. I'm not sure comedy is Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner's thing, but the chemistry between all the actors is impressive, and the ladies are pretty enjoyable too. Also, they are clearly having which makes us have fun.

Unfortunately, that's pretty much it with the fun. To make its audience laugh, Tag heavily relies on the absurd situations the characters find themselves into, slapstick and violence. It's dumb humour, in other words, the kind of stuff one would expect from an Ed Helms movie, only it doesn't work that well this time around and the result is an occasionally funny film.

Don Verdean (2015)

As a fan of Sam Rockwell, I decided to check out Don Verdean. The fact that I hadn't heard of the film before seeing it on Rockwell's filmography and that it is considerably new had me thinking that I'd grant myself one and a half hour of suffering. And I was right. 

The film follows Don Verdean (Sam Rockwell), a self-proclaimed Biblical Archaeologist that hunts down religious artefacts to prove that the stories from the Bible are true. When he is hired by a pastor, Lazarus (Danny McBride), to find sacred relics in order to bring more people to his church, Verdean is forced to get creative.

The plot is one of the major problems with Don Verdean. It is far from being interesting and engaging, it doesn't make a lot of sense, it has several uninteresting romantic subplots, and the ending, if you could call it that, is incredibly contrived. It seems like the writers knew they had to end the story but didn't know how and they just wrote something random that makes as much sense as everything else.

The characters too are the result of lazy writing. The film is filled with odd and bizarre characters but unfortunately, the writers didn't make the most of their potential. Their personalities never take over, they aren't as compelling as they should have been and. most importantly, they are not a bit funny.

Neither the cast can fix that as they all give pretty bland performances. Sam Rockwell looks bored from start to finish, hidden behind a beard and terrible clothes. The others are just as bland, Danny McBride and Will Forte being the most disappointing as they fail to make laugh consistently. There's a good chemistry between Rockwell and McBride but it feels like the director, Jared Hess, was not able to capture it.

Lionsgate Premiere

As you probably guessed, Don Verdean is not that funny of a movie and calling it comedy should be a crime. The jokes, a blend of biblical and adolescent jokes, fall flat most of the film, and when they don't they barely make you chuckle.

Unless you really love one of the actors in, whether it's Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Bob, Will Forte or Danny McBride, my suggestion is that you stay the hell away from this film.