Just a bunch of friends having fun
A comedy about a group of pals who’ve been playing the same game of tag for close to three decades? When Mad Men star Jon Hamm heard that pitch he thought it was ridiculous — until he found out it was true.
“I have to be honest with you: I don’t think I would do the movie if it wasn’t based on a true story,” adds Ed Helms, who co-stars with Hamm and Jeremy Renner. “It’s too absurd. If this had come to me and not been based on truth I would have said, ‘Oh, that’ll be a dumb comedy.’”
Q In terms of crazy true stories, this has got to be right up there with the nuttiest of them. How did you guys react when you heard about this group of friends that have playing tag for almost 30 years?
Hamm It was based on a 2013 article in The Wall Street Journal, of all places. It was a real bit of happenstance. The ( journalist) was set to interview one of these guys about some sort of business-Wall Street Journal-type of thing and during the interview one of his buddies barged in like you see in the movie (laughs). And the interviewer was like, ‘What the hell just happened?’ And he replied, ‘Oh, that was just my friend tagging me.’ He tried to get the interview back on track and the journalist said, ‘No, no, no … we’re talking about that now.’ It serendipitously came out of that. When I read that article, I was fascinated. I asked myself, ‘Who are these guys? Why do they do this?’ And when we got to meet them, we realized that they do it because it keeps them young.
Q Last summer, I saw the headline: ‘Jeremy Renner breaks both arms in stunt accident’ and I just assumed you did that on the set of Avengers. But you were shooting Tag and it happened on the third day. Did they have to CGI in your arms for the rest of the movie?
Renner In one scene, the scene I broke my arms in, they had to CGI out the cast on my arm.
Hamm The day he broke his arm, four hours later he was back on set shooting.
Helms Fortunately for us, Jeremy is insane.
Q Do you still keep in touch with high school friends?
Hamm Yeah, I have a really good close group of friends from when I was basically in seventh grade. We’re all still connected . ... That shared history is important to keep alive. Especially as you get older. As you make your way through life and life kind of has its way with you, it’s important to remember where you’re from.
Renner I just have a giant family. My family is so big, so I don’t really have to reach out to friends. Helms You also have the Aveng
ers.
Renner And the Avengers, that’s right.
Q At the end of the movie, they show scenes of the real guys and some of the stuff from the movie that moviegoers might think are outlandish really aren’t. Ed, you dress up as an old woman, and one of the real guys does the same.
Helms Well, right now, I’m dressed up as a handsome young man.
Hamm Yes. You didn’t know this but he’s actually an old woman named Edwena Helms.
Helms Those home movies you get to see at the end have the same visceral payoff that those photosattheendofTheHangover do. The only difference is, those are real. It’s like, if those Hangover photos at the end were real — that’s what this is.
Q What did the real guys think of the movie?
Hamm Jeremy hosted a party the night before the première. It was really sweet. They said that this was the first time that they had all gotten together in one place in like a decade. They got misty.
Q There are some hilarious ambushes in this movie and lots of laughs. But at its core, this is a story about friendship. What to you hope people take out of Tag?
Helms Maybe viewers will have a nostalgic pang where they want to reach out to some old friends. That would make it a success.
Hamm It’s a fun trip to the movies. But it also sticks an emotional landing at the end and I think people will be surprised by that. In a summer where everyone is blowing things up and saving the world and dinosaurs are going crazy, this is not that. This is a fun, funny movie.
Renner We’re in a landscape right now where everything seems so divided — especially inourcountry—andthisisall about unity. This is a film that unites people and I want to celebrate what unites people.