What can you expect from a title like "Hot Tub Time Machine"? Add one of the most reliable actors working today John Cusack, "Daily Show" Alum Rob Corddry, and Craig Robinson from "The Office", and you should be expecting something at least better than the title suggests. I'm happy to say, you do.
"Hot Tub Time Machine", is a film with no ambitions other than to make you laugh while you're in the theatre, make you laugh hard. It tries at times for poignancy, as it deals with the lives of three middle aged men who are disappointed with their lives. However, the poignancy doesn't last long, but it's nice to see they tried.
Cusack, Robinson, and Corddry all play three friends, who have screwed up their lives really bad, when Corddry's character attempts suicide, the others take him to a ski resort they went to when they were young. When they get there it's all run down, vanished like their youthful aspirations. However never fear, for they are about to travel through time via a Hot Tub with the help of a Russian energy drink. They find themselves in 1986, the same weekend the three of them spent together. Did I mention, Cusack's nephew played by Clark Duke is along for the ride, but he hasn't been born yet, he keeps flickering in and out a la "Back to Future", he also encounters his future mother who is anything but a model citizen.
At first, the guys try to remember what they did exactly so as not to ruin the space time continuum, but then they soon realize that this would be a great chance to rectify their mistakes of the past.
"Hot Tub Time Machine", is a title I like saying, which makes me think the makers of this movie were hoping to build a cult status around it, and that is indeed possible. It seems we have reached the point where the 80s must be parodied, not earlier where we were getting parodies from the 70s, that decade even had its own television show which parodied it.
For those who remember the 80s, or just the movies the decade produced, I think you'll get a kick from "Hot Tub Time Machine", or even if you're a fan of raunchy comedy in the vein of "I Love You Man" or "The Hangover", you'll also love this. "Hot Tub Time Machine" might've gotten lost in the shuffle, but thanks to the talented comedic performances and truly hilarious moments, it rises above to be something a bit memorable.
There are moments where the film seemed to be too full of gags, I definitely got the feeling it had been cut considerably as some shots seemed edited out, perhaps it will be revealed in the unrated version that will no doubt make its way onto DVD.
I'm not sure "Hot Tub Time Machine" is a film I'll see again, I got most of the jokes, it was funny, and it has fed my need for good comedy until the next one comes down the line. It isn't a bad little movie, it's not ambitious, but it will chase the blues away for an hour and a half.
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