Hot Tub Time Machine
Starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, and Craig Robinson
Directed by Steve Pink (Accepted)
Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive language
A group of friends whose lives have hit the skids head out to their favorite ski lodge for a crazy weekend. When a mystical hot tub takes them back to the 80s, they have to either find their way back to the present, or decide to make changes in their past.
Just from the title alone you can tell that this an absurd film and you should know exactly what to expect. So to put it mildly – this film delivers. It is crude, raunchy, full of bad behavior, and extremely funny. Making fun of the 80s in this way is both hilarious and nostalgic. The soundtrack, the clothes and hairstyles, and this sense of humor are a combination bound for success.
The casting choice of John Cusack is terrific as this is the kind of movie you just can’t see him in, but he does it so well. Corddry and Robinson are also equally impressive and should see a boost to their careers here. The real scene stealer here is Crispin Glover who plays a one-armed bellman who in the past has two arms and you just can’t wait to see how he meets his fate. The dud of the cast is hot tub repairman Chevy Chase who is supposed to be like the Don Knotts character in Pleasantville, but ends up being a wasted time killer.
With a film that is this over-the-top, you get a lot of plot holes that you are just supposed to forget about because after all – the movie is called Hot Tub Time Machine. But that’s just not quite a good enough excuse. They tried to do a Back to the Future thing with Cusack’s nephew that was very predictable and didn’t quite work. Also the resolution was cute but you can’t think about it for more than a minute because it will hurt your brain on how much it doesn’t make sense. And the trick they used when they needed to explain away something – throw in a squirrel. It’s all very random, again, just like a time machine in a hot tub. B+
Saw this last week knowing what the movie was going to belike yet hoping it was funnier. I think there was a bit left on the editing floor that could have been fun to watch. It was definitely not The Hangover but I enjoyed it (mainly as it was free). I am not a big Cordry fan and feel he overacts his overacting!