We goin’ Back in ti-ime

This weekend I headed out to the theatre to see Hot Tub Time Machine. The title is pretty straight forward.

Adam (John Cusack) just had a messy break up with his live in girlfriend. Nick (Craig Robinson) has given up his dreams to become a musician and works at a ridiculous pet grooming place but is supposedly happily married. Lou (Rob Corddry) is angry at the way his life has turned out and loses himself in alcohol and ends up in the hospital. This last incident brings the three long time friends together. They decide they need to get away from things and have a little fun. Adam brings his nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) who is a bit of a shut in and prefers his online life than his real one just to get him out of the house and meet people. They head up to their old stomping ground and are disappointed that the resort town has fallen into disarray. The only high point is that there is a hot tub. The gang climbs in and has a good time. So good that they don’t realize they are in a time machine and wake up in 1986. Adam, Nick, and Lou have been transformed into their younger selves (well that is how they appear to other people) and Jacob, who wasn’t alive at the time, is just himself but seems to be fading in and out of reality. They have to make sure they do exactly what they did the last time they were at ‘Winterfest ‘86’ or else who knows what the repercussions may be.

Starting at the title you know Hot Tub Time Machine is going to be ridiculous. I wasn’t expecting anything particularly spectacular but just to be entertained by its nonsensiclness. And I have to say that I was. It isn’t the greatest comedy ever but the vulgarity, references to technology and pop culture, and just the utter preposterousness of it all made it fun. But don’t tell that to the guy who started swearing and threw his cup at the screen when the movie was over. I think his expectations were a bit too high.

Corddry is clearly a man who likes to cuss. He just lets out vulgar cuss filled insults at people that are entertainingly crude. I know it is written in the script but you can see the glee in his eyes as every f-bomb falls. Robinson plays the same role he always does; the wise cracking cool black guy who is really kind of pathetic. Cusack does his usual wide eyed routine and makes everything about him when it is not. And Duke is the chunky nerd as always. But they make a fun group.

Crispin Glover is also thrown in there as the bell hop both in the present and the past. His character is secondary but important to the storyline and he is entertaining. Chevy Chase plays the time machine repairman. He is pretty funny but just seems kind of stuck in there. All the other characters in the movie kind of slip in and out and have no big part in the overall finished product. They include Lizzy Caplan as the love interest, Charlie McDermott as some tool and a bunch of other unknowns.

Unfortunately there are no Huey Lewis references in the movie but you do get leg warmers, jerry curls, walkmans, “Where’s the Beef?”, neon colours, drugs, pink lipstick, big hair, Red Dawn and Poison. Did I forget anything? Oh yeah, the Black Eyed Peas. Yes the band hat didn’t exist back then but I can’t tell you how they fit in you will have to watch the movie to find out. They just seem to be making their way into everything.

Anyways, Hot Tub Time Machine is alright. It is fun but you won’t bust a gut or anything. It doesn’t try too hard, it gives you just about what you would expect. It isn’t necessary to see this one in the theatre but it is good for a rental or vegging out or sobering up. Actually if you are drunk or high you might find this movie hilarious so it is totally recommended for the intoxicated.

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