Hot Tub Time Machine is a movie that knows how ridiculous it is. As long as you know how ridiculous it’s going to be before you watch it, you should have fun.
It starts in 2010 when 3 estranged friends (and a nephew) come together to relive past glory days at a ski resort they remember from their youth. Needless to say, things are not as they remembered and they end up getting drunk in the hot-tub. Turns out the hot tub is **Spoiler Alert** “some kind of hot tub time machine” as Craig Robinson’s character says, breaking the fourth wall with the utmost in comedic timing; hilarity ensues.
To compare HTTM to Back to the Future is both unfair and completely accurate. Back to the Future is smarter and less self-indulgent than Hot Tub (certainly cleaner in it’s delivery…Hot Tub is gross just to be gross at times), but this flick is clearly an homage to the 80’s classic; and it even features George McFly (Crispin Glover) in a great cameo. The movie enlists a lot of the same elements that we saw 25 years ago in Back to the Future, but while it’s clear what film influenced it the most, Hot Tub actually pays homage to an entire genre; 80’s teen comedies.
What I liked most about the film is that, while it does make brief reference to the 80’s clichés we’ve been making fun of since the decade ended, it doesn’t dwell on them. Once the characters have their initial reactions to what’s happened, the film just becomes another comedy that happens to be set in the 80’s…the rest of the cliché’s become subtle sprinkles of comedy throughout a very funny film.
As for the actors involved, this isn’t the kind of movie John Cusack is most associated with today, but in the 80’s, teen comedies were his thing. Having him relive the decade in this film makes perfect sense to me, and I thought it was a clever touch. Plus it’s really fun to watch him be completely ridiculous as an adult, since he’s known for more serious fare these days…although one could argue he already hit ridiculous in the face with 2012…but, that’s another review.
The rest of the cast is great in their respective roles; which are all pretty much tailored to the personas we know them for: Craig Robinson plays the R-rated version of his character in The Office; meanwhile Rob Courdry is obnoxiously likeable as an obnoxiously likeable douchebag. The real scene stealer is Clark Duke (as Cusack’s nephew) he is the prototypical 2010 teenager who has to try and keep everything from falling apart, in a decade he has never known; and he just might be the most McFly of them all ;)
**3.5 Dented Bumpers**
Crash’s Film Rating Legend:
5 DB’s -- Freakinig Fantastic! (a rating that’s not easily attained, btw)
4–4.5 DB’s -- Great: It’s worth seeing again/owning.
3–3.5 DB’s -- Decent – Good (I’d watch it again on cable)
2-2.5 DB’s -- Meh; (possibly had potential, but I won’t watch it again)
1DB -- Awful; I want my money back
Anything less is not even worth downloading illegally.
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