Hot Tub Time Machine
After John Cusack and a friend go to the aid of a buddy when they try to commit suicide, they all go away to a mountain lodge for a fun weekend. When they fall into a magic hot tub they are soon shocked to see their reflections in the mirrors, with their crazy hairstyles and clothes, and realize they have traveled back in time to 1986.
I have never found John Cusack to be that funny an actor in comedies, or even that great in dramas, but in this film I have to say he is fair. Just from the title Hot Tub Time Machine, and with it being set in the 80s, you instantly know that the film will be filled with every corny joke and cliché under the sun, the majority of which aren’t even funny.
The film is lacking in well-known actors, and with no other strong comedian in a major role, it makes the characters in general less interesting. John Cusack stars as Adam, Craig Robinson as Nick, Rob Corddry as Lou and Clark Duke as Jacob, Adam’s nephew. The guys travel back to the ski lodge they stayed at in 1986, and as soon as they get the same room that they stayed in the film doesn’t bring the audiences any good jokes in its scenes, some of which even get a bit X-rated in some ways. There is only so far a line or situation can go before it is either too far-fetched, or just doesn’t make sense, and doesn’t fit in with the scene. Unfortunately in this film there are several of both of these clichés.
What I thought seemed so out of place was the scenario for older men acting like younger boys – in some ways that just came across as creepy! Only John Cusack as Adam looked like a decent character out of all the men.
I think audiences can no longer put up with guy comedies, and hopefully this will be the last of them, at least for a while. Comedies must have some longitivity to make it at today’s box office, and I don’t think I can see this one having long legs. It proves that studios should put serious thought into the script and the cast when making comedies, and that just because it has a major well-known actor like John Cusack doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have a decent script.
Director Steve Pink, who co-wrote the hits High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank that John Cusack starred in, tries to make the film half a gag fest (like the Farrelly Brothers films) and half like a caring friendship story. A running gag is the severe removal of Crispin Glover’s arm in an accident, which is both grim and loses its humor after the first scene. Overall, I would have to say skip this journey back to the 80s, and watch one of your favorite comedies from that era at home on DVD instead.
Hot Tub Time Machine • Dolby® Digital surround sound in select theatres • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 • Running Time: 100 minutes • MPAA Rating: R for strong crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive language. • Distributed by MGM