Hot Tub Time Machine
March. 26,2010 RFour pals are stuck in a rut in adulthood: Adam has just been dumped, Lou is a hopeless party animal, Craig is a henpecked husband, and Jacob does nothing but play video games in his basement. But they get a chance to brighten their future by changing their past after a night of heavy drinking in a ski-resort hot tub results in their waking up in 1986.
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Reviews
Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
If you're expecting to see Howards End, Schindler's List or anything else serious, you need to go back and slap your high school English teacher. Hot Tub Time Machine promises to be ridiculous and it makes good on that promise.This show has a great cast, awesome tunes, wonderful eye candy, naked eye candy, some FX AND yes, the 80's were that hilariously awful.Kick back, get wasted and just enjoy this for what it is - juvenile nostalgia. This is a solid flick and is watchable every 2 - 3 years.
Considering the state of Hollywood comedies in this day and age, saying that any comedic effort is "decent" is a pretty, well, decent achievement. While no instant classic, "Hot Tube Time Machine" is most definitely watchable if you are in the mood for something a little different.For a basic plot summary, this movie sees four pals (John Cusack, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry) transported to the 1980s (via a hot tub). While in that decade as their younger selves, the four compadres must both figure out a way back home and navigate the long-ago culture & atmosphere.The most important part of this review is to say that "Hot Tub" does indeed have a tangible plot...separating it from most current comedies. It isn't just random stoner scenes or all-out raunch. It is sexually-charged and chock full of profanity, but those elements don't completely obscure a coherent structure and even a few dramatic moments.Besides the period gags, which are usually hilarious, what really makes this movie funny is the acting of those four leading men. Craig Robinson (Daryl of "The Office" fame) nearly steals the show, while Duke & Robinson also shine in their respective roles. Cusack, playing the "straight man", is just okay. Overall, though, the acting is a cut above most idiot comedies.Overall, "Hot Tub Time Machine" is indeed a watchable comedy adventure that will make you chuckle at both the circumstances and the characters. How many other comedies can you say that about?
Excellent comedy. Original plot, though can look derivative. The beauty is that, just when you think it is going to do something predictable, it doesn't. Even its unpredictability isn't predictable! Screamingly funny. Edgy, cool dialogue. Great performances all round. Rob Corrdry and Craig Robinson are particularly good, in an over-the- top sort of way. John Cusack gives his usual solid self-reflective, thoughtful performance.An unhyped, understated gem.
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010): Dir: Steve Pink / Cast: John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase: We all dwell on our errors and we sometimes live in past times. Steve Pink's film regards yesteryear as four friends are washed away to 1986 via resort hot tub. There is John Cusack playing a lout whose girlfriend just left him and his nephew lives in his basement. Craig Robinson works as an animal vet and remains a victim to his wife's demands. Clark Duke plays Cusack's nephew who is forever glued to a computer screen. Rob Corddry plays an alcoholic who ends up in the hospital on a suicide suspicion. They all trek to finer times but the resort is mostly run down. An ominous hot tub transports them back in time where they have the opportunity to improve mistakes. Director Steve Pink previously made the idiotic Accepted. Here he branches with ideas and bathroom humour. Cusack tries to deal with a girlfriend who stabbed him in the head with a fork at this date. Robinson makes a nasty phone call to his future wife who is only a girl. Corddry depressed and must face off with the bullies who beat him up. Clark Duke is slowly fading with the realization that he wasn't born yet. Unfortunately Chevy Chase is underused as the hot tub repairman / Father Time figure. This was a golden opportunity for chase to shine again and he is largely placed in the background. How the time machine works isn't explained but some of the results are changed for the better. What it doesn't figure on is that dwelling on failures isn't progressive. Improving yourself in spite of failure is what makes time well spent. Score: 7 ½ / 10