Hot Tub Time Machine (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
'Hot Tub Time Machine' (directed by Steve Pink) follows 4 male friends who've become bored with their stagnant lives. Upon vacationing in Colorado, they enter a time-bending hot tub and are transported back to 1986; hence the title of the film. I didn't much like last year's hit The Hangover, but Back to the Future is one of my favorite films of all time. This film tries to fuse both of those hits. And so, because of my general dislike of the former, & my absolute love of the latter, I found this film to be, aptly, a mixed bag. The 1st 15 min. of the movie takes the time to introduce us to our 4 miserable, unfulfilled dudes. Adam (John Cusack, never one of my faves), an insurance salesman, has just gone through a break-up & finds himself sharing his house with his lowly 20 yr. old nephew, Jacob (Clark Duke). He is of my generation, aka, lives on the computer - playing video games.
Nick (a funny Craig Robinson) is a failed musician who works at a pet shop & suspects that his wife is cheating on him. And the hyperactive Lou (played with manic fun by Rob Corddry), has recently attempted suicide - prompting his friends (who haven't all kept in touch) to initiate this Colorado vacation. They all need it. And perhaps they can repair their splintered friendships. So off they go to a run-down party town & a run-down ski lodge. This was their hangout in 1986; and it was a jumpin' place to be at. But time marched on. Dejected by the condition of the lodge, the foursome decide to get drunk, take a soak in the hot tub outside their room, and without divulging the 'reason' for the time travel component (it doesn't matter much) ... they are taken back to their youth; a youth where sex-with-a-stranger was rampant, Reagan was the Prez, Alf won on TV, neon-colored clothing was in, big hair was everywhere, & the music was pure cheese.
Looking as they did in their late teens, Adam, Nick & Lou must repeat their actions of the same night they were transported back to return to 2010 (as told to them by a hot tub repairman played by, of all people, Chevy Chase, ha!). If they don't execute the night exactly how it first happened (a painful break-up, a concert gone wrong, & a brawl involving Lou), then the time line continuum would be changed (for them) forever, including Jacob never being born. But can these guys stay on the straight & narrow? Perhaps they should alter their past to change their depressing future. Chaos ensues.
You know, 'HTTM' is not a good movie. But it is so UNRELENTING in its manic energy that the movie simply beat me into submission, haha. As if to say, 'Ok, Ok, Ok, you got me, you got me'. That's the best way I can describe this movie to you. The characters are bigger than life, the scenarios are bigger than life, the music never stops, the jokes never stop (while some 'hit' hard, most of them 'miss'), there's slutty women around every corner, tons of sex, profanities, pratfalls, crude humor, 1980's cliches and on & on & on & on it goes. There's no let-up. And like I said ... it's ALL hit & miss. It was cool seeing Lizzy Caplan in a minor role; as well as seeing Chevy Chase & Crispin Glover (two 1980's staples). But what those guys are given to do is pretty tangential to the main story. 'HTTM' also doesn't qualify as a good movie because of its fundamentally episodic structure. It's as if 3 episodes of a TV show were filmed back to back & strung together.
I think that this film will be hit & miss with audiences, as well. I saw it with my 58 yr. old dad who hated it, but he also hated The Hangover. My 54 yr. old uncle loved The Hangover and can't wait to see 'HTTM'. I know guys in their 20s & 30s who loved this. And I know a few of 'em who hated it. Eventually, it will show up on cable TV & may become a cult classic; that's my prediction for right now. The time travel stuff is pretty simpleminded. The 80's shtick is fun at first; but dissipates near the end. Overall, it was fun to see these guys stumbling through one night in 1986 to right some wrongs without screwing up the future. But while I laughed out loud several times, & I liked some characters ... there isn't enough originality in the script or consistently outrageous humor to fully enjoy the film.
Nick (a funny Craig Robinson) is a failed musician who works at a pet shop & suspects that his wife is cheating on him. And the hyperactive Lou (played with manic fun by Rob Corddry), has recently attempted suicide - prompting his friends (who haven't all kept in touch) to initiate this Colorado vacation. They all need it. And perhaps they can repair their splintered friendships. So off they go to a run-down party town & a run-down ski lodge. This was their hangout in 1986; and it was a jumpin' place to be at. But time marched on. Dejected by the condition of the lodge, the foursome decide to get drunk, take a soak in the hot tub outside their room, and without divulging the 'reason' for the time travel component (it doesn't matter much) ... they are taken back to their youth; a youth where sex-with-a-stranger was rampant, Reagan was the Prez, Alf won on TV, neon-colored clothing was in, big hair was everywhere, & the music was pure cheese.
Looking as they did in their late teens, Adam, Nick & Lou must repeat their actions of the same night they were transported back to return to 2010 (as told to them by a hot tub repairman played by, of all people, Chevy Chase, ha!). If they don't execute the night exactly how it first happened (a painful break-up, a concert gone wrong, & a brawl involving Lou), then the time line continuum would be changed (for them) forever, including Jacob never being born. But can these guys stay on the straight & narrow? Perhaps they should alter their past to change their depressing future. Chaos ensues.
You know, 'HTTM' is not a good movie. But it is so UNRELENTING in its manic energy that the movie simply beat me into submission, haha. As if to say, 'Ok, Ok, Ok, you got me, you got me'. That's the best way I can describe this movie to you. The characters are bigger than life, the scenarios are bigger than life, the music never stops, the jokes never stop (while some 'hit' hard, most of them 'miss'), there's slutty women around every corner, tons of sex, profanities, pratfalls, crude humor, 1980's cliches and on & on & on & on it goes. There's no let-up. And like I said ... it's ALL hit & miss. It was cool seeing Lizzy Caplan in a minor role; as well as seeing Chevy Chase & Crispin Glover (two 1980's staples). But what those guys are given to do is pretty tangential to the main story. 'HTTM' also doesn't qualify as a good movie because of its fundamentally episodic structure. It's as if 3 episodes of a TV show were filmed back to back & strung together.
I think that this film will be hit & miss with audiences, as well. I saw it with my 58 yr. old dad who hated it, but he also hated The Hangover. My 54 yr. old uncle loved The Hangover and can't wait to see 'HTTM'. I know guys in their 20s & 30s who loved this. And I know a few of 'em who hated it. Eventually, it will show up on cable TV & may become a cult classic; that's my prediction for right now. The time travel stuff is pretty simpleminded. The 80's shtick is fun at first; but dissipates near the end. Overall, it was fun to see these guys stumbling through one night in 1986 to right some wrongs without screwing up the future. But while I laughed out loud several times, & I liked some characters ... there isn't enough originality in the script or consistently outrageous humor to fully enjoy the film.