Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

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?

There have been many movies, like Back to the Future or Peggy Sue Got Married, that let the protagonists travel back in time and played with the concept of how their actions could reshape the future. None of them care less about any of that than Hot Tub Time Machine, which really just wants to be a 1980s John Cusack comedy and pretty much manages it.After somehow traveling back in time through hot tubbing, three old friends and one kid born in the '80s confuse people by talking about stuff like email. A cryptic hot tub repairman mutters something that suggests they must relive the day exactly as they did before, but things, unsurprisingly, don't go as planned.All of this is just an excuse for silly gags. The youngster meets his party-girl mom. A character who in the future has one arm goes through a series of misadventures that *almost* result in its loss.Sure, there's some talk about life decisions and some touches on the concept of fate, but that's just because that's what you'd expect of a movie like this. It's all about the gags, and with a first rate cast, those gags are often very funny.If you're looking for a movie that makes sense, or has a point, or cares about the space-time continuum, this is not your movie. If you want sex jokes and 80s styles, check it out.

So, apparently in Mother Russia they lace their energy drinks with nuclear waste. Which in turn, when mixed with a hot tub, allows you to travel back in time. Sounds plausible to me!Yeah, this movie is more bothered with keeping it cool than keeping it in any way realistic. And, for the most part, that over the top goofiness really works in the film's favour. The situation itself is easily the best part of the whole film. Three hapless middle-age dudes – plus a tag-along – get transported into their glory days, but quickly find that the past, when viewed though the eyes of an adult, is not quite as glorious as they remember. Kind of like Groundhog Day, but as a teenage stoner comedy.What really keeps this movie from being more enjoyable to me are unfortunately the characters. The actors are fine, but the characters they portray are too straight in their clichnédness. There's the poor husband, the wimpy husband, the never-grow-up, the nerd, all of them more stereotypical than the other. And while the movie gets a lot of mileage out of them, and the ending is especially fulfilling because of it, the fact remains that they're not all that interesting and all the jokes at their expense are rather predictable.Still, it's a fun movie. Definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a comedy with an imaginative setting.

The film is a tribute to the era of the eighties, possessing great musical references, pop culture, political incorrectness and general visual experience of the decade. The type of humor that runs through here can be called a "Chatty" humor. It is based on derogatory language, constant insults between the characters. Currently the most common style of comedies in Hollywood. The cast was great and funny. "Hot Tub Time Machine" definitely not perfect, but it is entertaining and gives us a good laugh. The film is generally fun and easy to follow, contains a lot of good humor. Worth watching for pure entertainment.