Friday, April 23, 2010

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE

“HOT TUB TIME MACHINE” (John Cusack & friends)

Forget the title – I wasn’t too keen on seeing it myself because of it – but this is a fairly funny film where the title, though accurately portraying the plot, doesn’t do it justice. I would call it a low-rent ‘The Hangover’.
First off, it scored a 24 on my laugh-o-meter. ‘Date Night’ scored a 16 but received 5 of those points during the blooper reel at the end.
Adam (John Cusack) Nick (Craig Robinson) & Lou (Rob Corddry) are three 40-something buddies who are having relationship problems, so they decide to go to the ski lodge where they had their most treasured memories from the past.
Tagging along is Adam’s nephew, Jacob (Clark Duke) who lives in Adam’s basement and rarely leaves it.
Rob Corddry’s Lou is a disgusting a—hole, practically every thing he says & does makes you wonder why anyone would stay friends with him. It takes a l-o-n-g time but once you get used to his vulgarity, he kind of grows on you.

A Russian energy drink gets spilled on the hot tub controls & the 4 losers are sent back in time to the 80’s – where the music & clothes are hard to take, but the chicks are hot ‘n’ easy, including Adam’s sister, Kelly (Collette Wolfe) the nerdy kid’s mother.
Once they realize they’ve gone back in time, they are very mindful of the time/space continuum & agree to do the same things they did the first time around; but even the smallest of details can change the future & a scene involving a rogue squirrel comes back to haunt Corddry. Although the result is historically inaccurate, it does lead to a very funny scene between Lou & Nick in the men’s room.
Crispin Glover as a one-armed bell hop is a running gag that they milk way too often, & Chevy Chase as the mysterious repair man is pretty much like most Chevy Chase cameos... not all that funny.
But despite the title & the ‘toilet’ humor, the film does have a certain amount of charm – Credit Cusack for bringing a touch of class to the ensemble. Though the film definitely has its skid marks – Nick introducing ‘rap’ to the big haired band fans of the era is definitely a low-lite - but overall, I found myself being entertained by ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’.

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