Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

Plot: When Adam (John Cusack) and Nick's (Craig Robinson) friend Lou (Rob Corddry) botches a suicide attempt, the three decide to take a weekend trip to their old stomping grounds, the Kodiak Valley Ski Resort, for some much needed R and R. Accompanied by Adam's nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) the four soon find themselves hurled back in time to 1986 by their hot tub. With only a day to play with, the group must decide whether to stay the course or change their futures for the better.

Review: Hot Tub Time Machine is a raunchy, often funny, sometimes annoying throwback to 80s comedies like Better Off Dead and Porky's. Despite a ludicrous plot and occasional hit or miss comedy, Hot Tub Time Machine manages to generate several hilarious moments and its fast pace leaves little room for downtime.

What makes Hot Tub Time Machine work as a comedy is the chemistry between its four main characters. Let's face it, if these four didn't have chemistry would this movie even be watchable? Probably not. Surprisingly Machine doesn't focus solely on Cusack's character Adam. Rather director Steve Pink makes the bold choice to balance each character's screen time. Each has his own particular set of demons to face, whether its Nick's failed music career and taking up inappropriate infidelity issues with his 9 year old future wife, Adam getting stabbed in the eye with a fork by his girlfriend, or Lou's memorable beat down.

Anyone who remembers the 80s will also appreciate director Steve Pink's numerous tips of the cap to classic films of the era. What's a time travel movie without Crispin Glover (also known as George McFly from Back to the Future) showing up? Phil (Glover) the bellboy and the fate of his arm proves to be one of the funnier running gags in Hot Tub Time Machine. And in another salute to raunchy 80s comedies, Machine contains the most disgusting gross-out scene since Jason Biggs banged an apple pie over ten years ago. I won't give it away but let's just say it involves Lou and Nick, a public men's room, and a bet gone horribly wrong. Part of the bet involves a cameo by actor William Zabka, who many of you may remember as Johnny from The Karate Kid and habitual 80s douchebag villain. Throw in leg warmers, cocaine, a Red Dawn obsessed anti-communist antagonist appropriately named Blaine (Sebastian Stan), and kick-ass 80s songs from artists like Rick Springfield, Motley Crue, and INXS, and you've got a recipe for hilarious 80s cheesiness.

Hot Tub Time Machine isn't always boiling over with laughs however. Rob Corddry while funny is WAY over the top. Writers Josh Heald, Jarrad Paul, and Sean Anders might have benefited by toning down Corddry's character a bit. Clark Duke is also fairly blase as Jacob. Too many times he was just there in the scenes and his "secret" relationship to Lou is very obvious early on. Also Chevy Chase is superfluous as the hot tub repair man. His scenes are useless and slowed down the film. His presence makes me wonder if someone owed him a favor.

Fortunately these are all minor quibbles that barely detract from the film's entertainment value. This isn't high brow comedy after all. (How could it be with a name like Hot Tub Time Machine?) But if you're a fan of 80s comedies like I am, Hot Tub Time Machine will definitely appeal to you. So fire up the Atari, grab your Rubic's Cube, sip some Tab and watch the laughs drop like David Hassellhoff's career.

My rating 8/10