HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (review)

MGM/United Artists
Rated R, 98 minutes
Produced by John Cusack, Grace Loh,
Matt Moore, Michael Nelson
Written by Josh Heald and Sean Anders
& John Morris
Based on a story by Josh Heald
Directed by Steve Pink
Starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry,
Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover,
Lizzy Caplan, Sebastian Stan, Chevy Chase, Collette Wolfe




For a movie with one of the more ridiculous titles in recent memory, Hot Tub Time Machine is a sentimental, raunchy nostalgia trip for both the characters and the audience.

The plot of the film is in the title itself.

Three friends have drifted apart and have settled into their lives with disappointment and apathy. Adam (Cusack) is a bitter, relationship challenged insurance salesman. Nick (Robinson) gave up his musical dreams and has taken his unfaithful wife's last name and works at a pet salon.

And then there's Lou (Corddry in a breakout performance), a complete failure who's possible suicide attempt has reunited the trio. Attempting to brighten his spirits, Nick and Adam decide to take Lou back to the ski resort of their youth, the location of their happiest memories. Joining them despite Lou's inherent hatred is Adam's nephew, Jacob (Duke), an underachiever who lives in Adam's basement as a virtual shut-in, spending his days serving hard time as a prisoner in Second-Life.

Upon their arrival the quartet discover that the resort town has transformed into a decrepit, bankrupt shell of it's former self.

Cue the movie magic.

A night of hard drinking and partying (and a spilled Chernobyly, the Russian Red Bull) transports the group to 1986, when the resort is thriving and their lives had momentum. With a knowledge of the space time continuum from pop culture, they decide to relive their past to avoid the butterfly effect, altering their timeline. It doesn't take long for them to start making attempts to prevent their miserable futures. Along the way they encounter past loves, a friendly bellhop (Glover) who is doomed to lose an arm in the future, and a mysterious hot tub repairman (Chase).

Hot Tub Time Machine is a testament to the immortality of youth, the power of friendship and the chance of redemption. It also is a love letter to the Eighties. With nods to everything from Red Dawn to Back to the Future to Sixteen Candles to Revenge of the Nerds to Better Off Dead. And although it has it's fair share of vulgarity, drugs, sex, and sometimes tasteless humor, the film succeeds because at it's core it has heart.

And Billy Zabka.