Hot Tub Time Machine

How can anyone screw this up? We have a hot tub. We have a time machine. We have 80’s classic music (and big hair). What went wrong?

Life hasn’t quite worked out for buddies Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Craig Robinson) and Lou (Rob Corddry). Adam is suffering through a break up with his girlfriend. Nick has never become the musical superstar he dreamed of, and Lou doesn’t have anybody or anything.

After an emergency, Adam and Nick decide they need to do something to help Lou snap out of his troubles, so they head off to the same ski resort where they partied like rock stars during the 1980’s. Of course, the place, like the guys, isn’t what it used to be, but they try to make the best of it. During their wild night of debauchery, a strange series of events leads them to be sent back in time to 1986 and to the night that changed their lives forever.

Will Adam, Lou and Nick be able to do exactly what they did in 1986 to avoid screwing up the future?

Do they want to change a few things to make life better?

How did this happen?

Hot Tub Time Machine is best when it embraces its ridiculousness and pokes fun at all of those 80’s styles and music we love, but director Steve Pink is more concerned with grossing out the audience rather than making them laugh. It comes off as a half-baked idea instead of one brought to a full boil. Was it rushed through production? Would it have killed them to spend another month working the script to raise it to brilliant level instead of desperate level?

Writers Josh Heald, Sean Anders and John Morris haven’t met a filthy joke they didn’t love. Whenever in doubt, they pass over smart and funny and witty to go for the vomit, drug or sex joke (it’s kinda difficult to eat popcorn when you see some of this stuff on the screen). Sure, some of it is funny, but they lose the shock value by continually trying to shock every 5 minutes. Are they auditioning to get writing gigs at Maxim?

Everyone is trying too hard to be outrageous and miss out on exploiting the campy aspect of the whole situation. Some of the best moments in Hot Tub Time Machine are when the characters acknowledge the silliness of it all. This wink and a nod to the audience is endearing in ways a kick to the crotch cannot be.

Worst of all, they don’t try hard enough to make this group of guys likable enough. In between all of the sickness, the writing team and Pink forget to insert some soul. They aren’t required to do so, but they do make some halfhearted attempts to garner the audience’s sympathy as each guy has some troubles in life, love and friendship. However, none of it is explored enough to make a difference, so drop it or do it better.

Some will go to Hot Tub Time Machine, laugh, and figure it must be good if they laughed, but a good movie is more than a few jokes that made you giggle.

Hot Tub Time Machine is rated R for strong crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive language.