Last summer there was a little comedy called The Hangover about some guys who partied with too much vigor and faced the ramifications the morning after. Their forays from the previous evening seemed documented by all Las Vegas, themselves excluded. Working on a similar premise, director Steve Pink brings us Hot Tub Time Machine. With some key differences, this latter film is actually the superior.
Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Craig Robinson), Lou (Rob Corddry), and Jacob (Clark Duke) are a group of friends each dealing with failure. Adam can’t keep a steady relationship. Nick isn’t the promising rock star he used to be. Lou is generally disturbed. While Jacob, though young, has fallen captive to electronic media. After Lou accidentally poisons himself with Trans Am vapor, the others decide it is time to pay the past a visit by going for a weekend getaway to their old ski lodge hangout.
By the hand of fate or luck they are placed in the same room they had back in 1986. They start the hot tub, kick back some booze and awake to find themselves in their own shoes, only 24 years ago. Bewildered at first, they decide to recreate every event as it happened so as to not change the future for the worse. It doesn’t take our protagonists long to realize that this could be their chance to fix their mistakes rather than allow them to occur.
I wasn’t familiar with most of the faces. Sure, we know Cusack, and many likely recall Corddry from The Daily Show and some small roles. Craig Robinson and Clark Duke eluded me despite impressive resumes. Oddly enough the weakest of the group is Cusack who doesn’t have many memorable scenes. That’s likely because Robinson and Corddry grabbed every last one of them. Whether it’s singing, fighting, or getting busy, these two volunteered for all the interesting activities. I was equally impressed by Robinson’s voice (he’s credited for performing the songs) as I was Corddy’s penchant for being an a-hole.
I wasn’t originally on board with the hot tub as a time machine, because… it sounds idiotic. That never changes; there is no good explanation for its existence. Later in the film and thanks to a cold war subplot where the ski patrol has taken Red Dawn to the extreme and outed our quartet like McCarthy, we learn of a thin explanation for the occurrence of the time travel. It’s a comedy so much can be forgiven if there is a laugh to be earned. Hot Tub Time Machine has those in spades. Not a minute went by without me at least snickering, the funniest movie of the year.
There are a few anachronisms. I’m something of an ‘80s aficionado so seeing a Rambo III poster on the wall of a film set in ‘86 did raise a flag. Though being true to its gross out humor throughout, I did feel there were times where the boundaries were crossed. Luckily the early excrement gag had me prepared. Halfway through the film a girl throws herself at Adam for no conceivable reason. Nick has no trouble hooking-up because he’s in a band. Still it would have made more sense for this to occur after the girl heard his Black Eyed Peas cover. So women aren’t shown in the best of light, but at every turn there is a man acting just as foolish.
Maybe I’m too much of a sucker for ‘80s nostalgia because I enjoyed the cameos and the in-jokes, which were keeping with the film and were seldom distractingly placed. It’s rude, crude, and crass, but it’s also hilarious and better than The Hangover despite sharing some common ground. Both involve intoxication, but at least Hot Tub Time Machine doesn’t give hesitant accounts from everyone at the resort. These guys are on a quest; they don’t wander around looking for clues to the elementary. Certainly not the thinking gent’s comedy, but likely the best the year has yet offered. ***½
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