Director: Steve Pink
Starring: John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase
Running Time: 100 minutes (plus trailers)
“It’s the eighties…we had like Reagan and AIDS”
Given that I wasn’t welcomed into this world until towards the end of 1991, I was a little worried that some of the humour in Hot Tub Time Machine, a film about four guys who accidentally travel back in time to 1986 would end up going over my head. Sure I can appreciate a joke about Michael Jackson being black even if I don’t actually remember it, but were references to Synthpop and The Karate Kid really going to have much of an impact on an mp3-listening facebook-profile-updating post threat of communism educated individual such as myself? Thankfully, the humour in Hot Tub Time Machine is carried by the chemistry and comedic timing of its four leads, whose schlubby, selfish interactions reflect the kind of people and friendships that exist regardless of passing trends in music and fashion, and who would have made me laugh no matter what the time period.
As the sun dawns on the year 2010, we are introduced to three guys who are down on their luck. Adam (played by former 80s teen sensation John Cusack) has been dumped and robbed by his girlfriend right under the nose of his twenty-three year old video game obsessed nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) who lives in his basement. Nick (Craig Robinson), once a promising musician, is now stuck in a dead end job, too afraid to confront his wife about her ongoing extramarital affair. And finally there’s Lou, still boozing and drugging it up like he was in the prime of his youth, but whose obnoxious personality and incessant substance abuse has alienated him from all of his friends.
After an especially spectacular bender lands Lou in hospital, Nick and Adam decide the best way to protect him from himself is to head up to Kodiak Valley, the ski resort where the three of them once partied like it was 1986. So with Jacob in tow, they cram into a car and heap up the mountain, only to discover that, like them, Kodiak Valley has seen better days; the once raging party town is now a tourist wasteland. In a last ditch effort to keep themselves entertained, the foursome down a copious number of alcoholic beverages and stumble into the resorts mysterious glowing hot-tub. And it is at this point that their attempts to relieve their glory days really take off.
Hot Tub Time Machine hits all the plot-points you would expect a time-travel comedy to hit; Adam is given the chance to take another shot at “the girl who got away”, Lou finds himself up against an old rival, while Jacob is just trying to ensure his own conception. There’s also a scene in which the gang use knowledge of future sporting results to make a quick buck, a recurring gag centered a bellhop that we know is destined to lose him arms, as well as references a plenty to both eighties culture and modern events and technology that have the residents of ’86 scratching their heads. None of these concepts are especially groundbreaking, but the jokes still manage to land more often than not.
But despite the ridiculous premise of Hot Tub Time Machine, a lot of the best comedy comes from the minor, free-flowing interactions between the main characters, whose petty squabbling and bitching feels far more genuine and believable than the large than life antics of the boys from last year’s breakout comedy smash The Hangover. As the central “asshole” character, Rob Corddry as Lou probably gets the most outlandish laugh out loud moments, but Cusack, Robinson and Duke are all equally entertaining in my opinion, and their arguments reminded me of some of my own friendships (which is akin to saying that if you’ve ever had a conversation with a mate that descended into “you’re gay”. “No, you’re gay”, then this movie is probably for you).
The movie also features a great soundtrack of 80s hits, plenty of gross-out gags as well as a healthy dose of self referential humour via Chevy Chases’ appearance as the all-knowing hot-tub repair man and Craig Robinsons utterance of the film’s title directly into the camera (which was hands down my favourite part of the movie). Comedy is probably the most subjective genre and so I always find it the most difficult to critique – this is undoubtedly a very immature film. But like I said; I was born less than nineteen years ago, so I guess I’m pretty immature too. And this movie and its outstanding cast made me laugh more consistently than I have in the theatre for quite some time.
Hot Tub Time Machine is in cinemas now
Starring: John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase
Running Time: 100 minutes (plus trailers)
“It’s the eighties…we had like Reagan and AIDS”
Given that I wasn’t welcomed into this world until towards the end of 1991, I was a little worried that some of the humour in Hot Tub Time Machine, a film about four guys who accidentally travel back in time to 1986 would end up going over my head. Sure I can appreciate a joke about Michael Jackson being black even if I don’t actually remember it, but were references to Synthpop and The Karate Kid really going to have much of an impact on an mp3-listening facebook-profile-updating post threat of communism educated individual such as myself? Thankfully, the humour in Hot Tub Time Machine is carried by the chemistry and comedic timing of its four leads, whose schlubby, selfish interactions reflect the kind of people and friendships that exist regardless of passing trends in music and fashion, and who would have made me laugh no matter what the time period.As the sun dawns on the year 2010, we are introduced to three guys who are down on their luck. Adam (played by former 80s teen sensation John Cusack) has been dumped and robbed by his girlfriend right under the nose of his twenty-three year old video game obsessed nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) who lives in his basement. Nick (Craig Robinson), once a promising musician, is now stuck in a dead end job, too afraid to confront his wife about her ongoing extramarital affair. And finally there’s Lou, still boozing and drugging it up like he was in the prime of his youth, but whose obnoxious personality and incessant substance abuse has alienated him from all of his friends.After an especially spectacular bender lands Lou in hospital, Nick and Adam decide the best way to protect him from himself is to head up to Kodiak Valley, the ski resort where the three of them once partied like it was 1986. So with Jacob in tow, they cram into a car and heap up the mountain, only to discover that, like them, Kodiak Valley has seen better days; the once raging party town is now a tourist wasteland. In a last ditch effort to keep themselves entertained, the foursome down a copious number of alcoholic beverages and stumble into the resorts mysterious glowing hot-tub. And it is at this point that their attempts to relieve their glory days really take off.
Hot Tub Time Machine hits all the plot-points you would expect a time-travel comedy to hit; Adam is given the chance to take another shot at “the girl who got away”, Lou finds himself up against an old rival, while Jacob is just trying to ensure his own conception. There’s also a scene in which the gang use knowledge of future sporting results to make a quick buck, a recurring gag centered a bellhop that we know is destined to lose him arms, as well as references a plenty to both eighties culture and modern events and technology that have the residents of ’86 scratching their heads. None of these concepts are especially groundbreaking, but the jokes still manage to land more often than not.But despite the ridiculous premise of Hot Tub Time Machine, a lot of the best comedy comes from the minor, free-flowing interactions between the main characters, whose petty squabbling and bitching feels far more genuine and believable than the large than life antics of the boys from last year’s breakout comedy smash The Hangover. As the central “asshole” character, Rob Corddry as Lou probably gets the most outlandish laugh out loud moments, but Cusack, Robinson and Duke are all equally entertaining in my opinion, and their arguments reminded me of some of my own friendships (which is akin to saying that if you’ve ever had a conversation with a mate that descended into “you’re gay”. “No, you’re gay”, then this movie is probably for you).
The movie also features a great soundtrack of 80s hits, plenty of gross-out gags as well as a healthy dose of self referential humour via Chevy Chases’ appearance as the all-knowing hot-tub repair man and Craig Robinsons utterance of the film’s title directly into the camera (which was hands down my favourite part of the movie). Comedy is probably the most subjective genre and so I always find it the most difficult to critique – this is undoubtedly a very immature film. But like I said; I was born less than nineteen years ago, so I guess I’m pretty immature too. And this movie and its outstanding cast made me laugh more consistently than I have in the theatre for quite some time.
Hot Tub Time Machine is in cinemas now
