Director: Steve Pink
Starring: John Cusack, Craig Robinson & Rob Corddry
An entertaining comedy that doesn’t quite live up to the ridiculousness that its title promises but is a fun enough film even for those not fond on 1980s nostalgia.
Having already collaborated together on the cult-favourite film Grosse Pointe Blank which also involved some heavy nods to the 1980s, actor John Cusack and director Steve Pink (previously the writer of Grosse Pointe Blank) reunite for another film that mixes 1980s nostalgia and comedy though is this time far more driven by jokes to the era that supported to them. While Hot Tub Time Machine is a fun film, it does not quite live up to the silliness of its title with its characters stuck on a fairy predictable arc of self-redemption but overall it has more successful laughs than unsuccessful ones.
Adam (Cusack), Lou (Corddry) and Nick (Robinson) are three old friends that are living lives that they hadn’t dreamed of when they were teens. Adam has been dumped by another girlfriend, Nick feels emasculated by his wife and Lou binges on alcohol and drugs. After Lou ends up in hospital following a drunken accident, the three friends reunite along with Adam’s teenage nephew Jacob (Clark Duke), to take Lou on a wild weekend skiing where they once went to as teens. After a drunken night in a strange hot tub that malfunctions through the night, the four friends awaken to find themselves back in the 1980s with Adam, Lou and Nick inhabiting their teenage selves. Thanks to the advice of a mysterious repairman (Chevy Chase), the friends realise they must make every effort not to alter the events that occurred at the risk of changing their future, or Jacob’s whole existence, but find the temptations of fixing past mistakes to avoid the futures they know to be unhappy could prove to be their undoing.
For Hot Tub Time Machine, there is much reliance on memories and nostalgia for the 1980s fuelling the film’s jokes and in generating enjoyment from the audience. Some of the 80s nostalgia comes from surprising directions such as the film being produced by United Artists whose logo at the start of the film recalls the 1980s where the studio had been riding high on successes before almost disappearing altogether through the 1990s and early 2000s following troubles with its parent studio MGM. There is humour derived from the fashions, music, TV shows and ideals of the era which are less surprising and generally less amusing and some casting choices like Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover generate some fun from their 1980s notoriety. However, the better jokes in Hot Tub Time Machine rely less on the 80s nostalgia and more on the interactions of its lead characters and of the actors. The dialogue veers from sharp and witty, to crude to cheesy and sometimes a combination of these but generally the script has enough enjoyable lines to make the film fun. The story however is less successful and almost wholly predictable and while at times this is fine, there are other moments where it undermines the humour such as revelations surrounding Jacob’s parentage. For a film though, whose central idea is that these friends were sent back in time by a hot tub, there is a lack of that same lunacy in the rest of the film.
Hot Tub Time Machine does find much of its humour from the performances and chemistry of most of its cast. John Cusack is enjoyable as Adam, with the same kind of weary cynicism that he brought to his roles in Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity though, while Cusack gets top billing and his is the lead role, Cusack is actually out performed by his co-star Craig Robinson who is thoroughly likeable as Nick and whose, often, deadpan delivery including the utterance of the film’s title explaining their situation, providing the most laughs. Clark Duke, as the group’s youngest member, might be present just to provide appeal to younger audiences but is nevertheless likeable in his anxiety over keeping his friends on track so as to guarantee he still gets born. Rob Corddry however, as fourth friend Lou, is less enjoyable and while his character is written as the loudest and most obnoxious, Corddry’s deliver is too OTT to enjoy at times and harms some attempts to find sympathy with the wonder over whether another actor such as Jeremy Piven (TV’s Entourage, Grosse Pointe Blank and friend of Cusack) might have achieved in the role. Female characters and actresses are underwritten and underserved and 80s names like Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover are enjoyable though more for the recognition their faces bring than for their performances.
Overall, Hot Tub Time Machine is an enjoyable, but average, comedy. There is some fun to be found in its 1980s humour and more to be found from its cast and their chemistry but the film’s story is sometimes too predictable at the expense of the fun and some performances like Corddry’s are less enjoyable than other cast members like Clarke or Robinson. Fun but not fantastic.
Rating: 3/5
