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Friday, March 26, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
Hot Tub Time Machine
And We'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun
Till A Chevy Takes The Hot Tub Away
Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, John Cusack and Rob Corddry in "Hot Tub Time
Machine", directed by Steve Pink.
MGM/UA
By
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
FOLLOW
Friday, March 26, 2010
Hot, scandalous and incorrect, Steve Pink's stark-raving riotous "Hot Tube Time
Machine" will have you in stitches. The film is clever, cheeky and
outrageous. Mr. Pink's smart comedy caper follows the misfortunes of four men
in 2010 who jump into a hot tub, drink, drink, drink and -- voila! -- are transported back to 1986.
The quartet emulate "Back To The Future" type know-how, but what distinguishes
this new film from Mr. Zemeckis' adventure are the comedic twists and wink-wink
savvy of its characters and screenplay, written by Josh Heald (based on his
story), Sean Anders and John Morris. The film's fluid comic energy almost
never stops. There's a story here too and satire that makes "Hot Tub" --
a venerable look at 1980s fixtures, clichés, buzz-words and styles -- a
better-than-admirable effort.
Perfectly cast, John Cusack, himself an 80s staple ("Hot Tub" nudges the actor's
"Say Anything"), plays straight man to the three other never-grow-old
men. Mr. Cusack is Adam, who harbors a fear or two. Craig Robinson
is Nick, who has a complex about the woman in his life. Mr. Robinson is
notable here. Clark Duke is the video-game obsessed Jacob, and Rob Corddry,
a memorable cut-up as Lou, goes all-out to entertain. All four have
a rhythm and comic timing that exudes the kind of silliness, frantic folly and
nervous energy seen in films like "Animal House" and "Porky's", both of which
"Hot Tub" strives to emulate.
There are at least two women in Mr. Pink's film who make sense and aren't foolish, even for the 1980s of this 2010 film. Now there's
progress! Of course there are many male and female characters who parade
vacuity, but the spirit of "Hot Tub Time Machine" is hardly mean.
It's marathon maniacal.
A comic punch-line that rivets and keeps us howling is the matter of one hotel
employee (Crispin Glover). The film sustains the character's circumstances
both effortlessly and hilariously, and it's a tribute to the actors involved and
the film's writers for plunging in head-long and digging as deep as they can
unabashed, plowing right through any STOP or DANGER signs.
Watching "Hot Tub Time Machine", which exudes juvenile joy and flashes a Terrell
Davis-like salute to a decade that's easily lampooned in the movies, you sense
that the film's creators feel like living there all over again, right now.
Where other similar movies flounder, this one succeeds in producing the flavors
of the 1980s and mixing the ingredients of 2010 for a cocktail of comedy,
crude and chaotic.
You can picture it: high-top fades, big hair, leg-warmers, synthesized music. Why the heck
not? At least for two hours. You won't be sorry. But you will
be laughing.
With: Lizzy Caplan, Sebastian Stan, Lyndsy Fonseca, Chevy Chase, Charlie
McDermott, Collette Wolfe, Crystal Lowe, Kellee Stewart, Julia Maxwell, Geoff
Gustafson, Rob LaBelle, Jessica Paré, Jacob Blair.
"Hot Tub Time Machine" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for strong
crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive language. The film's
running time is one hour and 50 minutes.
FOLLOW
Unscripted review of "Hot Tub Time Machine":
Read more movie reviews and stories from Omar
here.
Read Omar's "Far-Flung Correspondent" reports for America's pre-eminent Film
Critic Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times -
here
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