Hot Tub Time Machine

By my good friend and avid movie reviewer: Michelle Welker Scott

Maybe the only thing more fun than a parody of angst-ridden teenagers who struggle with their adolescent insecurities is a parody of angst-ridden, middle-aged adults who struggle with their mid-life crises. Combine those these two in the same movie and you get Hot Tub Time Machine.

Just reading the title of the movie pretty much gives the plot away. Three middle-aged men and one post-adolescent boy take a trip to a mountain ski resort in order to escape their miserable lives. During the trip, the four of them inadvertently get into a hot tub that takes them back in time to in 1986. Hilarity ensues.

Okay, so it’s not Tender Mercies. But it is, surprisingly, funny.
Reminiscent of those rollicking party movies like Animal House and Porky’s, Hot Tub Time Machine is full of stupid, tasteless humor. But it’s humor with unexpected appeal.

For starters, there’s always something hilarious about the 80’s; with its Kid ‘n Play hairstyles and Miami Vice fashion sensibilities, it’s a decade that’s just begging to be mocked. Additionally, actor and producer John Cusak lampoons his own early career in such movies as Better Off Dead and Tapeheads, by playing the same kind of earnest, lovable everyman (er, boy) that made him a heart-throb nearly three decades ago. Crispin Glover puts in an appearance as well, playing the straight man against a very funny running gag. And Craig Robinson (who plays the character Darryl Philbin in the TV show, The Office) holds his own as the wannabe musical star cum doggie athletic trainer.

Be warned, however. Hot Tub Time Machine is rated ‘R’ for good reason. It’s crude, offensive and vulgar. There are jokes about drugs, alcohol, vomit and – of course – sex. Viewers who are offended by foul language or nudity should not even venture in the door.

But despite its crassness, obscenity and utter lack of a moral message, Hot Tub Time Machine is a very funny movie.