“Hot Tub Time Machine”

MGM Pictures

Directed by Steve Pink

Starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover

Rated R

 

2 1/2 Stars       

 

  I giggled to myself the first time that I heard about “Hot Tub Time Machine,” thinking that even if the movie turned out to be a complete dud, at least it should get points for having a grin-inducing, supremely-silly title. I’m pleased to report that the movie is definitely not a dud, and while it’s certainly hit-and-miss with the comedy, there’s still a lot of goofy fun here.

The film follows the time-traveling misadventures of four guys (John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson and Clark Duke) who head off to a run-down ski resort where they hope to recapture the magic of their youth by reliving a ski-trip they took back in the 1980s. Their room has a hot tub, and as you should surmise from the film’s title, it’s also a time machine. After an alcohol-fueled night of partying, the quartet wakes up back in 1986, surrounded by people rocking outlandish fashions and listening to music that made me a little bit nostalgic for my own youth.

The four guys have to figure out how to get back to their present without disrupting the time/space continuum, but first, a detour though the 80s where our crazy quartet launches in to a series of pop-culture jokes and raunchy, expletive-filled misadventures. It all plays like “The Hangover” meets “Back to the Future” with a little bit of “Say Anything” mixed in because of Cusack’s involvement. “Hot Tub Time Machine” isn’t anywhere near as enjoyable as any of those films, but it gets credit for sheer energy and a non-stop barrage of jokes, some of which are quite funny (especially if you’re a potty-minded guy).

There are cool cameo performances, such as Chevy Chase playing a cryptic repairman (more enigmatic than funny) and Crispin Glover playing a one-armed bellhop (funniest part of the film), but the success of the movie rises and falls on the main acting quartet. Cusack doesn’t do much, but Corddry is wonderful as a 40-year-old man who’s an out-of-control booze and sex-hound. Robinson is also very funny, particularly when asked to give a dead-pan line reading.

As I said, the humor is hit-and-miss, and perhaps a little over reliant on the raunchy sex and scatological jokes, but it’s full of nostalgic cultural references, non-stop energy and over-the-top, silly fun. I’d say it’s a great, movie night getaway for those of us of a certain age, except that I think it would be more fun to watch this one on home DVD while out lounging in the hot tub.

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published bi-weekly in “The Port Arthur News” and weekly on KFDM-TV. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@kbcitv.com.