Hot Tub Time Machine

In Hot Tub Time Machine, Adam Yates (John Cusack), Lou Dorchen (Rob Corddry), and Nick Webber (Craig Robinson) are three people with a friendship between them on the downside due to life events and issues. To try to get the chemistry back between them, the three friends head up to Kodiak Valley Ski Resort, a favorite spot of the three friends during their teen years. Upon using a hob tub, the three friends and Adam's nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) travel back time to 1986 and must following the same events of that weekend to keep the future the same.

Sure, we can admit it's a very silly plot with likely some type of inspiration from Back to the Future there. Still, the film creates a very clear path to work. This is an excellent cast that all have chemistry and this includes somebody like Clark Duke playing a character who's given the least to do but is still very hard not to like. This is a plot that combines a hot tub and ski trip into one and the ski elements feel like it's going back to one of Cusack earlier roles in, Better Off Dead, a film with also a skiing plot. This is a comedy that knows it's  silly and that does not at all take itself too seriously.

Being that it is set in 1986, one of the main elements is obviously is the 80's and director, Steve Pink sure pays a lot of good homage to that era. From the music of Poison, Motley Crue and Men Without Hats to clothing design to even cell phones, this creates some very fun aspects to the film that ultimately goes a long way into making this film work. This all creates an audience for people that grew up in the 80's and people who were teenagers of this time much like the main characters of this film.

Hot Tub Time Machine got lost in the 2010 comedy films and became forgotten soon after it's release. The movie also doesn't really have a specific target audience. Still, Hot Tub Time Machine is a fun film and a good one if you are looking for really good laughs. This is a comedy that worked even though it shouldn't have.

4/5