By There’s really no reason Hot Tub Time Machine should be a good movie. From the description alone, it would normally pass for some kind of straight to DVD, National Lampoon branded crap. With such a high concept farce of a story, a film like this has little leeway in the humor department. A few bad jokes and this movie turns from ‘hilarious’ to outright ‘stupid.’ But somehow, seemingly through sheer force of will, this movie actually brings the goods.
There’s really no reason Hot Tub Time Machine should be a good movie. From the description alone, it would normally pass for some kind of straight to DVD, National Lampoon branded crap. With such a high concept farce of a story, a film like this has little leeway in the humor department. A few bad jokes and this movie turns from ‘hilarious’ to outright ‘stupid.’ But somehow, seemingly through sheer force of will, this movie actually brings the goods.{{page_break}}
A great deal of that is due to spot-on acting. Clark Duke and Craig Robinson put in great character performances, using their tried and true styles of delivery to great effect. Hell, even the straight-up-the-middle job by John Cusack gets a few solid laughs. But, by far and away, the show is stolen by Rob Corddry. With nonstop delivery and a deeply unhinged psyche, Corddry puts in one of the funniest performances of his career. Although usually placed in more restrained roles, Corddry was allowed to take his character to a maniacally enjoyable level for Tub.
To say that Hot Tub Time Machine’s tone is not self aware, would be to ignore the title Hot Tub Time Machine itself. In a sense, the film has distilled down the terrible essence and aesthetic of 80’s film and reproduced it through the lens of our lives today. Everything from the wardrobe to the storyline is influenced by the ski race-addled decade. Sure, there are a few jabs about the problems caused by our current modern technology, but more than anything it feels like a strong criticism of the film industry for ever producing such a ridiculous genre in the first place.
And that’s not to mention how enjoyable the world of the film is in the first place. Set design and wardrobe are impeccably handled with an eye toward detail. Secondary characters are full of a good mix of stereotypes and complexity. The soundtrack completes the setting and keeps the zeitgeist of the time accessible to even the most unfamiliar viewer.
The film has an aesthetic that is familiar yet hard to master. Movies like Eurotrip and Sex Drive (which just so happens to share the same writer as this film) come to mind as similar experiments in the genre. Somehow striking the balance between ridiculous and believable, Hot Tub Time Machine creates the type of film that has high replayability and drunken get together value. To put it simply, it is a film that accomplishes nearly everything it sets out to do. It knows the tone, scope, and content that such a preposterous story should have and executes on this almost perfectly. For anyone with a funny bone geared toward the ridiculous, Hot Tub Time Machine will work perfectly as late night entertainment.
Overall Score: 7.40 – Good. (7s are good, but not great. These films often have a stereotypical plot or are great movies that have a few minor flaws. Fans of this movie’s genre might love it, but others will still enjoy seeing it in theaters.)
Toby Jones: 6.25 – Okay. For me, Hot Tub Time Machine exemplifies "guilty pleasure". It's a big studio product filled with childish scatological humor, sexism, and homophobia, and yet I couldn't help but enjoy myself. I attribute this to its light-hearted nature, something that many other male-centric adult comedies these days (most notably The Hangover) utterly lack. It's not nearly good enough to be worth buying or renting, but you and a few friends may want to give it a whirl if it hits Netflix Instant Watch and you're looking for some easy laughs.