Rated: R Grade: B-
“Hot Tub Time Machine” follows the adventures of four characters, Adam played by John Cusack (Better Off Dead), Jacob played by Clarke Duke(Greek), Nick played by Craig Robinson(Pineapple Express), and Lou played by Rob Corddry( Taking Chances), four men who are dissatisfied with their adult lives. Adam, an insurance salesman, has just broken up with his girlfriend. Jacob spends his days playing Second Life and has forgotten how to actually live. Nick has given up on his dream of being a musician and Lou is a suicidal alcoholic. To cheer themselves up, they head back to a ski resort they used to party at when they were younger and find themselves drowning in the neon 80’s after getting into a magical hot tub. Together, they have to decide to either do things exactly as they did when they were young, or to completely change history and risk dealing with The Butterfly Effect.
“Hot Tub Time Machine’s” main failure really boils down to one character: Lou. Lou is a pathetically depressing, yet horrendously outrageous character. In comparison to Adam and Nick, he seems to be the odd man out. Nick and Adam both have careers, have been in steady relationships and are tired of being responsible adults. Lou drinks a lot, still parties around and hasn’t been in a steady relationship. He may be going bald, but it seems he never grew up and his only regret is not being an age where his behavior is still acceptable. Despite the fact that his character is the only reason the plot exists, he doesn’t seem to fit in with the other adult characters and throws off the chemistry of the group. Worse yet, his outrageous behavior is not even funny. Corddry seems to be trying too hard, like someone trying to swim for the first time, flailing about and making a splash but not really going anywhere. He actually has a lot of lines that, if delivered differently, could have been outlandishly funny. However, outlandish jokes are delivered flatly and subtle ones are delivered too bluntly. The film would have been at least a grade better if they had either cast Lou differently or eliminated his character all together.
Despite Corddry’s failure, John Cusack and Craig Robinson play their parts with the ease and expertise. John Cusack’s character is a man who recently lost his girlfriend and is unsatisfied with his life. This isn’t too far from his usual character: the bumbling hopeless romantic. Nick, is an easily excitable, and easy frustrated man. Robinson plays him well, using his tone of voice to get most of his emotion across rather than depending entirely on the script. Most of the laughs in the theater were a result of Robinson’s execution of his lines.
Sympathy vomiters, you probably want to skip this film, if only for the sake of the theater employees. There are many episodes of drinking just a little too much and thus lots of projectile vomiting. Overall, “Hot Tub Time Machine” was the epitome of mediocrity. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. It might be worth seeing if you are really bored and looking for one or two good one-liners. Otherwise, wait and rent it.