Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's According to Adam

Let's be honest. When you go to see a movie with a title like "Hot Tub Time Machine", you know what kind of movie you're in for. It's not "Citizen Kane" or "The Godfather", but it's not supposed to be. It's supposed to make you laugh.

And, in that regard, "Hot Tub Time Machine" succeeded in every way.

The movie centers around three guys in their late 30s -- John Cusack as Adam, Rob Corddry and Lou and Craig Robinson as Nick -- and Adam's 20-year-old nephew Jacob. In the early scenes of the movie, we find out that each of the main characters has a life that sucks in some way: Adam's girlfriend just left him, Lou is an acoholic who accidentally tries to commit suicide, Nick's wife is cheating on him, and Jacob is basically every nerd stereotype rolled into one (he lives in the basement, spends all his time playing "Second Life" and has quite obviously never even spoken to a member of the opposite sex).

The collective failures of their lives lead the threesome (with Jacob tagging along) to head back to the ski lodge where they had their best days in high school. They arrive only to find out that the lodge, and the entire surrounding town, has gone completely downhill in recent years, to the point it's nearly dead. Even the hot tub outside their suite has a dead animal in it instead of water.

Well, a few pathetic hours later, the hot tub magically has water in it (again, try not to think to hard about how these things happen, because that's not the point of the movie), and they all get plastered in the hot tub. The next morning, they wake up, head out to the slopes, and eventually realize that somehow the hot tub has transported them back to Winterfest '86. 

Realizing what's happened (with a wink and a nod from Robinson, who actually says the title of the movie, then looks into the camera, in a moment you've probably seen in every commercial and trailer for the movie so far), they get a visit from a mysterious repairman (Chevy Chase) who warns them, mysteriously, not to change anything. 

This is where the movie kicks into hilarious overdrive. Jacob is obsessed with not changing anything, because he wants to make sure he's born (a nod to one of the best time travel movies of all-time, "Back to the Future"). Meanwhile, after Cusack's Adam decides he's not content with what happened in the past, the other characters follow his lead, setting out to change their screw-ups as well.

The plot progresses much as you'd expect, with funny encounters, character growth and over-the-top raunchiness. There were times when I was sitting in the theater worrying about how the movie was following too much of a formula, but as soon as I started to think that, there was another joke that had me laughing. Some of the '80s references are great -- making multiple references to "Karate Kid" with William Zabka right there on screen was phenomenal -- and the movie even hits all the nerdy time-travel tropes too. "The Terminator" is directly referenced, and "Back to the Future" and "Quantum Leap" are both hinted at. 

Cusack is clearly the lead of the movie, but from a comedic perspective, Corddry steals the show. His character is raunchy, disgusting and pretty much hilarious at all times. Robinson's character also has a scene-stealing "Back to the Future"-esque moment, when he performs a Black Eyed Peas song in 1986. Lizzy Caplan shows up as April, a love interest for Cusack's character, and while she drives the plot a little bit, I thought she was somewhat under-utilized. Oh, and guys, in case you're worried about a movie that spends so much time following four male characters, trust me, there's eye candy all around. 

I don't want to spoil the ending for you, but I'll admit it's not at all what I was expecting, especially how things were building up plot-wise in the last 15 minutes or so before the climax. 

I'm not the type who gives movies a "score", but I'll say this: this movie is absolutely worth seeing in a theater, just to enjoy laughing with a large group of people (and everyone in the theater I saw it with was laughing). 

If you want to attend a screening of "Hot Tub Time Machine", visit KickSomePast.com, or keep reading "Talk Nerdy To Me Lover" for details on a future screening hosted by our own @JenFriel.

For more nerdy content, be sure to visit AdamReisinger.com, or follow Adam on Twitter (@AdamReisinger)