Hot Tub Time Machine takes us back

Back in the 80's, when I was just a mere prepubescent boy waiting for his balls to finally drop, there were two John Cusack vehicles that I would take for spin over and over again in my VCR. One was The Sure Thing, which my old man had bought at the local Citgo for some reason and the other one was Better Off Dead he cult classic that still has people yelling "I want my two Dollars". Back then, Cusack was the reigning king of the quirky teen comedies, and even when he took a decided more dramatic turn in "Say Anything" his everymanboyishness still resonated. But, alas, John could not be in high school and college forever, and soon he had to move on to more grownup things like Being John Malkovich and 2012: the RV odyssey.

God, don't you miss the 80's?  While even if you don't, it is still fun to reminisce about the decade that brought us Music Videos, Hair Bands, Cable. Reagan, and New Coke. Okay, so Music Videos, Hair Bands, Cable, and Reagan, were around before then, but hey, at least there is still New Coke right? New Coke and a young John Cusack.

Ok, enough  with me waxing nostalgic, let me get back to my review of Hot Tub Time Machine.

So, thanks to my awesomeness at rock, paper, scissors, I got to pick which Netflix Movie we were going to watch that day. My pick was none other than Hot Tub Time machine starring John Cusack, Rob Cordry, and that black guy front the Office (oh, okay, I will go look it up: Craig Robinson). I had heard that was funny, but my girlfriend was not convinced and wanted  to watch The Talented Mr. Ripley instead. However, since my rock totally crushed her scissors, she was going to have to wait.

So, in went the Blu Ray and out came this gem of a raunchy comedy.

So here is the synopsis: Three forty something friends and one nephew decide go on a ski trip, find themselves in a hot tub which thanks to some wiring mishaps is actually a wormhole into their past. Soon, they find themselves stuck in 1985, during Winterfest, not knowing how the fuck to get back to the present, or even if they want to. While, I am no Stephen Hawking, I am pretty sure that the physics on hot tub time travel are pretty sound. I mean who knows what the hell goes on with those things. So anyways, Winterfest 85 turns out to be a critical juncture in the lives of all them, but the trio and the nephew find themselves torn between causing a butterfly effect in the future, or changing their lives for the better.

Okay, so this story might sound like something concocted by someone who spent the night doing bong hits and watching a John Cusack marathon, wondering "what if? " and it probably is, but you know what. It works. Sure, some of logic in the movie makes no sense whatsoever, but the raunchy comedy derived from this nonsensical logic is fucking hilarious. Rob Cordry is especially funny as that one asshole friend that every pack of friend has and John Cusack is great at being, well John Cusack. Speaking of Cusack, the movie is rife with homages to that time when he was the reigning king of geeky teen comedies.Craig Robinson is also hilarious, adding a certain gravitas to the threesome.


So, if you are in the mood to be taken back to the 80's, or just want to laugh at people dressed in bright yellow neoprene then get your but to your local video store and grab yourself a VHS copy of this funny film. Heck, it might even be out on Beta.