Hot Tub Time Machine
Tags: comedy, adult comedy, bleak, alternate reality, flashback, alternate history

Plot synopsis:
In 2010, three friends are dissatisfied with their lives. Adam (John Cusack) has been dumped by yet another girlfriend, and his video-game-obsessed nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) lives in his basement. Lou (Rob Corddry) is a party guy way past his prime who is divorced and his family wants nothing to do with him. Lou has also failed in several investments and is debt-ridden as a result. Nick (Craig Robinson) has a dead-end job at a dog spa and a controlling wife named Courtney (Kellee Stewart) who is allegedly having an affair.Lou almost dies from carbon monoxide poisoning in what his friends think is a suicide attempt. Adam and Nick impulsively take him and Jacob to the site of some of their most memorable weekends, the Kodiak Valley Ski Resort, "where no one got carded and everyone got laid". However, upon arrival they see that Kodiak Valley has fallen on the same hard times as the four men. Upon arriving, they encounter Phil, a one-armed bellman (Crispin Glover). During a crazy night of drinking in a hot tub, they spill a can of an illegal Russian energy drink called "Chernobly" (named in reference to Chernobyl, Ukraine) on the hot tub's controls. The next day, they wake up in 1986. They can see each other as their 2010 age and appearances, but in their reflections and to other people, they appear as they did in 1986. Jacob, who has not even been born yet, somehow is still a full-grown man as he was in his 2010 state. They arrive during "Winterfest '86," the weekend when Poison played to a huge crowd at the then-thriving Kodiak Resort. At first, the guys do not think that they have traveled back in time but are convinced when they find out that Michael Jackson is still black, and discover that Phil, the bellman has both arms.It is a time that was hard on the group. Adam broke up with his first girlfriend and got stabbed in the eye with a fork. Adam's sister, Kelly, conceived Jacob with an unknown father. Lou was beaten up by Blaine, the ski patrol bully, and none of his friends came to his aid. Nick's show ended in disaster with his band at an open mic contest. The four are at first concerned that if they change even the slightest thing in this time, it could have drastic consequences in the future (based on a tenuous understanding of the Ray Bradbury short story, "A Sound of Thunder"), they set out to do exactly what they did 24 years ago. Believing he must do everything the same as before, Nick has sex with a girl named Tara (Jessica Paré), but feels extremely guilty over being unfaithful to Courtney as his marriage to her occurred before the time travel. Later, they decide that this may be a chance to change their destinies. When Jacob begins to flicker in and out of existence, he warns the guys that if they continue what they're doing, then he may be wiped out of existence. A mysterious hot tub repairman (Chevy Chase) informs Jacob that the key to their time travel was the Chernobly, which contains chemicals that are vital to the time travel process. However, the Chernobly is in Lou's backpack, which was stolen by Blaine's gang.Nick calls Courtney (his future wife who is actually 9 years old when he calls) and yells at her about the evils of adultery. Courtney's father interrupts the conversation and Adam and Jacob stop Nick from telling him that Courtney is his bride-to-be. Adam's girlfriend, Jenny (Lyndsy Fonseca), dumps him before he can dump her (and he still gets stabbed by her, but in the forehead with a plastic fork), but he ends up spending the night with a music journalist, April (Lizzy Caplan). With Lou's encouragement, Nick & his band rock the crowd with performances of early-1980s hit "Jesse's Girl" and early-2000s hit "Let's Get It Started" - which he introduces as "a song from the future" that the audience gets to hear since this time (unlike last time) they were very receptive to his band's performance. Lou is beaten up by Blaine (Sebastian Stan), but finds the courage to punch him back, and all three of Lou's friends appear to confront Blaine's henchmen and recapture the Chernobly. Lou also seduces Kelly (Collette Wolfe) and conceives Jacob, solving the mystery of who Jacob's true father was. Also throughout the course of the time, they witness Phil almost get his arm taken off by a chainsaw and get stuck in the elevator shaft, but are disappointed when the arm doesn't become amputated, but as they are about to leave, Phil does lose his arm after being struck by a snowplow.The guys are set to go back to 2010, but, just as the hot tub starts to activate, Lou decides to remain in 1986, admitting to Adam that he was indeed trying to kill himself, and that if he goes back it will happen all over again. He says he wants to use his knowledge of future history to make investments, and do right by Kelly and Jacob. Adam says that if Lou is staying, so is he but Lou pushes Adam into the hot tub, just as it blasts the guys back into 2010. The gang arrives back in 2010 to find that Phil's arms are still in tact. Phil says that after the gang left, Blaine and his group managed to save his severed arm by putting it on ice and taking him to a nearby hospital to have it re-attached.Adam, Nick, and Jacob discover that Lou, Kelly, and Jacob are now a happy family enjoying a lavish lifestyle. Lou has become a successful rock star with his favorite band, "Mötley Loue" and is the founder of an Internet search engine called "Lougle". Adam discovers that he eventually married April, and Nick is a successful music producer married to a loyal and supportive Courtney. She tells him about a wrong number phone call she got when she was 9, that was enough to keep her from trying to cheat on anybody. Adam, Nick, Lou, and Jacob reunite at Lou's mansion with their families, satisfied with their new lives.

Review: Hot Tub Time Machine was playing almost immediately, and the next movie after that wouldn't be for another 45 minutes.
And I found myself genuinely liking the characters, and finding them to have a bit more depth than I expected from a film entitled "Hot Tub Time Machine".
There are some classic lines, mostly coming from insults, and the film doesn't rely too much on date humour (just a few references to e-mail etc.) It cleverly spits in the face of the butterfly effect and relishes its characters manipulation of time, whilst showing that some things can't be avoided.
And although gross-out humour is present it sits well because the film doesn't rely on it alone to deliver the laughs.Another thing I found very entertaining about this movie was that as the characters travelled back to the 80's it was almost as if the humour did too.
Hot Tub Time Machine just seemed to capture some of that and revive it for today's audiences.I would recommend HTTM to anyone with a sense of humour not wanting to think too deeply and wanting to be entertained for 90 minutes.Like I said at the top of this review...
Said device sends them back in time when the circuits are fried by one of those awful energy drinks.Arriving in 1986 (a year that presents us with several plot holes an anachronisms) they seize the opportunity to fix things for a better future (despite being warned not to) while Chevy Chase pops in and out as the hotel handyman who may or may not know the secret to time travel.It's very silly, very irreverent stuff, but it works.
There's almost a sort of magical, otherworldly feel to the hotel and Chevy Chase's character, I wish it was taken a little bit further (maybe in the sequel), and lampooning of 80s culture is spot-on, even if it's hardly the first movie to do so.You won't stop smiling for the entire duration.
Yet it is a decade looked back at with as much disdain as it is warmth, pointed out by John Cusack's character Adam in Hot Tub Time Machine, as although he recognises it as the best time of his life, he states that "we had Reagan and AIDS," and exclaims "I f****n' hated this decade!".It seems almost pointless to draw out the plot given the film's to-the- point title, but it tells the story of three friends, Adam, who has just seen his girlfriend leave him, Lou (Rob Corddry), an alcoholic who is in hospital after an accidental suicide attempt, and Nick (Craig Robinson), who has generally harbouring the knowledge that his wife has cheated, and is busy pulling car keys out of dog's arses for his job.
After a wild night of drinking in the hot tub, they wake up to find themselves transported back to the 1980's and realise they have the chance to remedy the pains from the past, as well as party like they did years ago.In a world that releases gross-out comedies by the barrel, Hot Tub Time Machine manages to include both the sweetness of the Judd Apatow comedies of late, as well as the misogynist, bad taste teen comedies of the 1980's that saw a revival in the early 2000's thanks to American Pie (1999).
Hot Tub Time Machine is a much funnier movie than what the film title calls for.
The ridiculous title and its obvious concept turned me off at first but it turned out to be a lot of fun.As a fan of John Cusack, it was pleasing to see his character, Adam, reminiscent of Rob from "High Fidelity" (2000), especially when his girlfriend moved out on him at the very beginning.
"She basically called me an asshole, like I'm a narcissistic asshole." His friend replies, "Yeah, she has a point though." The movie does spend a significant amount of time with the guys being assholes and calling each other assholes, but it is probably the best guys-acting-as-assholes movie.Three middle-aged men are despondent with the sad state of their lives, Rob Corddry being the worst of the bunch, is in the hospital with another not-suicide attempt (beause if he really wanted to, he would kick ass at killing himself), and Cusack and Craig Robinson are called in as the only people who could be described as his friends.
I think we all know why it's called "Hot Tub Time Machine".As ridiculous and inane as this all sounds, there is a lot of clever humour in the movie, and the characters, as much as they are assholes, they are also real and genuine.
John Cusack's throwback 80's flick is the best time traveling hot tub film ever created.
Coyness aside, Hot Tub Time Machine is a supremely entertaining comedy, brimming with laughs and raunch all cemented with ample 80's nostalgia.Director Steve Pink is no stranger to creating successful comedies, nor is he a Cusack virgin, having written the screenplays for both classics Grosse Point Blank and High Fidelity.
This is the perfect drunken Friday night movie and the kind that will only grow in cult-status as time progresses.The four aforementioned leads are as follows: John Cusack as a single, unhappy man, Craig Robinson as a married, unhappy man, Rob Corddry as a divorced, unhappy man and rising young rising star Clark Duke as a nerdy, unhappy young man.
Whipped back to that very spot in the winter of 1986, they must choose between changing what had gone wrong in their respective pasts, versus facing the ramifications of altering their futures.There are ample accolades that can be given to the cast of Hot Tub Time Machine and each character brings something different to the proceedings; Cusack is the wry straight-man and recaptures much of the essence he possessed in the 80's movies that made him famous.
Hot Tub Time Machine is a great movie with a ridiculous but very funny storyline and a very comedic cast.I mostly enjoyed Craig Robinson in this movie,he isn't a very well known actor,but I really like him in everything i've seen him in,he's a good actor and also very funny,I also really enjoyed John Cusack,i've only seen him in serious roles in the past and I was surprised that he was so good at delivering a funny performance in this.Chevy Chase did a great job in this,but he needed to be in it a lot more,when you manage to get a comedy actor as big as this in your movie,you need to give them more screen time.I was also surprised with the heart in this movie,I thought it would be an American Pie type of comedy,but it was actually very heartwarming at times and I got really attached to these characters.Fans of very goofy comedies will definitely enjoy this movie and will be laughing out loud.Four discontented men are taken back to the 1980's by a hot tub in their hotel suite,and they must be careful not to change anything before the repairman (Chevy Chase) can get the hot tub working again..
I like the idea of a hot tub time machine and can only applaud any writer who came up with such a rubbishy idea for a movie.
It's laid on so thick in Hot Tub Time Machine, I almost want to give the creators the benefit of the doubt for a scathing parody of the phenomenon, but I can't quite make myself believe it.The movie is a fairly cookie cutter back-in-time affair, but unlike most comedy in that vein, this film seems to have a real contempt for its subject matter.
Hot Tub Time Machine is a comedy involving three friends, Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Craig Robinson), and Lou (Rob Corddry) who get back together after years of lost communication.
However, Hot Tub Time Machine is literally the worst movie I have ever seen in my life, and I say this having seen all three movies in the Gladiator Cop spectrum.I'll begin with the three things I enjoyed about this movie.John Cusack wore a similar costume to what he did in 16 Candles.
- Crispin Glover was in it (also in Back to the Future)It is important to realize here that I am not just showing off my knowledge of films, these were just the only moments where I thought "Huh, thats pretty clever" before being lowered back into the festering pit that was this movie.Another thing I want everyone to know is that I went in with medium to high expectations.
"Guys, do you get it...he's drunk so he threw up on a squirrel!" "He's having sex with that guy's mom in the past!" "Jessie's Girl is playing, we all like that song!"Another major problem with this movie is that the time travel aspect is essentially glossed over.
A movie titled Hot Tub Time Machine actually has some charm to it.
When a movie is titled Hot Tub Time Machine there is no pretense about it.
With a title like "Hot Tub Time Machine," there was definitely no illusions that this would be an Oscar-quality movie.
Expectations were so low, that you may actually enjoy this erratic raunchy comedy.HTTM follows the sad-sack lives of three losers Adam, Nick and Lou (played by John Cusack, Craig Robinson and Rob Corddry respectively).
While having a debauched dip in the hot tub, some illegal Russian energy drink caused short circuitry in the space-time continuum, the three were transported back to their 1986 heyday.In this whole movie, I only knew John Cusack, the rest of the cast were not exactly known to me.
if i do not know the director or have other sources that tell me the movie is good, i cannot trust in IMDb. for i cannot understand this overrating (more than Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds or joe johnston's The Rocketeer, for say just two examples of films MUCH BETTER than this).in HTTM they wanted to to a hooligan comedy twisting with the masterpiece BACK TO THE FUTURE, but with no humor at all, just having bad taste in all they do.
and they not follow any rule of a sci-fi movie.sorry , if you watch the IMDb rate , you may think: "eh, it must be a GROUNDHOG DAY-alike" movie, an excellent sci-fi comedy, and role in it Crispin Glover, its a warranty and a winkle to the old classic", but you find more a stupid teen comedy much worst than UP THE CREEK.would be great an IMDb rates made for people who really really love the movies (i don't counting in them), a kind of critics/film-journalists/script-writers/directors rating, perhaps this way it wouldn't happen that a garbage-film has a 7.2, much more rating than other movies that are completely CLASSICS..
But there are many temptations to change that night that has affected their lives forever."Hot Tub Time Machine" is an entertaining comedy that combines "Back to the Future" with "Groundhog Day".
First off I will only spend a paragraph on this where do I start there is absolutely no humor I thought at the beginning "well they haven't gone back in time yet so I'll wait 'till this gets better" id didn't there are only 2 jokes In the whole movie both at the opposite end of the movie one of them is that Michael Jackson Joke in the trailer the other is where Nick abuses his future wife over the phone as a 9-year-old when she doesn't even know what he's talking about it's the only thing that was funny and guaranteed not a movie for anyone wanting what they expected from the trailer.
Hot Tub Time Machine (1:39, R) — 4 — Other: Comedy, 3rd string, originalThe present day finds Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Craig Robinson), and Lou (Rob Corddry) in their early 40s and pretty dissatisfied with how their lives have turned out so far.
In Hot Tub Time Machine, you just groan and half-smile like John Cusack..
But there begins the kitschy and ends the creativity as four boy-men headed by all purpose, B movie star and producer John Cusack travel back to 1986 when 3 of them were living the life and the younger one only a fornication away.The references to '80's kitsch, including giant portable phones, ALF, and leg warmers, are the best part of the comedy but not enough to save it from the brotherhood of failures at this time of year (one of the writers is partly responsible for the script of She's Out of My League—no surprise).
But, alas, I don't have the courage to return to lame laughs.A film that begins with fundament and believes Chevy Chase as a tub repairman is funny needs to travel back to the '30's when real comedies relied on wit, not s_ _ t..
Craig Robinson is OK as the sweet insecure ex-rock band singer turned dog-spa caretaker Nick, while Rob Corddry is also good as the heavy drinker, sex obsessed but faithful friend Lou. There are little cameos by Chevy Chase and the always terrific Crispin Glover.An absurd entertaining movie, with some gross moments, and great fun despite the nonsense or perhaps...
I appreciate smart farces, and because I have enjoyed other bromances like "The Hangover", "I Love You, Man", and even "Leaving Sarah Marshall", I had every reason to expect I'd enjoy "Hot Tub Time Machine".
If this were a recurring satirical bit on SNL, it might be amusing, but "Hot Tub Time Machine" dissolved into tedium about twenty minutes in.Rob Cordry, Craig Robinson, and (big sigh) John Cusack all performed adequately.
None of them care less about any of that than Hot Tub Time Machine, which really just wants to be a 1980s John Cusack comedy and pretty much manages it.After somehow traveling back in time through hot tubbing, three old friends and one kid born in the '80s confuse people by talking about stuff like email.
"Hot Tub Time Machine" definitely not perfect, but it is entertaining and gives us a good laugh.
As another user commented, nowadays it's hard to pull off poop, sex and vomit humour all in one shot, but Hot Tub Time Machine pulls it off well.Must-see comedy for people who enjoy dumb humour and impossible, but hilarious plots..
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) *** (out of 4)Four friends (John Cusack, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry) are bored with their current lives so they get away for a weekend to one of their old hangouts but once they get into the hot tub they end up traveling back in time to 1986 where they might be able to change their lives for the better.
Of course a movie about a time machine inside a hot tub is a dumb idea but the point was to get people to laugh and there are many funny moments here.
I think the film did a great job at traveling back in time not only for the music, outfits and the settings but also with the politically incorrect humor, which you could find in a comedy from the 80s.
As strange as the title "Hot Tub Time Machine" might seem, it oddly fits this movie.
In fact, Crispin Glover's appearance in this film as one of the more amusing peripheral characters who is part of an effective through-line gag was like having a constant reminder of better time travel movies even if it intended just to be a throw back for '80s nostalgists who love "Back to the Future." The plot moves along so haphazardly that it becomes abundantly clear "Hot Tub" wants nothing more than to exploit the idea of time travel.
Hot Tub Time Machine follows a group of best friends who've become bored with their adult lives: Adam (John Cusack) has been dumped by his girlfriend; Lou (Rob Corddry) is a party guy who can't find the party; Nick's (Craig Robinson) wife controls his every move; and video game-obsessed Jacob (Clark Duke) won't leave his basement.
Now that I think about it, they were kind of gay.The extras in this movie had the look down perfectly.The appearance of Crispin Glover, co-star of the classic 80s time machine film Back To The Future, alongside Mr. 80s teen comedy star John Cusack, was a clever twist.
Director Steve Pink takes an old hat, wipes off the dust and delivers an enjoyable, fun flick as four has-beens and one nephew travel back to 1986 thanks to a time-machine hot tub.There's nothing really original here, aside from the hot tub its self, however, producer/actor John Cusack and the rest of the cast make it a watchable amusing experience from start to finish as the friends, including Craig Robinson, must put history right.
Neither as witty as "The Hangover" nor as clever as "Back to the Future", "Hot Tub Time Machine" is your average comedy flick – fun, but forgettable.
If you can realise that the film is not supposed to be taken seriously and can tolerate some crude, yet strangely funny, humour then you just may enjoy "Hot Tub Time Machine"..
With some fun cameos from Chevy Chase as a mysterious hot tub repairman and Crispin Glover as the doomed bellhop, this movie was surprising funny and worth a viewing..
So if you haven't seen the movie yet see it...It's a comedy with a hot tub for a time machine so don't even try to take it serious just sit back with acouple beers and some friends and have a good laugh it's alot of dumb fun!!!!.
While no instant classic, "Hot Tube Time Machine" is most definitely watchable if you are in the mood for something a little different.For a basic plot summary, this movie sees four pals (John Cusack, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry) transported to the 1980s (via a hot tub).
"Hot Tub Time Machine" doesn't do bad with its humor, but there is a sense in which its attempt at humor is sometimes more contrived than its overall storyline (which doesn't bode well for a movie of such a title).
With a name like 'Hot Tub Time Machine', you aren't going to get an Oscar winner and you don't.