It worked. It actually worked. Over and over I kept telling myself that this movie would not be good. The second I heard the title I thought it was going to be another terrible comedy along the lines of 'Year One' and 'Drillbit Taylor.' Then I heard it was good. I couldn't believe it. So I told myself I would eventually see what all the fuss was about, and I did, and it was actually more impressive than I had expected. However, one person told me it was "'The Hangover' meets 'Back to the Future'." This kind of saying was easily believable after 'Zombieland' was called "'Superbad' meets 'Shaun of the Dead'" and that proved true. Sadly, I can see how someone could say that, but it wasn't nearly as good or funny as either of those films. Don't get me wrong, that's not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of things went right in 'Hot Tub Time Machine' where they could've gone wrong, so you have to give it a lot of respect for pulling off what it did.
First off, the story is simple. It's almost too simple, but it's elevated to such great heights when the main characters are suddenly transported into a world that existed over twenty years ago. These main characters are Adam (John Cusack), his nephew Jacob (Clark Duke), and his two friends Nick (Craig Robinson) and Lou (Robb Corddry).
Adam suffers a lifetime of heartache after breaking up with a girl back in the 80's (and getting stabbed in the eye for it). Now his most recent girlfriend has left him and took his flatscreen, to make matters worse. John Cusack is likeable enough in this role, although it is not his best role ever. What's best about his character is that he's a lot like the characters Cusack portrayed in '80's teen comedies, so in a way the film paid a respectful tribute to his acclaimed work. Jacob is a loser, and they don't give us too interesting of a character out of him. He has little background, besides the fact that he plays Second Life in Adam's basement. Nick works for a dog-grooming business, and is in a miserable relationship in which his wife is cheating on him. Lou is an alcoholic and suicidal because his friends never have time for him anymore. Corddry is pretty good as Lou, but sometimes he overacts, and he gets about as annoying as he's been in any other role he's done.
After Lou attempts suicide, his friends decide to take him back to the ski resort they used to go to when they were teenagers. Jacob joins them. At the beginning of the film, the four guys are living miserable lives, but they are given the opportunity to relive a day in their teenage lives when a hot tub at the resort malfunctions and transports them back in time. Instead of placing them alongside their former selves, they are actually themselves in that particular time period, so they must choose between reliving their past the way it really happened or taking different paths to make their futures better. Of course they decide to enjoy their time in the 80's and alter the course of history, but they are reminded of Jacob and that they must act carefully to ensure his survival.
What's interesting is that the random concept of a hot tub with time-travelling capabilities almost runs parallel with the movie itself. You think it sounds perposterous and there's no chance of it working. But it did. The movie itself was a fantastic portrait of the 80's and stayed true to itself while deriving most of its humor from making fun of the decade's pop culture. Sometimes there would be lines that would be a little outlandish, and it was obvious that the writers were trying to copy The Hangover's humor to a point. Even though they did a fairly decent job, they would slip every now and then and ruin their chances of beating it. While most people in time-travel stories learn valuable lessons by worsening their futures, the four guys actually make their future better, and it completely reverses the role the time machine usually plays in this type of film. While the others were somewhat of a tragedy, this one was a comedy, and there was a very hilarious happy ending. Hop in while the party's still hot, 'Hot Tub Time Machine' is a hit.
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