Hot Tub Time Machine (Movie Trailer)

When I first heard about this movie, I didn't think it was something I would pay to see in the theater. It just looked took much like a frat pack flick for my personal taste. However, I had a chance to see a free sneak preview of it and was more than pleasantly surprised.

"Hot Tub Time Machine" is the story of three longtime friends - Adam (John Cusack), Lou (Rob Corddry), and Nick (Craig Robinson) - and Adam's 20-something nephew, Jacob (Clark Duke), who revisit the ski resort playland of the three older guys' young adulthood. With the help of a hot tub outside of their room and a little movie magic, the four are transported back to Winterfest '86, an event that Adam, Lou, and Nick attended at the resort back in the day. They believe they have to do the exact same things they did during that fateful weekend 24 years before to have a chance at getting back to 2010. Some things obviously change, even when the characters are trying to keep them the same. These make for some hilarious story arcs for the three older guys and more than a few awkward moments for young Jacob.

I think most adults will find this movie funny, but it was made especially for Gen-Xers and others who remember the '80s well. If you are a fan of movies such as "Back to the Future," (one of my personal favorites) "Better Off Dead," "Red Dawn," or "Sixteen Candles," you will get a kick out of the homage that this movie pays to those films. And it's a must-see for John Cusack fans, who produced this movie and obviously has a sense of humor about the early roles that made him a star.

Granted, "Hot Tub Time Machine" isn't perfect. There are a few obvious errors about people's ages and about the state of pop culture in the mid-80s (at least as I remember it). There's also some gratuitous drug use and female nudity. But these are minor criticisms about an otherwise very funny film that almost anyone between the ages of 30 and 50 is bound to appreciate.

Release Date: 26 March 2010 (USA)
Genre: Comedy
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color