By Jay Runham
“It must be some kind of… Hot Tub Time Machine.”
This quote, straight from the first 15 minutes of the movie, just about sums it up. Hot Tub Time Machine, starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson and Clark Duke, is a no logic required, beer with buddies, R-rated romp. There are some hilarious moments, and a giant pile of 80s jokes. 
Unfortunately, in that pile of jokes is also some one liners that fall flat and a weird mix of comedians.
I love seeing a good comedy with friends. Nothing beats those time when you can sit down with a good group of buddies and watch Anchorman. Even more recently, friends alike all went out to catch one of the best comedies of last year, The Hangover. Everyone loves to laugh, but not everyone laughs at the same thing.
Movies like Anchorman and The Hangover nail this problem by entertaining a variety of audiences through the use of a mix of comedians. Hot Tub Time Machine tries to do this too, however jokes between characters don’t play as well as they could. Fortunately the movie has a few more good parts then bad, just like a good friend.
Ah, the 80s, I hardly knew you. But I got to know you so well in this film. Traveling back to 1986, the stage is set for our players. That stage is riddled with cocaine jokes, Michael Jackson, Crispin Glover, and Chevy Chase (both with excellent cameos throughout the movie).
I wish they had spent more time in the 80s than in 2010. 80s nostalgia and the sweet Hot Tub action (that one is for you Jeff) is what everybody is going to see. Hopefully there’s a lot of extended scenes and features on the DVD of the 80′s because it is easily the best part of the film.
This movie is a good friend. They may have a couple of flaws, be crappy sometimes (like Corddry’s character) but in the end…they’re fun. The movie is entertaining (especially if you like 80s jokes) so grab a beer and invite the friends over when this one comes out on DVD.
3/5
(Editor’s note: I feel like we’ve already talked about Hot Tub Time Machine…I wonder if we’ve opened some kind of wormhole. Or that jacuzzi I partied in last night was actually some kind of…hot tub time machine…)
