Hot Tub Time Machine review

For me, a child of the mid-90’s, the 80’s hold the same glamorous, long-ago mystique as the Victorian Era.  I am constantly surrounded by reminders of that glorious decade and it fascinates me – so radically different yet so eerily similar to my own time.
   On that note, what Hot Tub Time Machine lacked in maturity it made up for as a period piece. 
   Quintessential 80’s songs played almost constantly in the background and every actor, from the cartoonish leads to the most insignificant extra, was decked out head-to-toe in vibrant 80’s gear.  Visually, it was a time trip.
   The script, however, was like a 100-minute long Saturday Night Live skit: goofy, outrageous and unabashedly stupid.
   The premise of the film is self-explanatory: three best friends and a kid, one hot tub, two decades reversed.  There were a few trite subplots, but fortunately they were pretty forgettable.
     The hot tub itself, using a classic time-travel cliché, worked in such a way that any action taken by characters in the past would affect the present.
   Thus, much of the movie centered around reliving that 1986 evening exactly as it played out 20 years ago.  Funny premise, right?
   But a tragic amount of the film’s comic potential is wasted on juvenile sight gags and groan-inducing vulgarity, which I just don’t find funny.  Fake bodily fluids abound.
   Ultimately, the chemistry between the four lead roles – John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke – was what saved the film. The foursome’s constant bickering and playful insults were reminiscent of my own friends and were genuinely fun to watch.
   The cast was able to take an inherently mediocre script and inject enough life into it to keep me entertained, which they definitely deserve praise for.
   The only real problem I had with the casting was Duke, who looks about 14 but buys alcohol – a lot of alcohol – legally.  It’s hinted at through the film that he should be looking for a job, but seriously, how old is he?  It really bothered me for some reason, and was never really explained.
   But overall, Hot Tub Time Machine was exactly what the previews would lead you to expect – silly, predictable and enough fun to justify buying a ticket.  It wasn’t an earth-shaking film by any means, but hey – if the 80’s proved anything, it’s that people can appreciate a little mindless fun.