Virag's Movie Reviews: Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

I wanted to see this flick in the theater and missed it.  I did see it on DVD at some point but only recently had the opportunity to watch the unrated version in some degree of peace.  Amazingly enough, there were a few funny moments, mostly due to Rob Corddry and Clark Duke.  John Cusack especially did not really look like he was all that interested in being in the movie, but he may have been reacting to the general sloppiness of the whole production.  Because the film could not decide whether the three middle-aged characters should be acting like the sadder, yet purportedly wiser grownups or the hard-charging hopeful but boneheaded teenagers, it was up to the actors to decide how to play it.  If the director had decided for himself and made the film more consistent, Hot Tub Time Machine could have been way more fun.  As it was, there were a few laughs, but it was far from being a raunchy, no holds barred comedy for grownups.  Given the state of tee vee, the movie felt like a pilot for a pretty awful sitcom with a few attempts at shocking humor thrown in, and a few of them were okay.  The "I want my two dollars" line was pretty good, and perhaps Dan Schneider should have popped up somewhere since he and Cusack are such good friends!  All in all, HTTM was probably a missed opportunity.