Hot Tub Time Machine is a 2010 American science fiction adventure comedy film directed by Steve Pink. It stars John Cusack,Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover, Lizzy Caplan, Kellee Stewart, Crystal Lowe, Collette Wolfe, and Chevy Chase. The film was released on March 26, 2010.
A sequel, titled Hot Tub Time Machine 2, is scheduled to be released on February 20, 2015.
Plot[]
In 2010, three friends are dissatisfied with their lives: Adam Yates has been dumped by yet another girlfriend, and his geeky twenty-year-old nephew Jacob lives in his basement, playing Second Life, with no idea who his father is. Lou Dorchen is a party guy way past his prime. Nick Webber has a dead-end job at a dog spa and an unfaithful and controlling wife named Courtney. Lou almost dies from carbon monoxide poisoning in what his friends think is a suicide attempt. Adam and Nick impulsively take him and Jacob to the site of some of their most memorable weekends, the Kodiak Valley Ski Resort. Upon arrival at the resort, they see that Kodiak Valley has fallen on hard times as well. They are shown to their room by a resentful one-armed bellhop named Phil. During a night of heavy drinking in a hot tub, they spill a can of an illegal Russian energy drink called "Chernobly" on the hot tub's controls. The next day, they wake up in 1986. They see each other as their normal age, but in their reflections and to other people, they appear as they did in 1986, except Jacob, who was not yet born. They arrive during "Winterfest '86," the weekend when Poison played to a huge crowd at the then-thriving Kodiak Resort.
In 1986, Adam broke up with his first girlfriend, Jenny, and she stabbed him in the eye with a fork. Lou was beaten up by Blaine, the ski patrol bully. Nick played a bad show with his band at an open mic contest. The four are at first concerned that if they change even the slightest thing in this time, it could have drastic consequences in the future, so they set out to do exactly what they did 20 years ago. Later, they decide that this may be a chance to change their destinies. When Jacob begins to flicker in and out, he warns the guys that if they continue what they are doing, then he may be wiped out of existence. A mysterious hot tub repairman informs Jacob that the key to their time travel was the Chernobly, which contains chemicals that are vital to the time travel process.
Adam meets a music journalist named April, though he refrains from talking to her at first because he doesn't want to change the past. Adam changes his mind, and instead seizes this 'second chance' opportunity to save his relationship with Jenny, only to find out she intended to break up with him all along. As fate would have it, Adam makes a comment about Jenny getting older and developing 'trucker hips', which causes Jenny to lash out at him, again stabbing him in the eye with a fork. Devastated, Adam returns to their hotel room to do drugs and write bad poetry. He later goes wandering around the resort, where he meets up with the music journalist April and the two get closer.
Nick realizes his first time around the open mic band performance he gave was such a disaster, it led him to abandon his much-loved music career. Feeling glad to be back (a comment that confuses his band mates) Nick rocks the crowd with his band with performances of "Jessie's Girl" and preview version of "Let's Get It Started."
While busy tending to their own problems, the guys forget to show up for Lou's appointed fight with Blaine and his cronies. Lou is beaten up by Blaine, who takes Lou's hydration pack that contains the Chernobly. They later go to Blaine's ski cabin to retrieve the energy drink, during which Lou finds the courage to punch Blaine back. Lou also seduces Adam's sister, Kelly, and has sex with her, conceiving Jacob. While trying to get the Chernobly, the guys are joined by Kelly and Phil the bellhop, who is seen throughout the movie doing dangerous stunts, which Lou and Jacob expect to be the incident that costs him his right arm. He eventually loses his arm in a traffic accident.
The guys get the Chernobly and race back to the hot tub. They spill the Chernobly on the controls and a massive temporal vortex appears. As the hot tub starts to activate, Lou announces he is going to remain in 1986, admitting to Adam that he was trying to kill himself, and that if he goes back it will happen all over again. In a gesture of friendship, Adam says he will stay with Lou, and when they hug, Lou pushes Adam backwards into the spinning vortex.
Back in 2010, Adam, Nick, and Jacob discover that Lou, Kelly, and Jacob are now a happy family enjoying a lavish lifestyle due to Lou taking advantage of his knowledge of the future. Adam discovers that he eventually married April, and Nick is a successful music producer married to a loyal Courtney. Even Phil has had his arm restored. Adam, Nick, Lou, and Jacob reunite at Lou's mansion with their families, satisfied with their new lives. The movie ends with a parody of the video for the 1985 Mötley Crüe song, Home Sweet Home.
Cast[]
- John Cusack as Adam Yates
- Jake Rose as Teenage Adam
- Rob Corddry as Lou Dorchen
- Brook Bennett as Teenage Lou
- Craig Robinson as Nick Webber
- Aliu Oyofo as Teenage Nick
- Clark Duke as Jacob Yates/Dorchen
- Chevy Chase as Father Time/Hot Tub Repair Man
- Collette Wolfe as Kelly Yates/Dorchen
- Crispin Glover as Phil Wedmaier
- Sebastian Stan as Blaine
- Lizzy Caplan as April Drennan
- Crystal Lowe as Zoe
- Kellee Stewart as Courtney Agnew-Webber
- Odessa Rojen as 9-year-old Courtney
- Lyndsy Fonseca as Jenny
- Charlie McDermott as Chaz
- Jessica Paré as Tara
- William Zabka as Rick Steelman
- Josh Heald as Terry
- Diora Baird (uncredited) as Mrs. Steelman
- Rob LaBelle (uncredited) as Stewart
- Thomas Lennon (uncredited) as Customer
- Lynda Boyd (uncredited) as Adam's secretary
Trivia[]
- This was the last film completely distributed by MGM before resorting to co-distributing.
- This was United Artists's final film as well.
Production[]
Steve Pink directed the movie and Josh Heald wrote the screenplay.[3] It was filmed primarily at the Vancouver Film Studios in Vancouver and at the Fernie Alpine Resort in Fernie,British Columbia.[4]
Marketing[]
The first trailer for the film and the red-band trailer appeared on July 24, 2009, at Comic-Con 2009 and on the Internet. One of the red-band trailers consists primarily of specially shot footage (not featured in the film) of Jessica Paré's character in a tub. The film was screened for free in over 50 cities in the weeks leading up to its release.
On March 29, 2010, Corddry and Duke were guest hosts on WWE Raw from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, to promote the film. Robinson did make a short appearance, but only via satellite.[5]
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Hot Tub Time Machine received generally positive reviews; review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 64% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 187 reviews, with an average score of 6.1/10[6] with the consensus that "Its flagrantly silly script—and immensely likable cast—make up for most of its flaws".[6] Review aggregateMetacritic awarded the film an average score of 63 out of 100 indicating 'Generally favorable reviews'.[7]
The New York Times critic A. O. Scott stated that "the picture moves so quickly and crazily, swerving and skidding and doubling back for seconds, that minor lapses in wit are immediately overtaken by major (and therefore hilarious) lapses in taste." He went on to comment that, "the undercurrent of misogyny and homophobic panic that courses through most arrested-development, guy-centric comedies these days is certainly present here. But unlike, say, The Hangover, which sweetens and sentimentalizes its man-child characters—allowing them to run wild and then run home to Mommy—Hot Tub Time Machine is honest in its coarseness and pretty tough on the fellows who are the agents and objects of its satire."[8]
Roger Ebert gave it three stars, commenting that, "The bottom line is, gross-out guy comedies open twice a month, and many of them are wretched excesses. Hot Tub Time Machine, which wants nothing more than to be a screwball farce, succeeds beyond any expectations suggested by the title."[9]
Box office[]
The film opened at #3 with a weekend gross of $14,020,502 in 2,754 theaters, averaging $5,091 per theater.[2] It spent 4 weeks in the top ten and 11 weeks in total, grossing $50,287,556 domestically. The film grossed just over $61 million at $61,336,869.24
Hot Tub Time Machine was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on June 29, 2010. An "unrated" version was also released, with the Blu-ray Disc containing a digital copy.
Sequel[]
Main article: Hot Tub Time Machine 2
Although not a huge commercial success, strong home video sales prompted the possibility of a sequel to Hot Tub Time Machine. The sequel stars Rob Corddry. John Cusack has been replaced in the lead role by Adam Scott, due to his scheduling conflicts.