Hot Tub Time Machine: Movie Review

Story goes he was sitting around at home with his buddy talking about growing up in the 80s and all the bad movies from their child hood. While kicking back a few beers, and talking about the movie "Hot Dog" Heald misunderstood his friend to say "Hot Tub", and thought, "shit there's a bad movie from the 80s called 'Hot Tub'? I have to check this out", only to be disappointed to find such a film didn't exist. Heald remarked in an interview it was his disappointment that led to his creation of "Hot Tub Time Machine".

Now, this might not mean much to most, but I laughed quite heartily at the story. Again, I've been in the same situation with a friend sitting around the pool with a beer talking about crazy ideas. However, the difference is none of our ideas came to fruition in the way Heald's did. Also, I find it quite remarkable that such a ridiculous idea (and Heald's first screenplay sale) would be picked up at all.

On to the movie at hand, "Hot Tub Time Machine" is a hoot. It's a really funny nod to the movies of the 80s such as "Hot Dog", "Better Off Dead", or any number of wacky movies from that era. The movie is nothing incredible but it kept me laughing. It's a very simple premise and does well because it doesn't take itself too seriously.

I can dig films such as this one precisely because no one is taking it seriously. Very similar to "Black Dynamite", "Hot Tub..." is a parody done correctly. Not only is it silly, but also it manages to capture a certain level of realism with the relationships between the characters.

The standout performance here is from Rob Corddry without question. He really got the opportunity to spread his wings on this one, and he carries nearly the entire movie. Essentially, this movie is something to pop in the DVD player to forget about a hard day, and have a good laugh.