Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

A malfunctioning time machine at a ski resort takes a man back to 1986 with his two friends and nephew, where they must relive a fateful night and not change anything to make sure the nephew is born.

Director:

Steve Pink

Writers:

Josh Heald (screenplay), Sean Anders (screenplay)

Stars:

John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	Adam
Clark Duke	...	Jacob
Craig Robinson	...	Nick
Rob Corddry	...	Lou
Sebastian Stan	...	Blaine
Lyndsy Fonseca	...	Jenny
Crispin Glover	...	Phil
Chevy Chase	...	Repairman
Charlie McDermott	...	Chaz
Lizzy Caplan	...	April
Collette Wolfe	...	Kelly
Aliu Oyofo	...	Young Nick
Jake Rose	...	Young Adam
Brook Bennett	...	Young Lou
Crystal Lowe	...	Zoe

Storyline

Three friends on losing streaks: Adam, whose girlfriend dumped him, Nick, with a dead-end job and a cheating wife, and Lou, a suicidal alcoholic. To help Lou recover from car-exhaust poisoning, Adam and Nick, with Adam's nephew Jacob, go to a winter resort that was their old party place. It's now a dump, but the lads rally for a night of drinking in the hot tub. Somehow, the hot tub takes them back to 1986, on a fateful night for each of them. Maybe if they do everything the same way they did that night, they'll get back to the future so Jacob can be born. There are serious temptations to do things differently. Will they make it back to their sorry lives? And what about Jacob?

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Plot Keywords:

maintenance man | cheating wife | drug reference | male vomiting | promiscuous woman | 

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Taglines:

Kick Some Past

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

26 March 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hot Tub - Der Whirlpool... ist 'ne verdammte Zeitmaschine

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$36,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$14,020,502 (USA) (26 March 2010)

Gross:

$50,213,619 (USA) (4 June 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), United Artists, New Crime Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Crispin Glover, who plays the bellhop at the hotel, also starred as George McFly in Back to the Future (1985), another time-traveling movie that takes place partially in the mid-1980s. Additionally, he lost his arm in an accident whose cause isn't shown until the end, just like the cause of his son Marty's hand injury isn't explained until the end of Back to the Future III.

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Goofs

As the four guys enter Kodiac Valley talking about Adam (John Cusack) breaking up with the "great white buffalo", in the rear window they start to pass an awning as the scene changes inside the Denali then goes back to looking out the rear you see them start to pass the same awning again.

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Quotes

Jacob: I'm kinda right in the middle of a thing right now, but can I text you later?
Girl at Club: Can you what?
Jacob: Are you online at all?
Girl at Club: I have no idea what you're talking about.
Jacob: How do I get a hold of you?
Girl at Club: You come find me.
Jacob: That sounds... exhausting.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits start out as one of the main characters' alternative histories, showing real crew names over a flashy 1980s music video.

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Connections

Referenced in Aqua Teen Hunger Force: The Granite Family (2012)

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Soundtracks

True
Written by Gary Kemp
Performed by Spandau Ballet
Courtesy of Chrysalis Records Ltd
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

For all its ridiculousness and asshole-ness, it's still fun and enjoyable

"Hot Tub Time Machine" is actually quite enjoyable. The ridiculous title and its obvious concept turned me off at first but it turned out to be a lot of fun.

As a fan of John Cusack, it was pleasing to see his character, Adam, reminiscent of Rob from "High Fidelity" (2000), especially when his girlfriend moved out on him at the very beginning. "She basically called me an asshole, like I'm a narcissistic asshole." His friend replies, "Yeah, she has a point though." The movie does spend a significant amount of time with the guys being assholes and calling each other assholes, but it is probably the best guys-acting-as-assholes movie.

Three middle-aged men are despondent with the sad state of their lives, Rob Corddry being the worst of the bunch, is in the hospital with another not-suicide attempt (beause if he really wanted to, he would kick ass at killing himself), and Cusack and Craig Robinson are called in as the only people who could be described as his friends. Believe it or not, but the movie's opening with all this unhappiness is quite funny and real at the same time. To cheer themselves up, they are off to a ski resort where they used to hang out in the 80s. I think we all know why it's called "Hot Tub Time Machine".

As ridiculous and inane as this all sounds, there is a lot of clever humour in the movie, and the characters, as much as they are assholes, they are also real and genuine. I know them and that just makes them all the more fun. I was annoyed with the inclusion of Jacob (Clark Duke) as Cusack's nephew because I think one Jonah Hill is enough.