“THIS SPA SPINS OUT OF CONTROL”
Starring: John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, and Crispin Glover
Directed by: Steve Pink
MPAA Rating: R for strong crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive language.
Genre: Comedy
Release date: March 26, 2010
By John Delia
Indie and foreign filmmakers are hitting the mark with good productions while some US producers are cranking out films that target the cash cow. Take Hot Tub Time Machine for example. This loony Three Stooges meets Back To The FutureHot Tub Time Machine movie inserts a bevy of goofy pratfalls, eye candy, adult situations, insults and sexual innuendos in a mere 100 minutes. And although rated R, it’s sure to attract the younger crowd looking for some crude and nude humor. If you want to get sucked into the whirlpool of silly than fits the bill.
The story involves four guys who live a boring life each having life issues that either involve women or the lack of them. The four end up at a ski resort where three of them had a lucky time with the ladies many years ago. After striking out at the bar and other places in the resort, they decide that their room and a dip in their private hot tub is the place to end the evening. But the hot tub is a mess so they call for the maintenance man who comes and cleans the ugly mess. When the men jump in they get transported to the past where they find themselves living a dream that’s about to turn into a nightmare.
I wanted to like the movie especially since I like the actors involved, but it was so cornball that it lost it’s fun early on. It was like watching the Three Stooges plus one getting into one zany situation after another. Now Cusack can be funny and he was in Better Off Dead, but he provides lame acting in this zinger. Now if there is a good performance in the film it comes from Rob Corddry who earned his strips working with such talent as Will Farrell (Blades of Glory, Old School and Semi Pro) as well as other top comedians. Here he nearly saves the silly film delivering a very funny character, but the load is to heavy to carry and he sinks along with his co-actors in this hot tub to hell.
Director Pink makes an attempt at mirroring Judd Apatow who reeled in a bundle at the box office with films like Knocked Up, Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but with Hot Tub he gambles and looses. Pink succeeded with the film Accepted which made over $36,000,000, but unless he can do that figure in opening weekend there won’t be much to write home about.
The film is rated R for strong crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive language, all the things that make high testosterone males flock to the theatres.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Don’t jump into this hot tub as you may get burned. (1.5 of 5 Palm Trees)