Hot
Tub Time Machine 2 brings a slew of disgusting jokes, teeth-clenching scenes, and
ridiculousness throughout. But in doing
so, leaves any bit of heart or story hitchhiking on the side of the road.
STORY:
Lou
(Rob Corddry) and Nick (Craig Robinson) are living the life of luxury after the
events that took place in the first movie.
They have altered the future in ways to make them both super rich, while
Lou's son, Jacob (Clark Duke), tries to be the intelligent voice of reason and
fails repeatedly. In the midst of a
giant party thrown by arrogant Lou, a tragedy occurs, leaving only one option
for the power trio: they must reenter the hot tub time machine and see if they
can alter the past to save a life.
Unnecessary nudity, jumbled timelines, man-skirts, dick picking, drug
trips, inflated testicles, product placement, and degrading one-liners ensue.
"Are you saying there's no Cusack in this film? America's teen sweetheart in the 80's? A star of such
films as Better Off Dead and Sixteen Candles?"
"Yep."
"Oh my God no. Is the movie gonna suck?"
"Probably."
THOUGHTS:
Hot
Tub Time Machine 2 is the kind of movie that seems to have purposely forgotten
the actual plot and just decided to throw a bunch of four minute comedy skits
together to fill up the time requirements for a full length feature film. Seeing the first movie is a requirement to
understand exactly what is going on in the second, but it'll also show you
where and how this movie has fallen short.
The exclusion of John Cusack as Adam (who is spoken about throughout this movie and who is replaced by Adam
Scott portraying his son) is where this film's plot hurts the most. The first movie, even though it was a
ridiculous premise, still had a tad bit of heart sprinkled throughout because
of the plot involving John Cusack. This
movie's premise has to deal with Lou, the giant A-hole of the group, and his
problems. And from a viewer's
perspective there's really no reason to like Lou. He's just a humongous dick. A dick that seems to want to ruin his life no
matter the consequences. And having a
movie with a main character that's hard to relate to or is barely likable,
leaves viewers nothing to care about in the end. So what you end up watching is a series of
dirty jokes and over-the-top scenes that have no real relevance to each other,
except that they include all the same actors.
"So what do you guys think? Should we get up and like pursue the plot or something?"
"Nah. Give it a few more minutes."
Now,
where the plot and story collapse is where some of the jokes and raunchy scenes
excel. If you like the idea of just
sitting on the sofa and not having worry about paying attention or even
listening to dialogue half the time, then this is the perfect movie for
you. You could literally hit play and
then get up and pay bills, restring your guitar, or even reorganize your coin
collection, and then finally come back to the movie and know exactly what is
going on. Why? Because with the exception of a few minutes
in the beginning and the very, very end, there's no real reason to listen to
the rest of the film, except for the dirty jokes which occasionally will make
you laugh. So as long as you know why
the trio has gone back into the machine, then you can go about your daily life
without any worry of missing anything important. If there's anything to be said about the
writing in this film it is this: the writers manage to avoid plot for over 80
minutes of the 93 minute running time.
And that's the real achievement taking place. So if you love the idea of listening to
raunchy jokes and one-liners without purpose, then feel free to order this
movie without worry.
"No I'm serious...all these cameras and stuff are like here to record all the stupid
crap we're like saying and doing."
"Incredible."
THE ACTING:
This
is a "B" comedy at best and the acting reflects that. With Rob Corddry taking point in the film,
you'll have to absolutely love the type of character he plays in all his movies. He's a dick to his family, to his friends,
and even to strangers he's never met. So
if that type of humor makes you laugh then you'll love him in this. Corddry has been playing a version of Lou for
a long time now and pulls the acting off with magnificent ease. Craig Robinson also plays Craig
Robinson. If you've seen him in any
other comedy, then you know what to expect here. He's laid back and full of funny, dry
one-liners. In fact, he probably has the
funniest facial expressions and scenes throughout the movie. Clark Duke steps up his intelligent,
voice-of-reason humor as Jacob. Again,
his character has also been seen in previous films, but here he gets a tad more
screen time than usual. Adam Scott
portraying Adam Junior—John Cusack's son from the first film—is the only person
that seems out of his element. Typically
his characters are sarcastic with a hint of intelligence. Here he plays a naive douche-bag that's never
had any fun in his life. And if there's
anyone in the film that could be considered annoying and stiff, sadly, it's
Adam Scott. His character doesn't fit
the casting choice and Scott's acting seems like he doesn't really want to be
there. Popping in for a few minutes is
also Gillian Jacobs miscast as the annoying Jill, Adam Junior's fiancée. And last but not least is Chevy Chase, who
shows up for a forgettable second as the hot tub repairman, so try not to
blink.
"Tell me something: Are your pants to short? Or are your shorts too long? Cause I am very confused."
CONCLUSION:
Hot
Tub Time Machine 2 is exactly what you'd expect out of a sequel that lost its
star. The plot is nonsense. The acting is on par with the writing. And the jokes are sometimes too raunchy or
disturbing for a laugh. If you're
looking for an hour and a half of background noise right now and you have
something against the radio, then feel free to rent this film. For everyone else, wait until Hot Tub Time
Machine 2 graces cable so you can schedule in time to pay some bills and
reorganize your stamp collection. That
way during the film’s running time, you'll feel like you've at least accomplished
something.
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