3270. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

Starring: Rob Corddry, John Cusack, Craig Robinson

Director: Steve Pink

Running Time: 101 mins

Hot Tub Time Machine is an American film about four men who, after stepping into a hot tub together, find themselves transported back to 1986, where they must find a way to return to the present without changing the past, and therefore the future.

It may not have quite the same charisma and style of Back To The Future, but Hot Tub Time Machine is a fun, goofy time travel adventure that strikes up some good laughs and surprisingly decent sci-fi intrigue.

That means the film is a great watch for fans of raunchy late-night comedies and sci-fi movies alike. Complete with a great ensemble cast, some good ’80s nostalgia and a few moments of touching romance and drama, I had a lot of fun with Hot Tub Time Machine.

Of course, it’s important to manage expectations with a film like this. As I mentioned, it’s no Back To The Future, but nor is meant to be. The sci-fi is entertainingly convoluted, although doesn’t come together quite as nicely as the Robert Zemeckis classic.

That doesn’t really matter, though, as there’s a really fun throwaway nature to the film’s story and humour. As a raunchy, farcical comedy, Hot Tub Time Machine isn’t there to thrill, but rather to take as many liberties as it can with its genre to come up with the funniest situations possible.

So, with its mainly middle-aged cast now forced to act like teenagers back in the 1980s, there’s all manner of bizarre scenarios the characters end up in, as well as some great running gags with side characters that make for some great laughs.

I won’t say that I was laughing non-stop at Hot Tub Time Machine, but it’s such a fun-loving film that I certainly enjoyed every minute. That blend of light-hearted humour and playfulness with total creativity in its use of sci-fi makes the film an absolute joy, and the most brilliant bit of escapism.

Conjuring up some wonderful nostalgia for the 1980s as well as a couple of moments of really heartfelt drama about friendship and romance, there is more than pure silliness to Hot Tub Time Machine, and that adds an extra hint of endearing likability to an already thoroughly enjoyable movie.

So, I had a great time with Hot Tub Time Machine. Imaginative, funny, light-hearted and even touching at times, it’s a really lovely movie, and that’s why I’m giving it a 7.4 overall.