![]() We know that someone will be traveling back in time, and we know that a hot tub will be involved somehow. And 'Hot Tub Time Machine' does exactly that without the slightest bit of confusion as to what the screwball comedy will be about. Corddry here achieves a level of comic confidence that seems almost uncanny Cusack, as co-producer, and Steve Pink, the director (who wrote Cusack's " High Fidelity" and "Grosse Point Blank"), must have intuited this gift and been willing to give him free rein.There are times we stumble upon a movie with a title that accurately and succinctly reflects its high-concept premise while not altogether ruining it. ![]() Comedy is a delicate art, with nothing so important as the performer never seeming to believe anything he does is funny. Remember how Corddry was always so earnest and sincere when assuring Jon Stewart of outrageous facts on "The Daily Show"? He brings the same focus to getting drunk. And Corddry essentially steals the movie as Lou. A pretty girl named Alice ( Lizzy Caplan) catches Adam's eye, although strict logic suggests they have little future together. This then becomes the premise for a comedy contriving more or less every possible problem and paradox, of which the high point is possibly Nick's boozy phone call to his wife, who at the time was still in grade school. Jacob hadn't been born then, but never mind it's their present selves who are transported. The guys jump in and are magically transported back in time to their youth in the 1980s. Chevy fixes the tub, and it starts to bubble with an inner glow, like beer on simmer. ![]() But there's a cheerful repairman ( Chevy Chase) who plays the role that George Burns used to play, when you needed a guy who just looked like he knew the secrets of the universe. The hot tub seems to harbor growth from the Planet of Mold. They get the same big room they had before. ![]() Did the Marx Brothers ever lavish money on sets? (Well, yes, but never mind.) The check-in routine is from Motel Hell, and the surly one-armed bellboy ( Crispin Glover) kicks their luggage around, dumps it on the floor and sticks out his remaining hand for a tip. ![]() Twenty years later, this lodge is so shabby, it looks not only like a poor excuse for a ski resort but even like a poor excuse for a movie set. Adam wants to keep him out of trouble (hollow laugh). Over Lou's protests, they drag along Jacob ( Clark Duke), Adam's nephew. What this boy obviously requires is a return to the ski lodge where they all got blasted together in the 1980s. He's a full-bore, full-time alcoholic without a shred of maturity or caution. This is interpreted as a suicide attempt by his best friends Adam (John Cusack) and Nick ( Craig Robinson), and although he tells him they're mistaken, they're not so sure. A fortysomething party animal named Lou ( Rob Corddry) gets drunk and passes out after he unwisely guns his car engine in time to the music while parked in his garage and listening to Motley Crue. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |