blake lively
The first thing I must say, Hot Tub Time Machine is definitely not in the same league as H. G. Wells, but do not hold that against it. The writers Josh Heald, Sean Anders and John Morris came up with a catchy title that really says it all - it is a hot tub, it is a time machine. What more can you say? It enabled them to catch and compare the feel and morality of the eighties and give you a humorous story about friendship. The director Steve Pink has created the eighties in a way that should appeal and produce nostalgia in anyone between the ages of thirty and fifty, the Generation X'ers. Easily a cross between 'Back To The Future' and 'The Hangover' it is the story of three almost friends Adam, Lou and Nick who have serious life issues together with Adam's post-teen nephew, Jacob. Throw out the time travelling and science textbooks with this film, in fact probably throw out the mathematics one too if you try to figure Jacob's actual age, this film does not take any of it seriously. They are transported to 1986 and trying to work out how to get out of it without changing history, or indeed Jacob's existence, who was conceived in that year.
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Rob Corddry the clown doctor, Dr. Blake Downs of Childrens' Hospital and Ron Fox in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay plays an alcoholic loner, Lou. A party guy who never gets invited to any self respecting parties, who never grew up and becomes an annoyance to all his old friends. He has reached the low point in his life where he smashes his car into his garage and drunkenly tries to commit suicide from carbon monoxide intoxication. Lou is really the main character in this movie, totally obnoxious in the beginning, and actually for the most part of the movie, but we see the biggest change in his circumstances when he discovers that he really does have friends.
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Craig Robertson who plays Darryl Philbin of the US version of 'The Office' and has just completed "Shrek Forever After" plays Nick Webber-Agneu. He has a double barrelled name, henpecked to the point of including his wife Courtney Agneu's (Kellee Stewart) surname as part of his own. He was the lead singer of a local band that never made an impression and was quickly forgotten. His job in the present as a veterinary surgeon reaches lows like having to pull out BMW keys from a poor limping dog brought in unlikable owners such as Thomas Lennon, who plays Lt. Jim Dangle from Reno 911. He is broken by the discovery of an email that shows that his wife has previously cheated on him, even though Nick is has been absolutely faithful to her.
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John Cusack, who has just completed Shanghai and previously was Jackson Curtis in 2012 and also as the voice of Igor plays Adam. Adam's relationship with his girlfriend has completely broken down and she has moved out and taken most of contents of their house. Adam's love life has taken a complete dive and it always seems like he has picked the wrong partner to settle down with and Adam is preoccupied with the decisions he made that got him into this situation. Just as everything is going wrong he unfortunately has additional responsibilities, since Lou's suicide attempt has put him in the position of having to be responsible and take care for him.
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Clark Duke, who has just completed A Thousand Words and previously as Dale Kettlewell in the three years of the series Greek plays Jacob. He is Adam's video game-obsessed nephew who spends most of his life virtually in Second Life in the basement of Adam's home. Consider him as Generation Y and who never completely understands the experience of the eighties.
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Another main character is a squirrel, who changes the timeline in such a way as to cause Lou serious problems, his role is as central as the gopher from Caddyshack.
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They all take a trip to Kodiak Valley, now a disappointing run down snowy alpine town ski resort that has certainly hit hard times since they last went years ago, it has almost become a ghost town. They check into the same lodge, even the same room where they have had quite a few great times some 20 years before.
blake lively
Helping them to their room is a bad tempered bellhop Phil, who once was a nice guy but now since their first stay, has lost an arm and hates any assistance in getting their luggage to their room. Phil is played by Crispin Glover, who recently played Stayne in Alice in Wonderland and interestingly also played Marty's father, George McFly in 1985's Back to the Future. There is an ongoing side plot in the film where Phil always seems to be in danger of losing his arm. Phil certainly could do with some Health and Safety training as we always catch him living dangerously. Of course, the worrying thing for the time travellers is that it always seems to survive.
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Chevy Chase, who has just completed Jack and the Beanstalk and was Ty Webb in 1980's Caddyshack plays the hot tub service man who is responsible for cleaning and or fixing the hot tub at any time. He is there to help get their hot tub cleaned, particularly of any animal carcasses. It seems as if some raccoon tried the time machine earlier but died in the process.
blake lively
When the time machine is activated, helped by the chemicals in some Russian energy drink it becomes a surreal experience. By getting absolutely drunk they forget about the guy who got in wearing a bear costume and the naked women that suddenly appeared in there with them.
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They wake up in the hot tub, but they have no idea what has happened to them. It is now 20 years earlier, they are now in 1986. On the very day they went for the Winterfest '86 music festival when they were younger. I wish my alarm clock had that facility for even just for an hour or two.
blake lively
Recognition of their time travel? It was not the fact that everyone seemed to be sporting retro fashions on the ski slope. It is the Winterfest of 1986. It is the age of bright clothes, big hair and leg warmers. However it was not this that proved to them that they had arrived earlier in time. It was not even vague recognition of faces and people that were around 20 years before, or that all the programs on the TV were from the 80's. You probably would not have guessed how they could tell they had landed in the eighties. Eventually with the suspicion of what could be happening Nick asks a girl if Michael Jackson was black or white. When she replies 'he's black!?' this was proof positive of time travel which sends him screaming back to the room.
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There is one feature of this time machine that is unique however; their bodies are 20 years younger - a big business opportunity there I think. Of course Jacob is not 20 yet so that causes his reality to be in question, his image in the mirror flickers strangely.
blake lively
Sensibly they each start off trying to do everything the same as they did 20 years prior, but one by one they succumb to the temptations of doing things differently.
