I don't think I've ever reflected on a botched suicide attempt and thought, "Get it right, moron!" That is, until reflecting upon the suicide attempt that opened The Hot Tub Time Machine. You see, it was that failed attempt that sent the story in motion, a tale that probably never should have been told and one that I never needed to see.
It's been more than two months since I saw this flick. So, the fact that I've put off writing a review until now speaks volumes. It gets the ole 1/2 star rating. If you've forgotten, that qualifies this flick in the "Don't ever mention this F*&%-ing movie to me again." It's humor was rarely funny. It's story was flat out retarded. What was billed as 2010's The Hangover, came absolutely nowhere close. The Hangover was probably my favorite flick last year, so I can appreciate crude humor. I saw the thing five times in the theatre and rolled every time. Hot Tub Time Machine was not crude humor. It was missing a key word in that phrase: humor. It just was not funny when it was supposed to be. It was not touching when it was supposed to be. The characters weren't even a little likable when they were supposed to be.
The storyline showed a comedic promise. Two long-time friends coming to the rescue of another who had possibly lost his will to live. The three decide on a trip back to the place where they experienced glory days gone by: a ski resort. Adam (John Cusack), Lou (Rob Corddry) and Nick (Craig Robinson) make up the three and Adam's nephew, Jacob (Clark Duke) tags along for lack of any other place to be. There, the three are sucked literally back to the glory days and find themselves in the 80's. Wildly colored clothes meets hair gone wild as four twits try to find their way back to their hapless lives of today. Promise meet broken promise.
Yeah, I realize that it's supposed to be stupid, but I appreciate off-kilter humor. I often flaunt a stupid humor of my own. This just never materialized. You know where the story is going, but I just found myself annoyed at how they were getting there. Further, the acting was just flat. These guys seem to make up a pretty good cast, but had no real material to work with. No impactful performances. In fact, Clark Duke, who I loved in Sex Drive, even seemed lost in this one. All in all--bad flick.
It's now out on DVD and unless you need an over sized Frisbee for your daughter's Barbie collection, I wouldn't give Hot Tub Time Machine a second thought.
Enjoy your Fourth...
True
No comments:
Post a Comment