Hot Tub Time Machine (1 & 2)

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (15)

D: Steve Pink

MGM/United Artists/New Crime (John Cusack, Grace Loh, John Morris & Matt Moore)

US 2010

99 mins

Comedy

W: Josh Heald, Sean Anders & John Morris

DP: Jack N. Green

Ed: George Folsey, Jr. & James Thomas

Mus: Christophe Beck

John Cusack (Adam Yates), Rob Corddry (Lou Dorchen), Craig Robinson (Nick Webber-Agnew), Clark Duke (Jacob Yates), Crispin Glover (Phil Wedmaier), Lizzy Caplan (April Drennan), Chevy Chase (The Repairman)

Put The Hangover, Back To The Future & Groundhog Day in a hot tub and this movie is the result. There's no rhyme or reason for the time travel, as a group of friends revisit a ski resort from their youth and wake up after a night of binge drinking in 1985. This is a movie in love with the 80's, with countless references to movies, music, fashion and trends of the time. Chevy Chase appears as a mystical repair man who attempts to explain the unexplainable, but it's best explained by Craig Robinson's character when he deadpans into the camera "It must be some kind of hot tub time machine."

Sometimes a film doesn't have to make total sense to be enjoyable and this is a good example. A nostalgic guilty pleasure or sheer lunacy, it's still great entertainment, with some brilliantly hilarious moments. You'll probably know whether or not you'll like it from the title alone (which was enough to convince John Cusack to confirm his interest).

6/10

The laws of space & time are about to be violated

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2 (15)

D: Steve Pink

Paramount/MGM (Andrew Panay)

US 2015

93 mins

Comedy

W: Josh Heald

DP: Declan Quinn

Ed: Jamie Gross

Mus: Christophe Beck

Rob Corddry (Lou Dorchen), Craig Robinson (Nick Webber), Clark Duke (Jacob Dorchen), Adam Scott (Adam Yates Stedmeyer), Chevy Chase (Hot Tub Repairman), Gillian Jacobs (Jill), Collette Wolfe (Kelly Dorchen)

It's never a good sign when a lead actor declines from appearing in a sequel, as John Cusack has done here, but, in all fairness, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is far from a terrible sequel.

Of course, it's very silly and makes little-to-no sense, but neither did the first film, which still managed to be a huge amount of fun.

The plot this time sees the gang (minus Adam) travel into the future so they can solve the mystery of who shot Lou at a party, and get help from Adam's son.

The best gags are in the opening act, but the film gets more and more ridiculous as it goes on, even for a film about a hot tub time machine.

The humour in this is a little more mean-spirited than the first film and it does feel a little too cash-grabby. Perhaps Cusack was wise to steer clear.

4/10