OBS at the Movies

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE

Review by Ron Covington

On first appearances Hot Tub Time Machine gives the impression of being another mindless-slacker-gross-out comedy aimed at the 18-34 date night crowds.  But then I looked more closely and saw John Cussack’s name attached as both producer and star.  His company, New Crime, was heavily involved.  Cussack wouldn’t normally associate himself with something that had no merit, so cautiously I decided to take the plunge.

     Yes, the film does have a level of profane gross-out comedy but it also has a salient theme, some good acting, and a structure that works.  Taste-wise, I wasn’t totally turned off so I could focus on the story.  Personally, gross-out comedy doesn’t really gross me out; it’s just not all that amusing.  Yes, it’s meant to appeal to the 14-year-old boy in all of us but my problem is that even when I was a fourteen year-old boy, I wasn’t really a 14-year-old boy.  But enough about my social dysfunction and back to the flick at hand.

     In a nutshell, the story concerns three estranged 40-something friends who are unhappy with their current circumstances.  They re-unite when one of them attempts suicide.  To cheer the death-wish guy up, the three revisit a ski resort where they had the time of their lives as young men.  Cussack brings along his nerdy-tech boy nephew.  Of course the resort is run-down.  After checking into the room they get into the hot tub and reminisce while drinking mass quantities of alcohol.  One of the beverages leaks into the hot tub controls and magically transports the gang back to the glory days of 1986.  Each character deals with his issue and gradually the group reconnects as friends amid a startlingly revelation involving the nephew.  After all the male bonding, the suicide guy decides to stay in the past.  When the others return to the future it as been altered for the positive and everyone is able to live a better life because of the power of friendship.

     Writers can learn a lot by examining how the story worlds are connected.  The story begins in an oppressive present.  The second act takes us to a seemingly utopian past world that is revealed to be place of re-discovery.  The very short third act returns us to the present, a kinder, gentler place because of lessons learned in the past.

     This movie proves that broad slapstick and toilet humor can work when it’s anchored with a solid theme, moments of genuine humanity, and a sound structure.

Ron Covington is a former Disney and Cosby Writing Fellow.  Currently with two TV projects and a stage musical in development, he’s added executive producer to his skill set.