Hot Tub Time Machine 2

Hot Tub Time Machine 2

 (2015)

A Review by Grant Kanigan

Directed by: Steve Pink

Written by: Josh Heald

Starring: Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson,

             Clark Duke, Adam Scott

Rating: 18A

Release Date: February 20th, 2015

Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Rob Corddry and Adam Scott go for a dip in Hot Tub Time Machine 2 
© 2015 Paramount Pictures Corporation and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.

     The main point of a comedy is to make the audience laugh. Any good comedian will tell you that as long as the audience is listening and laughing, you're doing your job. Comedians like George Carlin, Lenny Bruce or Bill Hicks went further than that into social commentary, and made a lasting impact with their bodies of work. Others, like Jerry Seinfeld, Mitch Hedberg or indie-comic Nick Thune merely go for the comic jugular. Like differing wines, each comedy style fits a certain taste, yet, more often than not, the comics who juxtaposed social commentary with their laughs are the comics who's work exists long after they're gone from this earth. However, it's not to say one style of comedy is better than the next. When an audience is looking for sublime comic escapism for an hour and a half, they would do well to look no further than the insanely ridiculous Hot Tube Time Machine 2. 

      The aptly titled Hot Tub Time Machine 2, (i.e., it's a sequel about four dudes time traveling in a hot tub), follows the events of the original, picking up during the height of Lou's, (Rob Corddry), fame and power. Using his knowledge of the future and sticking in the past during the original film, Lou has 'invented' everything from Motley Crue to Google. His friend, Nick, (Craig Robinson), and son Jacob, (Clark Duke), have also taken advantage of their knowledge of the future and all live comfortably. Drunk on excess and his own hubris, Lou is shot during a massive party at his mansion, and is in danger of losing his life. Not knowing what else to do, the trio pile into Lou's secret hot tub, in hopes of traveling through time and stopping Lou's would be killer. Yet, as the hot tub's mysterious repairman, (Chevy Chase), explains, "the hot tub doesn't take you where you want to go - it takes you where you need to go." Instead of traveling to the past, the trio have arrived ten years in the future. Dodging killer smart cars, futuristic hallucinogens, demented reality television and Christian Slater, the trio meet up with Adam's (John Cusack, absent from this sequel), son, Adam Jr. (Adam Scott). Realizing the killer has travelled through time to kill Lou, the group must figure out who the killer is and stop him, as well as the alternate future in which they find themselves in. 

     The trouble with a film like this is its complexity. For a film with a title as stupid as Hot Tub Time Machine, (it was originally titled Hot Tub Time Machine 3: Because Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Hasn't Happened Yet), the script goes into astounding detail. Explaining time as another dimension in which the hot tub allows the group to travel, Jacob goes through theories in quantum physics and the multiverse theory in a matter of minutes. As well, the punchlines throughout the film range from dick jokes to jokes about playwright Arthur Miller. It's a frantic explosion of comedy from every range of humour. The goal of scriptwriter Josh Heald isn't to be intelligent, dumb or socially relevant - it's simply to make the audience laugh as much as possible. Heald throws so much at the screen it's impossible not to laugh, no matter which way your sense of humour leans. For those with a wider spectrum of hilarity, the film is a gut-busting laugh marathon, a film so funny you'll be rolling in the aisles, gasping for air. From murderous sentient vehicles to a futuristic acid trip, the film has a no holds barred, ruthless sense of humour. For those with a broad sense of humour that aren't easily offended, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is one hell of a trip.

       On top of the script, the ensemble is brilliant. The trio from the first film, continue with the comedic chemistry from that film, and Scott easily fills the void left by Cusack. The group of four seem to be actually having fun rather than simply filling out their roles. The cameos, too are hilarious. From Christian Slater's devilish reality show host, to Chevy Chase's mysterious Repairman, the cameos are quick, don't outstay their welcome, and are absolutely hilarious. Finally, as the films primary antagonist, the hilarious Kumail Nanjiani does some memorable work in the limited time he has on screen. It's great to see Nanjiani do some cinematic work, as he's one of the funniest comedians working today. 

     In closing, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 doesn't have the benefit of nostalgia or originality like it's predecessor did. Yet, with some clever writing, a plethora of jokes and a cast that's down for just about anything, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is one of the funniest films of early 2015. 

Grant's Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry and Clark Duke in Hot Tub Time Machine Clip: "Mirror"