DOWN (Dining Out With Nerds) report: Hot Tub Time Machine

It’s amazing how ten people can make a decision about what movie to see so complicated. That’s even considering that some of us aren’t going to see anything because of work or other obligations. But some have already seen the newest movies, others can’t stand anything with a relationship, I avoid horror movies, some otherwise acceptable movies will end too late. So we can’t always see the “best” movie, however you might define that.

From the title, Hot Tub Time Machine would definitely sound like not the best movie. And yet it has a charm of sorts. Plus it’s funny — it has a surprising number of laugh-out-loud moments. First, the cast is pretty good. I’m beginning to really appreciate John Cusack (Adam) as an actor. In 2012 and here he just gets the job done, not flashy or deep, more an Everyman, like Tom Hanks. Rob Corddry (Lou) fills his role well; he has a manic role, but does not overdo it as he did in Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Craig Robinson (Nick) and Clark Duke (as Jacob, the nerdy teenager) are effective and keep up with the others. Chevy Chase’s role (speaking of the ‘80s!) is poorly written and he accomplished little in his cameos.

The humor is, of course, overdone wherever possible, and there’s lots of crude language. The vomiting-on-a-squirrel scene near the beginning is probably the low point; nothing else was that disgusting. (Okay, the dog scene — also near the beginning — was pretty gross.) This is not a movie for the faint of heart. The reminders of what 1986 was like are funny: “What color is Michael Jackson?” Internet? Texting? E-mail? “I don’t understand what you’re saying!” (Check out what young people don’t know: Beloit 2013.)

Is this movie a realistic examination of time travel? No, not in any way. Here it’s just magic. But that’s not the point. The real point of the movie (if you care about it — you don’t have to) is that life is unpredictable and hard, but friends help you get through it. Our characters grew apart over the years, and now they have problems and are hurting. (Jacob less so than the others only because of his youth... and he has still managed to land himself in jail in World of Warcraft.) Adam rues the chaos of life to a woman who delivers the payoff line: “Embrace the chaos. Life just might astonish you.” Life doesn’t give you a lot of choices. Hide from the chaos, struggle to control it, or embrace it. Pick your suckage, help your friends, and move on.