Hot Tub Time Machine - 1 smile

While I didn’t hate “Hot Tub Time Machine,” I can’t say that I liked it either. So what does that say about the movie, which has four unlikable characters, a plot that doesn’t make sense, and humor that’s based on crude jokes and gross out visuals. When their hot tub takes them back to 1984, our heroes decide that they have to repeat what they did in the past if they want to get back to 2010. But as soon as they say that, the script has them going off in random directions. Then there’s the humor: an excrement gag, projectile vomiting, an extended blow-job joke, slapstick violence, and lots of off-color dialogue. Funny, huh? And the cast doesn’t help either. John Cusack is boring – and I like Cusack. Obviously, his heart isn’t in it. Craig Robinson is wooden except when the script calls for silly and Clark Duke is bland. And Rob Corddry makes his character so obnoxious and irritating that that you want him to go away. Vulgarity is common in today’s comedies, but vulgarity alone doesn’t make for a quality comedy. But if you enjoy this sort of thing, then you’ll like “Hot Tub Time Machine.” For me, I’m sorry I wasted my time and money. 3/27/10