Hot Tub Time Machine

Four old friends (John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke) go on a skiing holiday, and get in a hot tub at the hotel. When the tub takes them back in time to 1986, they have to find a way back to 2010.

These buddy ‘bro’ humour comedies were quite common back in 2010 and I suspect after The Hangover I’d probably had my fill, so never bothered with this one. I was also a snob and the name would have put me off. Was I wrong to avoid it all these years?

Kind of! It’s pretty funny and there’s a coarse but charming chemistry between the characters that is reasonably appealing. The actual story arc is a pretty flimsy ‘find the MacGuffin’ caper that really just serves as a lattice on which to hang jokes and tread water until the guys have their moment of epiphany and hug-out at the end. That’s a fine choice when the jokes are funny, but makes the film drag when they are not.

Maybe this film about nostalgia did itself make me nostalgic for 2010, a simpler time when a dumb but funny film with a bit of male bonding was all you needed.