Hot Tub Time Machine 2

Starring:Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Adam Scott, Chevy Chase, Gillian Jacobs, Collette Wolfe, Bianca Haase, Jason Jones, Kumail Nanjiani, Lisa Loeb, Christian Slater
Directed by: Steve Pink
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Three of the four friends once again travel through time, this time in attempt to discover who shot Lou (Rob Corddry) in the groin.

Review:

Tim: After really disliking the first film, I wasn't looking forward to this one much. It brings back the same director, the same cast, although they lost John Cusack, perhaps the best part of the first film. This had recipe for disaster all over it. And yet, while this movie again is really bad, it's on an equal footing to the first film. I definitely did not expect that. I expected a huge decrease in quality. So, while I applaud the film for not dropping in quality, it's all relative, as this is still a pretty bad film.

A big reason why I didn't love this film is that there's not many likable characters. Without Cusack, Rob Corddry moves into the lead role. This represents a massive drop in quality. Corddry can be okay, but this role requires him to be such an unlikable shmuck. I don't understand why a movie would work when the main character is such a terrible human being. It's somewhat funny, yes, but it doesn't make for a very compelling story. Craig Robinson and Clark Duke are certainly better. They have some funny moments and represented stronger elements of the film. Adam Scott isn't someone I often like- he has charisma, but he also has this presence that makes me feel he believes he's better than everyone else. I would never call myself of a fan of what Scott does. He's okay in this role, but his character is pretty annoying. I liked seeing Chevy Chase, but was super disappointed he was only in the film for about a minute. I was really excited to see Gillian Jacobs, but she has almost nothing worthwhile to do. It was quite disappointing. As a whole, the cast is either bad or never fully utilized.

This movie has so many plot holes and so much ridiculousness going on. I won't even get into the logic of the film because the script is so weak. I just want to point out that the story is pretty weak. Now, that's not to say the movie doesn't have its moments. There are some truly funny moments sprinkled throughout the film. One of the "You look like..." gags actually made me laugh out loud. That was a highlight of the film. Unfortunately, for every hilarious moment, there's 6-7 jokes that fall flat or completely miss the mark. That's the nature of this film. In many ways, it's pretty similar to the first film. I understand that not every joke will connect, but great comedies land more than they miss. That certainly doesn't happen here. I also have to say that the whole "hot tub time machine" thing has lost any of its freshness. Part of what helped the first movie was how absurd and original the basic premise was. By its nature, that isn't the case with the sequel.

Now, as bad as Hot Tub Time Machine 2 often is, I do really appreciate that this movie was rated R. We get so many PG-13 comedies these days, it's refreshing when you see a movie embrace its R rating. The language alone helps differentiate this film a bit from the many PG-13 comedies. Of course, it's not enough to make up for the poor quality of the script and direction, but at least it's something.

So, in the end, I am pretty surprised that Hot Tub Time Machine 2 matches the quality of the first film. That doesn't always happen with comedy sequels. Unfortunately, the first film set the bar so low that it's really a Pyrrhic victory.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Hot Tub Time Machine, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard; Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Pineapple Express, The Hangover