Hot Tub Time Machine is the funniest movie that has come out this decade! I really mean that. What a ragtag band of comedians; John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke are amazing together. They are hilarious because they play off of one another’s abilities. This film is like Ski School redux, I think it is my new favorite 80s movie!

     When the movie opens each character is introduced. All four of these former best friends are living life the miserable way. Nick (Craig Robinson from "The Office") is an overweight former singer turned married and broken pooper scooper groomer (no, really that is his job). Adam (John Cusack) is a middle aged never married selfish jerk. He attributes all of the misfortune in his life to a break up that occurred twenty years earlier. Lou (Rob Corddry) is a single, lonely, immature failure. Lou is in the process of committing suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning. Finally, the fourth fixture is Jacob (Clark Duke), an obese twenty year old living with his Uncle Adam playing video games 24-7 without any hint of a social life. When Lou winds up in the hospital all three friends and Jacob wind up together again after so many years of drifting apart. Still maintaining a shred of decency and friendship, Adam and Nick volunteer to take Lou on vacation to their old stomping grounds, a ski resort. Yes, there are Better Off Dead references and there is a ton of cocaine.

     At the lodge all four undress for the Jacuzzi that is magically fixed just hours after being empty and having a dead animal rotting away inside. Nothing like a little carrion to start your day! Rob Corddry has a hairy back and a hairy ass. John Cusack shows his better half/nether region twice. Thank god we never see Clark Duke naked as I am not even sure a hooker would want to go there. Craig Robinson is the one who utters "I think it’s some kind of hot tub time machine". Every word out of his mouth is funny. There are three black comedians who are widely respected for their humor. Chris Rock is occasionally humorous, Tracy Morgan tries harder than Elvis on a toilet and yet never lands on planet funny ever, and Craig Robinson is flat out hysterical. While in the hot tub, our four nudey boys are whisked away after their illegal Red Bull substitute short circuits the controls. They are brought back to 1986 for Winterfest and to relive critical moments in their lives. Cusack, Robinson and Corddry are unleashed in all of their beautiful humor while Duke suddenly becomes a royal dick and spews out nastiness constantly. He is a real drag on the film and serves no real purpose other than to be annoying.

     All four agree that they want to do things differently as their younger selves but they are afraid of messing up the space-time-continuum even though their lives in the future completely suck. In 1986 Cusack is supposed to break up with his dream girl, the one that "got away". In return she is supposed to stab him in the eye with a fork, spork, or some form of utensil. This happens but he also meets the woman of his dreams and finds out more than he bargained for about that crucial turn of events. In a bitter yet comforting twist of fate Corddry is apparently Duke’s father after sleeping with Cusack’s prurient (slutty) sister. He must conceive Duke before time runs out. Robinson needs to sing his heart out just in case he never has another chance. Duke simply needs to not un-conceive himself, if such a concept exists. To this extent he is vexing as can be to all three adults.

     It would be hard to fathom this movie being funnier. The humor is never forced, the lines are like Jackie Mason meets Rodney Dangerfield and they have a love child who attended the John Stewart school of funny. There is nothing too raunchy, over-the-top, or embarrassing here, everything goes and these are just the actors to deliver the goods. It is about time we see John Cusack going back in time literally and figuratively. He defined the 80s in many ways and deserves a chance to remind us of his relevance and his ability to make moviegoers happy. Hot Tub Time Machine is a throwback to a better time, and a reminder that we all want to go back and do it all over again. Alas, that cannot ever be. This is why we have an imagination and we are not afraid to use it. Good times people, good times.

Miscellaneous Notes:

-Duke is so good at playing the cool guy who happens to be surprisingly ugly. Playing the reverse role does not suit him well at all.

-Craig Robinson is getting funnier. He has transitioned nicely into movies. He needs to move on from sitcom acting.

-Chevy Chase has tried to make dozens of comebacks. Unfortunately like in every other instance, he is pathetic here. For the life of me I cannot reason if he is a bitter old alcoholic who drank away his talent or if his humor is simply from another time and another place. Give up trying though.

-Lizzy Caplan who plays Cusack’s dream woman has a romantic nonchalance that comes across as touching and as really hot. It is pure 80s baby.

-The sound track for the most part stayed 80s and that made Hot Tub Time Machine seem authentic to the period.