[yasr_overall_rating]
After using a hot tub time machine to fulfill their wildest dreams, a group of guys must time travel once more to prevent one of their own from being shot in the crotch and killed. – Classy
“Best movie of the year!” “Can you say Oscar?” “Funniest film since ‘Gone with the Wind’.” These are things you aren’t going to hear about this movie, but what did you expect? If you enjoyed the first “Hot Tub Time Machine” shenanigans, you’ll appreciate this one. It’s very much the same humor, and same nonsense logic. But nonsense logic is just the nature of time travel movies. No Cusack for this sequel, but Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson and Clark Duke reprise their roles. And one of the other things missing from this sequel that made the first so likable are all the winks and nods to the past that made it more nostalgic.
The film starts with a new altered reality of present time. Much of this is a continuation from the first film. It basically explores the idea that if you went back in time, knowing what you know now, what could you alter or claim as your own? Lou, played by Rob Corddry, invents Loogal, an obvious knockoff of Google. Craig Robinson’s character, Nick, has gained fame with a string of music hits that he was able to claim credit for before the original artist even had the chance. One funny scene has Nick recording a music video to a Lisa Loeb song, but since he stole the song, Lisa Loeb is not famous or a singer in this future. She’s the catlady wrangler on set. Nick sees her and feels just a little bad for stealing her songs for his own gain.
And here lies the emotional thread of the film. Despite rewriting their own history, and becoming rich and famous, the group of guys obviously are missing out on something more meaningful. They start a journey looking for what’s missing after attending a party hosted by Lou. At the party, we first see Lou’s son (Clark Duke) who, despite his dad’s success, is basically an under-appreciated butler and slave. Lou has become really power hungry and a jerk. He’s mean to his son and tells his guests at the party how worthless they are. Lightning and thunder throughout the party give you a sense that something bad is going to happen. During Lou’s speech to the party goers, the lights flicker and a shotgun blast rings out. Boom. Someone shoots Lou right in the junk. And it’s at that moment you know what type of film this is going to be.
Long story short, Nick, Lou and Jacob jump into the Hot Tub Time Machine to try to save Lou’s life. But instead of going into the past to fix things, they go to the future. In the future, Lou’s son is now the rich and powerful one, and Lou is an old nasty druggy. They soon figure out that Lou’s mysterious shooter is from the future and they try to figure out who he is. In the process of looking for the shooter, they start to wonder what happened to John Cusack’s character from the first movie, and end up finding his son instead.
There isn’t much plot to “Hot Tub Time Machine 2.” There are lots of lulls and long uninteresting parts but between those, there are some funny moments, mostly when the actors seem to be ad-libbing and riffing on each other.
It’s not a great movie, it’s an okay movie – short on deep plot and story. That being said it’s probably fun to see with a group of friends. I’m a big Craig Robinson fan, and I usually like Rob Corddry, but he so successfully play a jerk in this film that the film gives me no one to really root for. You kind of root for Jacob, Lou’s son, but it’s just not enough to make this movie that likable. There are some laugh out loud moments for sure, and a lot of attempts at shock value. So if you see only one time travel movie with hot tubs this year, check out “Hot Tub Time Machine 2.” Just set your expectations to low.
