Zero to 88 Degrees: Hot Tub Time Machine as predictable as its name

Back in January, I was invited to attend an early screening of a little film called Hot Tub Time Machine. It was a rough cut and was, well, a little rough.

The editing required tightening and a few story issues needed to be resolved. Now it has been completed and the finished product is, well, still a little rough.

It is a shoddily structured, messily executed hour and a half trip through an unoriginal screenplay. The story is reminiscent of dozens of other time-traveling films, only this time, the machine in question is a hot tub. Still, its goofy nature and fun, unabashed ridiculousness are hard to deny.

The story, as lackluster as it may be, can be summarized as follows: After Lou, played by Rob Corddry, tries to kill himself, his friends Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Clark Duke) and Jacob (Craig Robinson), travel to their old vacation spot, a ski resort in the mountains. There, they are transported back to the ’80s via a hot tub and must travel in the same footsteps they did all those years ago, lest they disrupt the past and change the future for the worse.

Much like Snakes on a Plane or the more recent Ninja Assassin, Hot Tub Time Machine is a movie most will want to see based on the delightfully absurd title alone. Those people will not be disappointed.

Hot Tub doesn’t concern itself with heart, meaning or character development. It simply provides a constant string of gags that allow the four actors to play off each other.

Unfortunately, for every hilarious joke, there was one that fell flatter than an anorexic supermodel, including the bodily fluid jokes that even the most juvenile of viewers will find degrading.

Blood, urine, vomit — you name it, this movie has it. In the first 20 minutes alone, you get all of the above and then some, not to mention a scene where Nick digs out keys that were lodged in the anus of an animal and throws them at someone. This type of lowbrow humor is to be expected, but it doesn’t make it funny.

It is during the more perceptive scenes that Hot Tub Time Machine really shines. It knows what it is — over-the-top, tongue in cheek and very silly — and it takes its ’80s setting and capitalizes on it.

Cusack, known for his seminal roles in ’80s films like Say Anything, is used to the fullest. The film puts him in situations that echo movies of his golden era, even going so far as to duplicate one of the most famous scenes from Sixteen Candles, a film which he played a minor role in.

In a way, Hot Tub Time Machine is kind of smart in its stupidity. There is nothing going on behind the camera, but the comedic chemistry of the four actors is enjoyable and the witty script proves some thought went into it. It’s ironic, really.

The film has brains, but you’ll have to turn yours off to enjoy it.