For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Hot Tub Time Machine
The Impression:
Four gentlemen, one time-traveling hot tub, gratuitous
nudity straight out of 1986? Is this a frat-boy retelling
of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure?
The Reality:
I'll say this, I enjoyed this film a good deal more than I
thought I would. For a film about three estranged high
school best friends (and one nephew) who end up traveling
back in time to 1986 and doing a lot of drugs, cursing a lot
and enjoying a variety of situations involving naked women,
there's a surprising sweetness to this film. John Cusack,
Rob Corddry, and Craig Robinson master the sort of vulgar
repartee only high school best friends can have, and their
problematic relationships shine with credibility because of
this. On top of that Craig Robinson is brilliant in this
film, ably riding the line between absolute madness and
restrained emotion and proving himself a comedic star in the
process.
Enjoyment aside, I was telling a friend yesterday how
shocked I was that I enjoyed Hot Tub Time Machine but
couldn't remember a single joke.
The Lesson:
Dick and fart humor can be instilled
with genuine sweetness. I just won't remember it.
Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The
Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and
the KEXP blog. He also has his own
Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.
If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his
writings here at Side One: Track One then please do
so
here.
- Noah Sanders
-
-
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any
related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by
John Laird under a
Creative Commons License.
