The film stars John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry and Clark Duke. The foursome do what else? Time travel through a hot tub back to the 80's. I cast is terrific. It's nice seeing Cusack in a comedic role again, it's been awhile. He's been caught up in the dramatics of late. Robinson is one of my favorite new comedians in Hollywood. Every time he has a bit role in a movie, he steals the screen. Corddry was so fun in the 'Harold and Kumar' sequel and does not disappoint in this. Duke is a fairly newcomer, but his work in Sex Drive and Kick-Ass was great.
So the crew time travels back to the 80's, now what? The guys spread out at a Winter Ski resort and relive their youth. One of the funniest concepts in the movie is that the men appear to everyone around them as they did in the 80's. So Robinson is a young, hip, guy with a high-top that would challenge any 80's Rap artist. There are a lot of funny situations that are brought up bases on this concept. Does Robinson's character cheat on his wife? She'll never know, he hasn't met her yet, why not? Very funny.
There are a lot of funny moments purely because it's the 80's. The clothes, the music, the technology. Duke's character is the youngest of the bunch. He's trying to hook up with a girl at a bar. So he asks her for her cell number, nothing. Her Facebook, nothing. She has no idea what he's talking about. It's 20 years before Facebook! Haha. Its a great scene that was also showcased in the trailers to the movie.
The main story arc follow's Cusack's character, and how his situation in the present came about. Duke plays Cusack's nephew in the movie and that alone led to so many funny moments. As far as the audience knows, Duke is a bastard child. But it's funny seeing Duke's mom in 80's sluttin' it up with every guy she sees. We get a better idea of who Duke's father is.
The movie never takes itself too seriously. It never explains why the hot tub is a time machine, it doesn't care. It takes us on a funny ride that needs no explanation. There are a few scenes with Chevy Chase where the writing doesn't work. It's supposed to be a play on words between Chase and the other actors, but it never quite hits its mark.
Other than that, the movie, to me, was truly "EPIC" (quote from the movie). It was a very funny movie that will stand up to the best of them. Cuscack and company are great in their respective roles. The theme of friendship was a big one, and very well played out. There's a surprise ending that I will not spoild. But I will tell you this, you will never look at Google the same again ;o)
