Hot Tub Time Machine 2

If you could travel back in time, what would you do ? Would you change the past just to see what the future will look like instead ? Let´s turn it around for a moment. What would you do if you could travel into the future ? Hard question, i suppose i would want to make the world better, but as they say, you make one change,  and you might cause problems in a longer term. Time travelling have been brought up in many motion pictures, in many different versions. From the early 1960 film The Time Machine, into the 80´s with the massive box office success of Back To The Future. Many films have taken on the subject of time travelling, some really good, some less good. I actually have one film that i still feel passionate about, the 1994 film Timecop. This was actually the biggest box office hit for Jean-Claude Van Damme, and one of his best performances from an acting perspective. Of course i would say that Back To The Future is one of the best time travelling films of all time, because that film nailed everything in what could go wrong, or what could change if we decided to go back in time. So what if you suddenly woke up hangover one day, and have travelled back in time, without knowing it at all ? This is something that the comedy Hot Tub Time Machine delivered, with a funny plot included. Just the idea of an hot tub made as a time machine is actually a brilliant idea, so whoever came up with this original detail, you deserve respect. When this film came out in 2010, i was actually surprised how funny it was. Sure, there were plenty of vulgar jokes, nudity and alcohol, but it was all combined into a great mix with some surprises along the way. And the 80´s influences fit really well with the story, including some classic 80´s metal. To see John Cusack back in a comedy was also great, because he can be funny, if he get the right character. I would still say that this comedy holds 5 years later, because it had an original idea. So when i read a sequel is coming, i realised that i had to take a look, if the guys have managed to capture the same feeling from the first film. Is Hot Tub Time Machine guaranteed to make you laugh like the first film, or is this a sequel that should not have been made ?

5 years have passed. Lou Dorchen ( Rob Corrdy ) is an successfull business man, who still continue to party, and have no plans of becoming serious about anything. Nick Webber ( Craig Robinson ) is a musician, and a pop artist loved by fans. What the people don´t know is that he stole old songs and make them hits, as if he created the songs. Jacob Yates Dorchen ( Clark Duke ) is the butler, and son of Lou, but Lou see him more as his personal butler. Lou is planning to have a huge party, where Nick and his wife Courtney ( Kellee Stewart ) is invited. While Lou is holding a speech, about how bad ass he is, someone shoots Lou. Panic breaks out, and no one knows what to do. Until Jacob realise that they could use the Hot Tub Time Machine, to go back and see who shot Lou, and make sure he never gets shot. They all agree to do one more trip, to make things straight. But when they wake up, it seems that they have travelled 10 years ahead into the future. They can´t go back either, because they can´t find the substance that is needed to make every time travel moment possible. So they have to find a different way to come up with a plan, how they can go back. Meanwhile, Jacob realise that they might be in an alternative timeline, when he looks into what might have happened. Is it possible that they still can find out who tried to kill Lou, even if they are stuck in the future ?

The first film was funny. It made fun of the 80´s in a good way, about the glam metal and the metal ballad bands that took over the charts. Chevy Chase also shows up, and gives the film an nostalgia feeling. One of the things that made Hot Tub Time Machine work so well, was the comedy timing from the actor Rob Corrdy. His passion for Mötley Crue made his character so great, that you could not stop loving him. The idea of a gang of male friends, accidently travelling back to the year of 1986, worked pretty well. Especially with the vulgar humour, since this was needed to capture the right feeling. So when i heard a sequel was coming, i was actually surprised. Hot Tub Time Machine did not seem to be a film you make a sequel of, unless you come up with a great idea. Unfortunately, this sequel does not live up to the first film by comedy standars. Most of the cast is back, except for John Cusack. He is only mentioned in this sequel. but it does not matter honestly. This film tries to make fun of time travelling in a completely different way, and this film is not that funny. Rob Corrdy is still the best part of this sequel, without him this would have fallen flat. There are a few scenes where i did laugh, a little bit, but compared to the first film the humour feels forced. Director Steve Pink, did direct the first film, so you would hope he would give this sequel some good material. It feels like he must have lost his thread, because Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is not a worthy sequel. Simple jokes, mix with sex jokes, and dick jokes, that can be funny if you do it the right way. Here, it feels like a big mix of everything, but without no meaning. I do like one thing though, in the beginning of the film, Lou Dorchen, looks like another version of Vince Neil, with much more chest hair. I am sorry to say, in the end this is not a film i am pleased about. I enjoy vulgar humour, if it mix great together with a funny story. Somehow, director Steve Pink did not give this film the passion it needed. See the first film instead, and you will guaranteed have some good laughs.

Rating: DD