Hot Tub - Der Whirlpool... ist 'ne verdammte Zeitmaschine

Maybe I liked this movie because I had such subterranean expectations for it. From the previews, and, indeed, just the title, I was certain it was going to be stupid rather than funny.

But I went out to dinner with my friends Saturday night, and after dinner, to my chagrin, everybody had a reason to bail on the evening, and I found myself alone, at 9pm, with nothing to do, and not wanting to go home. So I went to the theater to play movie roulette. Hot Tub Time Machine was playing almost immediately, and the next movie after that wouldn't be for another 45 minutes. I *almost* turned around and went home, so sure was I that this film was going to be stupid rather than funny. But I figured, what the heck, I'm here...

Well, the movie *is* stupid. But it's funny too. And what's more, it knows it's stupid and makes no bones about it. At no time does it ever take itself seriously. Now, I could have done without some of the extremely gross bits. Happily there aren't *too* many of them. And I'm sure I didn't get all the 80's references; although I did live through the period, I largely avoided popular culture at that time, and still couldn't tell you most of the bands or big hit songs of the time (or of today, for that matter).

But I have to confess, the movie did make me laugh. Not all throughout, but I did have a number of genuine, laugh-out-loud moments. And plenty of chuckles and smiles. And I found myself genuinely liking the characters, and finding them to have a bit more depth than I expected from a film entitled "Hot Tub Time Machine". And the basic theme of the loss of the zany, free-form fun of youth, and regret of the relative staid blandness of "adult" life, is a theme which resonated with me.

Now, let's get real. This is no "Citizen Cane", "Vertigo", or "The Godfather". Nor is a timeless comedy masterpiece like "Airplane", "Blazing Saddles", or "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Someone here displayed gross unfairness in trying to compare it to a classic '30's comedy, but obviously this is not "It Happened One Night", "Bringing Up Baby", or "Duck Soup", and if you go to the theater expecting it to be, the fault lies with you. What it is is a silly, fun, enjoyable way to pass a couple hours. Not deep, not profound, not brilliant. Not timeless, not enduring.

But not bad. And not nearly as stupid as it looked like it was going to be. And these days, that's not too bad.

Not an instant classic, but a lot of fun to watch. I think you can summarize it like that. The main actors are doing a great job selling the very silly idea of time traveling with or rather inside a hot tub! If you get sucked into that, everything else will work too. But if you don't like that general idea ... Maybe you shouldn't watch the movie after all and save yourself the time (and grief).

It's hilarious and it has heart, even when it's gross at times. Which it can be, but it's easy to tolerate and forgive it for those little moments, because it actually is funny. Trying to figure out how it actually works (the physics of the time travel) would probably lead into a territory the movie would not want you to go ... and why would you want to ruin your own enjoyment ... if you're having fun watching - stick with it

Hot Tub Time Machine is a great movie with a ridiculous but very funny storyline and a very comedic cast.I mostly enjoyed Craig Robinson in this movie,he isn't a very well known actor,but I really like him in everything i've seen him in,he's a good actor and also very funny,I also really enjoyed John Cusack,i've only seen him in serious roles in the past and I was surprised that he was so good at delivering a funny performance in this.Chevy Chase did a great job in this,but he needed to be in it a lot more,when you manage to get a comedy actor as big as this in your movie,you need to give them more screen time.I was also surprised with the heart in this movie,I thought it would be an American Pie type of comedy,but it was actually very heartwarming at times and I got really attached to these characters.Fans of very goofy comedies will definitely enjoy this movie and will be laughing out loud.

Four discontented men are taken back to the 1980's by a hot tub in their hotel suite,and they must be careful not to change anything before the repairman (Chevy Chase) can get the hot tub working again.

Hell, it certainly kept me damn entertained. In this day and age it takes real comedy chops to pull off poo and vomit gags with such expert timing. The film embraces the absurdity of time travel and doesn't focus too much on the whys. All four of the male leads are brilliant, especially Corddry, who pulls off one of the great movie arseholes, without completely detaching himself from the audience. There are some classic lines, mostly coming from insults, and the film doesn't rely too much on date humour (just a few references to e-mail etc.) It cleverly spits in the face of the butterfly effect and relishes its characters manipulation of time, whilst showing that some things can't be avoided. A very entertaining comedy.

This is one of the best medium budget comedies to come out of the 2010s. A true lost art of a genre. You get nostalgia, tons of politically incorrect jokes and situations, and of course boobs. It's masterfully goofy. Don't misunderstand what I say. It's not a quality film, but it is entertaining as hell.

Really hits the nail on the head with pointless movies strictly for fun and laughter.

Not really sure what else to say, but this is one of those movies that I could come across on tv in the middle of it, and gladly sit through all the commercials to finish it, then watch just the first half right after because it's on again at 1:30am.