HOT TUB TIME MACHINE / ***

Distributor: MGM
Release Date: March 26, 2010
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R

Does anyone else find it funny that MGM can’t get their stuff together on “Bond 23” or “The Hobbitt,” but they managed to release a film called “Hot Tub Time Machine?”

It may sound ridiculous, and with good reason. “Hot Tub Time Machine” is ridiculous from start to finish, and with a title like that how could it not be? The plot, such as it is, sees four guys looking to relive some good times from their youth somehow turn a hot tub into a time machine.

The tub takes them back to 1986 and a pivotal weekend at a ski resort for friends Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Craig Robinson), and Lou (Rob Corddry). Also, Adam brings along his nephew Jacob (Clark Duke). When others look at Adam, Nick, and Lou, they see the 1986 version of them, while they all look normal to each other. Jacob, who didn’t exist in 1986, just looks the same as he did in 2010. If you’re looking for logic in a movie about a hot tub time machine, I got nothing for you.

This is the setup for a silly, ridiculous comedy that feels something like “Ski School 2K10.” Profanity, nudity, and other debauchery flow freely through the film, and all the actors appear to be having a good time. Cusack of course is the straight man, leaving the juicier comedic bits to Robinson, Corddry, and Duke. Corddry in particular stands out with his obliviousness; it’s a performance not unlike Zach Galifianakis in last summer’s hit “The Hangover.” Also Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover (love the casting of both of them) are quite funny in bit parts.

Ultimately “Hot Tub Time Machine” is a good comedy, but I thought it was going to be a little funnier. The sentimental aspects near the end of the film were just laid on a little too thick for a movie called “Hot Tub Time Machine.”

Theater: Rave Motion Pictures Westroads 14, Omaha, NE
Time: 245 pm
Date: April 4, 2010