"Hot Tub Time Machine" Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

Four friends (John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson) are on a little vacation at a ski resort. They're not quite satisfied with the directions their lives have taken. One night, they decide to hop into their resort room's hot tub, and lo and behold, it turns out to be a time machine and they're sent back 13 years to 1986. Wackiness and hilarity ensue due to generational misunderstandings, time paradoxes, etc. Such Comedy Central Original Movie-worthy material is the premise of upcoming science-fiction comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine," which isn't, in fact, a television movie.

The film doesn't look all that good, but it is made rather interesting when one recalls John Cusack's 1985 comedy "Better Off Dead," which took place partly at a ski resort and revolved around him trying to win back his girlfriend, which also seems to be the case here.

Cusack has had a long-term partnership with "Hot Tub" director Steve Pink, who made his directorial debut with "Accepted," but has long been producing some of Cusack's better comedy fare (including "Grosse Pointe Blank" and one of my all-time favorites, "High Fidelity"). His track record isn't bad, but nothing about this film seems appealing to me, even though the cast is generally good and the concept isn't all that bad.

One of the funnier parts of the trailer revolves around Clark Duke's character (the only young member of the four) trying to ask out a girl he's dancing with only to find she doesn't have e-mail, MySpace or Facebook.

"Well how am I supposed to get ahold of you?" he asks her.

"Just find me!"

"That seems so...exhausting."

Regardless, until I hear some good things about it, I'll probably be giving "Hot Tub" a pass. It's set to be released March 19, 2010.

The trailer for "Hot Tub Time Machine" is below. Thoughts?