Control Freak

Movie Review of "Hot Tub Time Machine".

I love to go to the movie theater. And me and my fav comic go to the movies 2 to 3 times a month. We try to choose a movie that would be great to see on the big screen. Some movies can wait for cable, demand or DVD. It was about time for us to see a good, mindless comedy. I wanted to laugh. But I can be pretty tough on the funny. For instance, I thought “The Hangover” was lame and am not afraid to tell anyone. It fell short of the premise. I think it won the Golden Globe last January only because the competition sucked… Although I am willing to give it another try on DVD. OK, ok , force me to look at that sexy Bradley Cooper for 2 hours again. I will if I HAVE to…I am going to see “The A-Team” because he is in it and for no other reason. I digress…

The movie we chose to see was “Hot Tub Time Machine”. I loved it. )For the record so did my fav comic, but he can write his own review). In fact, I want to be in the sequel so I can hangout with John Cusack. I have always loved his movies. I could go on and on about his stuff. I still laugh every time I think of “I want my 2 dollars” from “Better Off Dead”. And that movie was out around 1986. (1985, close enough). I graduated from Kent State University in 1986. HTTM (Hot Tub Time Machine) takes 4 guys back to 1986. So I was digging it…

HTTM is a movie about 4 friends. Three of them went to high school together. The 4th one is a nephew. Lou, (Rob Corddry), is a loser who likes to party and has alienated many of his friends. Adam, (John Cusack), just got dumped royally by his live in girlfriend. Nick, (Craig Robinson), has a wife that is a little too much in charge of everything. Jacob,(Clark Duke), is Adam’s nephew. He hangs out in Adam’s basement and spends too much time playing video games, etc. The 4 of them take a weekend getaway to a ski lodge they used to go to when they were in high school. Well, 3 of them were in high school. Jacob wasn’t even born yet.

The lodge is now a broken down dump, much like their lives. They stay anyways and get their old suite. They reminisce and party. Get drunk in the hot tub and POOF, end up back in 1986. While they are trying to get back to 2010, they realize they must retrace the weekend exactly as it happened in 1986 so they can return to the lives they left before they went into time machine….

Of course, they all decide that they can change their mediocre lives and be happier if they twist fate a bit. There are a lot of tempting ‘what ifs’ in the movie. Which got me to thinking…if I could go back to 1986 and change anything to tweak my future (which is now), would I? What would I have done differently…

I already said that I was in college in1986. Life was good. I was working on BS degree. I had a steady boyfriend who was a lot of fun. Drank a lot of alcohol. Worked out too much. Did a few things I shouldn’t have. But survived…

I write and talk a lot about enjoying the ride. Is the time spent worth the payoff. I may seem like a control freak but really I am your typical female, who like things done the way she likes them done. Now men will not understand that last sentence (unless you have gone down the same road twice)…But all the women know what I am talking about. And you have to live a little. Live deep into your 30’s or 40’s to get it. I am all about the ride…If it isn’t fun, I want to make it fun…Or I will pester you until I have fun. I am petulant sometimes. And a handful, at other times. And charming, the rest of the time.

So if I could change one thing that happened to me on a given weekend back then, I wouldn’t. I figure it got me here, writing to you all, for no money. And it is good enough for me. Why would I want to do anything else… I was broke in the 80’s. And I am still broke today. But I have everything I need. Good kids. Good husband who makes me laugh and cry. And he tests the boundaries of my sanity at least twice a day. So I have THAT going for me…

I actually have it pretty good….

I will not tell you how the movie plays out. I will tell you it is a movie about hindsight, missed opportunities and what if. It is a funny, funny movie that I want to see again. There are some great cameo appearances and a flashback from another John Cusack movie. The music is great. And the laughs are many. This movie accomplishes what it set out to do. Go see it if you want to laugh. That’s why I went. To laugh. And I did…