Hot Tub Time Machine 2

Hot Tub Time Machine is one of my favorite "stoner" comedies. I know it doesn't technically fall under that category but the style of humor is similar to movies like Harold & Kumar in that it's dumb humor, gross-out gags, and just unbridled ridiculousness. And that's fun to me. Hot Tub Time Machine 2 keeps that same formula but unfortunately it's missing a few key things that made the first one so great.

First is the novelty factor. We've seen these guys time travel before so the whole "explaining time" aspect isn't all that interesting. Second, there's no consistency. The first movie had a plot - it was an adventure from start to finish and you were with these characters the whole way. It was straightforward and it worked. Here, they try to save Lou from being killed by going back in time to stop the killer, but instead they go forward in time and apparently the killer is from that time and ended up going back in time to kill Lou, or something. It's just a dumb convoluted plot. Not that plot is important in a comedy; it just helps to have some sort of narrative to follow instead of scene after scene of ridiculousness.

And third and most importantly, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is missing John Cusack. He held the first movie together like glue. He played Adam, a likable everyman that the audience could relate to, and it helped that he had some of the funniest lines in the movie. This movie is all over the place without him. Lou is now the main character, and as much as I love Rob Corddry, his character gets really old really fast. His entire character revolves around gross-out humor and shock value, and it worked wonders in the first HTTM because Adam's sense of reason helped balance it out. Jacob is now the only voice of reason but he's Lou's son and serves as the punch-line to a lot of jokes in the movie. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Adam Scott is the newcomer playing Adam Jr., the son of John Cusack's character. The gang meets Adam Jr. in the future and he ends up going on the adventure to find Lou's killer with them. I love Adam Scott and he was fine in this movie, but he didn't really add anything noteworthy to the group's dynamic. He plays a geeky character who's about to get married, then on their adventure as you can imagine, drugs get consumed and mistakes are made. He definitely provides some laughs, and the group is still enjoyable to watch for the most part, but you can definitely feel a void in the character department.

The most important thing about a comedy is obviously the laughs, and this movie has a few. Much of the dialogue feels like shock value for the sake of being crude. Again, it works sometimes. Other times, not so much. Everything was done better in the first film. This definitely feels like a cash grab movie, especially since they didn't even bother asking John Cusack to return because they knew they'd have to pay him a sh*tload of money (although he does have a nice little cameo in the unrated version). But all in all, it's not terrible. It's a run-of-the-mill raunchy comedy with some funny moments and a lot of disgusting ones. It's worth maybe a one-time watch - if you were a fan of the first one you'll find some good chuckles here and there, and if you haven't seen the first one then you might enjoy this even more because you have nothing to compare it to.

As far as sequels go, it could have been a lot worse. The fact remains though that Hot Tub Time Machine 2 was simply unnecessary.

You might have overly loved the first Hot Tub movie and it might exceeded your expectations. Therefor you might have very high expectations of this one. But this one just drags the hilarious along and does not care too much on making sense. In fact, you could say it spits on anything that tries to explain what is going on or is trying to give it a certain quality at all.

What this succeeds in doing, is being gross, mean and infantile. Now if that is what you're expecting going into this, you'll have a lot of fun. But remember: this is not about quality, and I cannot stress that out enough. It's about a group of people gathering together and taking the p... as the British would say (translation: having fun). Take that with a grain of salt and it'll help enjoy the movie. I know I was entertained enough, with just watching one sketch following another. Remember: this is just a movie (with no scientific explanations to the weird things that are happening).

Who really went into this expecting a masterpiece? Was the first one any better? Nah, not really. Sequels always face harsh criticism, but as far as ridiculous movies with sequels go, this one really isn't that bad. Lighten up, it's a comedy.

I got a lot of laughs from this movie. I got a lot of laughs out of all the "future" advancements we've made as a society. From "smart cars" that get the O.K. to execute people, the scary (but kinda fun looking) club scene, to the hilarious TV shows we all (probably legitimately) have to look forward to. The end credits are also worth sticking around for, these fools changing American history in photographs is just fun.

Most of the criticisms I've read here are about bad plot, stupid storyline, etc... Quit trying to be some newspaper critic. You're not going to get recruited to a "My BFE Town Today" column off Amazon. It's a silly movie, if you expected more, you should stick to the films that are worthy of judging and criticism.

If you want some laughs, with actors you don't expect anything else from, give this movie an hour and a half of your time.

The sequel to the 2010 film Hot Tub Time Machine, 'Hot Tub Time Machine 2' has a few laughs. Its definitely not a laugh-riot, but some genuine jokes/sequences leave an impression.

'Hot Tub Time Machine 2' Synopsis: When Lou finds himself in trouble, Nick and Jacob fire up the hot tub time machine in an attempt to get back to the past. But they inadvertently land in the future with Adam Jr. Now they have to alter the future in order to save the past - which is really the present.

Let me put it up bluntly: 'Hot Tub Time Machine 2' is strictly an okay fare, that only works in limited doses. This isn't the funniest sequel you'd watch, but, the few laughs here are fun. I didn't except anything else & hence I wasn't disappointed.

Josh Heald's Screenplay definitely needed more wit, but it has some humor, nonetheless. Steve Pink's Direction is alright. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are superb. Graphics lack finesse.

Performance-Wise: Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry & Clark Duke reprise their parts with more madness, but one is certainly missing John Cusack. Seriously, why isn't he a part of the sequel? Adam Scott tries to fill in Cusack's shoes, but fails totally. Chevy Chase appears in a miss-a-blink appearance.

On the whole, 'Hot Tub Time Machine 2' works in bits.

There are very few comedies which have made laugh out loud in a theatre. Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is one of those comedies. I could very well be incorrect, but I should imagine that many of the people who did not enjoy this film were offended by depictions of nudity, drug use, binge drinking, sexual intercourse, and jokes or humour dealing with any or all of the foregoing. If you are not a prude, though, then you may find this outrageous comedy is worth a viewing. It is easy, mindless viewing suitable for a night when you could do with a few laughs. As I have not seen the first movie, I have no idea whether it is in any way funny or amusing. It does not strike me as being necessary in the least, though. The Hot Tub Time Machine series would not appear to build upon previous movies in such a way that you need to view the first film to appreciate what goes on in the second. Recommended viewing for those who are not holy rollers.