''Hot Tub Time Machine'' is a 2010 American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

film directed by Steve Pink and written by Josh Heald,

Sean Anders Sean Anders (born June 19, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. Career He co-wrote and directed the 2005 film ''Never Been Thawed'', the 2008 film ''Sex Drive (film), Sex Drive'', the 2014 film ''Horrible Bosses 2'', the 2015 f ...

, and John Morris.

John Cusack John Paul Cusack ( ; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor. With a career spanning over four decades, he has appeared in over 80 films. He began acting in f ...

, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke star in the film as four men who accidentally time travel back to 1986 using a hot tub and must find a way to return to 2010. The supporting cast includes Sebastian Stan,

Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist. He is known for portraying eccentricity (behavior), eccentric Character actor, character roles on screen. His breakout role was as George McFly in ''Back to ...

, Lizzy Caplan, and

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

. The film was released on March 26, 2010. It received mixed-to-positive reviews and grossing $64.6 million against a claimed budget of $36 million. A sequel, '' Hot Tub Time Machine 2'', was released on February 20, 2015.

Plot

Three estranged middle-aged friendsAdam Yates, a workaholic who was dumped by his girlfriend; Nick Webber-Agnew, a neglected husband who works a dead-end job; and Lou Dorchen, an alcoholic slackerreconnect when Lou is hospitalized with

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

. Although Lou denies that he attempted suicide, Adam and Nick attempt to cheer him up by arranging for him to join them and Adam's socially inept nephew Jacob at Kodiak Valley Ski Resort, where the three enjoyed themselves as youths. When they arrive, they find that the town is not what it used to be, with many of the stores boarded up and the hotel run down. While drinking in their hotel room's hot tub, the four accidentally douse the

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

with an energy drink. The next day, they go skiing; after many strange occurrences, they realize they have accidentally traveled back to 1986. Adam, Lou, and Nick have also assumed their younger bodies, though Jacob's appearance is unchanged since he was not born yet and he occasionally flickers in and out of reality. A cryptic repairman appears and warns them not to change anything as it might affect history. To minimize the

butterfly effect In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. The term is closely associated w ...

, the group plans to re-enact their previous experiences: Adam has to break up with his girlfriend Jenny and get stabbed in the eye with a fork, Lou must pick a fight with and get beaten up by ski patrol bully Blaine, and Nick must have sex with a groupie and perform with his band at an

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night (an open mic night), in which audience members may perform on ...

. They also find Kelly, Adam's sister and Jacob's mother, at the resort. The three find their tasks difficult. Lou gets punched by Blaine and loses his backpack, but realizes he must face him again later at night, so he reluctantly challenges him again. Adam becomes attracted to Jenny again and loses the will to break up with her, but is distracted when he meets free-spirited music journalist April during a concert. Nick is concerned about cheating on his wife, even though he is yet to meet and marry her at this time. Jenny turns the tables on Adam when she initiates their breakup, but he still gets stabbed in the eye with a fork after he tries to prevent it. Severely heartbroken, he wanders around the resort alone before encountering April. They break into a house and have sex. Meanwhile, Nick covers more upbeat music during his performance. When the repairman tells Jacob a certain chemical is the key to their time travel, Jacob realizes it was the energy drink they spilled. After the group prevents Lou from falling off the rooftop, they go to Blaine's cabin to search for the drink. Lou seduces Kelly but, when Jacob interrupts them, he suddenly vanishes. They realize that Lou is Jacob's father as he reappears after Lou and Kelly finish conceiving him. Lou leaves Kelly to find Blaine, who he finally beats, and the four retrieve the energy drink and return to the hot tub where they create a vortex. Jacob and Nick enter the tub first, but Lou decides to stay in 1986, admitting to Adam that his carbon monoxide poisoning was indeed a suicide attempt. Knowing the future, he intends to make investments to become rich and have a closer relationship with Jacob. Adam wants to stay too, but Lou throws him into the vortex at the last moment. Back in the present day, Adam, Nick, and Jacob find that Lou has changed history by creating the immensely successful company Lougle, which affords him a luxurious life with Kelly. Adam discovers that he is happily married to April, while Nick is a successful music producer married to a loving and supportive wife. They reunite at Lou's mansion with their families, satisfied with their new lives.

Cast

as Adam Yates ** Jake Rose as 1986 Adam * Rob Corddry as Lou Dorchen ** Brook Bennett as 1986 Lou * Craig Robinson as Nick Webber-Agnew ** Aliu Oyofo as 1986 Nick * Clark Duke as Jacob Yates *

as Repairman * Collette Wolfe as Kelly Yates *

as Phil Wedmaier * Sebastian Stan as Blaine * Lizzy Caplan as April Drennan * Crystal Lowe as Zoe *

Kellee Stewart Kellee Stewart (born March 31, 1976) is an American actress. Early life Stewart grew up in Norristown, Pennsylvania and graduated from Norristown Area High School in 1993. Stewart also attended the BFA Acting Program at State University of New ...

as Courtney Agnew ** Odessa Rojen as 9-year-old Courtney * Lyndsy Fonseca as Jenny *

Charlie McDermott Charles Joseph McDermott Jr. (born April 6, 1990) is an American retired actor and folk musician. After making his film debut in '' The Village'' (2004), McDermott had his breakout with a starring role in the crime drama film '' Frozen River'' ...

as Chaz *

Jessica Paré Jessica Paré (born December 5, 1980) is a Canadian actress and musician known for her co-starring roles on the AMC series '' Mad Men'' and the CBS series '' SEAL Team''. She has also appeared in the films '' Stardom'' (2000), '' Lost and Del ...

as Tara * William Zabka as Rick Steelman

Production

Steve Pink directed the film from a screenplay by Josh Heald,

, and John Morris; Heald wrote the original story alone. It was filmed primarily at the Vancouver Film Studios in Vancouver and the Fernie Alpine Resort in

Fernie, British Columbia Fernie is a city in the Elk Valley (British Columbia), Elk Valley area of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on British Columbia provincial highway 3, BC Highway 3 on the western approaches to the Crows ...

. Kelvin Humenny served as the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

for the film. The first trailer and red band trailer appeared online and at Comic-Con on July 24, 2009. A second red band trailer was released on January 26, 2010. The film was screened for free in multiple North American cities in the weeks leading up to its release. On March 29, 2010, Corddry and Duke served as the guest hosts of ''

WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs Live television, live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show fe ...

'' to promote the film. Robinson also made an appearance via satellite.

Release

The film opened at number three with a weekend gross of $14 million in 2,754 theaters, averaging $5,091 per theater. ''Hot Tub Time Machine'' grossed $50.3 million in North America and $14.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $64.6 million against a claimed production budget of $36 million. Unofficial sources claimed the total budget including marketing was in the $95–97 million range and that the film was a financial failure in theaters. It was the last film released and self-distributed theatrically by MGM due to the studio's financial difficulties, until ''

Creed III ''Creed III'' is a 2023 American sports drama film starring and directed by Michael B. Jordan in his directorial debut, and produced by Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Eliza ...

'' in 2023. ''Hot Tub Time Machine'' was released on DVD and

Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...

on June 29, 2010. An unrated version was also released, with the Blu-ray Disc containing a digital copy. Total US DVD and Blu-ray sales were estimated at $34.5 million.

Reception

Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic A. O. Scott stated:

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave the film three stars out of four:

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film, officially titled ''Hot Tub Time Machine (Music From the Motion Picture)'', was released in 2010 by

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company (formerly Rhino Records Inc.) is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded ...

. Several of the songs were sung by members of the film. :Some tracks have artists in parentheses; this is the artist who originally performed the song. # " Louder Than a Bomb" –

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

# " Perfect Way" – Scritti Politti # " The Safety Dance" (extended 12" EP remastered version) – Men Without Hats # " What You Need" (Single/LP version) –

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...

# " Modern Love" (Single version; 2002 digital remaster) –

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

# " I Will Dare" – The Replacements # " Push It" (album version) –

Salt-n-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (sometimes stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa) is an American hip-hop, hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (rapper), Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (rapper), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). ...

# " Bring On the Dancing Horses" –

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

# " Save It for Later" – The Beat (known as The English Beat in the USA) # "

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

" –

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet ( ) were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids (New Romantics), ...

# " Jessie's Girl" (

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

) – Craig Robinson # "

Bizarre Love Triangle "Bizarre Love Triangle" is a song by English rock band New Order, released as a single in November 1986 from their fourth studio album, '' Brotherhood'' (1986), which reached the top five on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart, an ...

" (Shep Pettibone 12" Remastered Remix) – New Order # " Once in a Lifetime" (2006 Remastered version) –

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

# " Home Sweet Home" –

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

(also performed by Rob Corddry during the closing credits) # "

Let's Get It Started "Let's Get It Started" is a song by American group the Black Eyed Peas. It is a clean version of "Let's Get Retarded" from their third studio album, ''Elephunk'' (2003). The album version was originally only reworked for its use in promotion fo ...

" (

The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

) – Craig Robinson # "

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

" – Enrique Iglesias ;Not included in the album The following songs were featured in the film, but not included in the soundtrack album: * " (I Just) Died in Your Arms" – Cutting Crew * "Dancing On A Volcano" – Tamplin * "Bar Bet" – Jake Monaco * " Blind Man" – Newton Talks * " Careless Whisper" (

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

) – Craig Robinson * " Cry Tough" – Poison * "

Cubicle A cubicle is a partially enclosed office workspace that is separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall. Its purpose is to isolate office workers and managers from the sights and noises of an open workspace so that ...

" -The Ultra-Infidels * "Heaven's Sake" – Perfect * " I Can't Wait" – Nu Shooz * " I Heard a Rumor" – Ghost Swami * " I Want to Know What Love Is" – Foreigner * "Keep Your Eye on the Money" – Mötley Crüe * " Kickstart My Heart" – Mötley Crüe * " My Block" – Cham Pain * "Mystery" – The Little Wands * " Obsession" – Animotion * "Occam's Razor" – Ocha la Rocha * "Patrolio" – Jake Monaco * "Skin I'm In" – Static Revenger featuring Luciana * "Smooth Up in Ya" – BulletBoys * " Talk Dirty to Me" – Poison * " The Stripper" – David Rose * " Turn Up the Radio" – Autograph * "

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

" – The Jerry Ross Symphosium * "Yes Man" – The Little Wands

Sequel

Although not a huge commercial success, strong home video sales prompted a sequel to ''Hot Tub Time Machine''. Corddry, Robinson, Duke, Chase, Wolfe, and Stewart all reprised their roles, while Adam Scott was an addition to the cast in the role of Adam Yates Jr., the son of Cusack's character. Cusack appears in an uncredited cameo in the unrated home video release of the film. Released on February 20, 2015, the sequel was panned by critics and was a box-office failure, grossing less money in its entire domestic theatrical release ($12.3 million) than the original made in its opening weekend ($14 million).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hot Tub Time Machine 2010s adventure comedy films 2010s science fiction comedy films American adventure comedy films American buddy comedy films American science fiction comedy films Films about vacationing Films directed by Steve Pink Films produced by John Morris (filmmaker) Films scored by Christophe Beck Films set at ski resorts Films set in 1986 Films set in 2010 Films shot in California Films shot in Vancouver Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films about alcoholism American skiing films Films with screenplays by John Morris (filmmaker) Films with screenplays by Sean Anders 2010s films about time travel United Artists films Films set in the 1980s 2010s buddy comedy films 2010 comedy films 2010 films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language science fiction comedy films English-language adventure comedy films English-language buddy comedy films