It’s missing the elements that made the first film so unique.
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When I heard they were making a sequel to Hot Tub Time Machine, I was excited to see it. The first film was not only good, it was a new kind of comedy. I laughed harder than I had in years, and it was also full of life lessons and had a cast that worked perfect together. But when I saw this film, I laughed but at the same time was disappointed. It was missing certain things that made it just not as good. This is a film you may want to wait until it comes out to see, and here are some reasons why.
The film begins shortly after the last one, with Lou being very rich and his friends are also quiet successful. His son Jacob has lots of money, and Nick is a popular musician who never seems to be able to stop coming out with hit songs. The reason for this is that he keeps coming out with tunes that other artists normally sang, and this fact is making it hard for him to want to continue in his profession. Lou has this huge ego, and although he treats the people around him like crap he thinks everyone likes him. At a huge party one night, he gets shot in a spot no man wants to take a bullet in, and off Nick and Jacob go in the time machine to find out who committed this crime. They think go to the past, but for some strange reason end in the future. Why did the hot tub take them here? Who is responsible for shooting Lou? And why would they do such a thing?
The cast tries to make this a good film, but they fall short many times. In the first movie, Lou was kind of an idiot but he was a good man at heart. In this movie, his ego is out of control to where he seems to care little about what happens to his own son. His wife is also getting sick of his behavior, and his friends have many moments where you can tell they want to kick his butt. He also acts entitled in this film, like he deserves everything he has when in reality the only reason he is rich at all is because he stole ideas from the past, which only makes liking him harder to do this time around.
But what is really missing from this movie is John Cusack. He was the character who was straight edged and had a true good heart. The last film was great because his character refused to be selfish and only wanted to make sure Lou was going to be okay. They tried to replace this type of character with Adam Scott who is the son of Cusack’s character, but it isn’t the same. He is too simple and sometimes way too tightly wound to help keep this movie honest. His character does have a few interesting twists along the way, and that helps the film a little bit. But overall not enough to make this a wonderful film, let alone a great one.
Clark Duke does his best with Jacob Dorchen in this movie. He has a bigger part to play, and he has a chance to shine more as an actor. He has a few scenes where he is in the spotlight like when they see themselves in the mirror, and when things get explained about the timeline. But the sad thing is that his character also has many moments where he is a whipping boy, only there to get picked on or made to feel less than he really is by the rest of the cast. It is a shame really, he has talent and sadly this film is not good enough to help the film be as great as it could have been.
The film does have a few things going for it. It has good special effects, and it does a nice job of creating a future that is not that far off unlike most other movies seen in Hollywood these days. It is only a jump of ten years, but some things have changed for the better and there are a few things that are just worse. Drugs are now stronger than before, and technology in some ways has made people lazier as a whole. But there are some funny things that happen in this time period that made me laugh a bit.
But overall, this was a disappointing sequel. It has too many moments that either don’t make sense, or too many scenes where an old joke is brought up in hopes it will bring laughs when all it really does is get annoying. The ending is lackluster at best, and doesn’t have the conclusion that fans wanted to see. Because of this and more I have to give this movie an 4.5/10.
If you liked Hot Tub Time Machine, chances are you will like this one. If you are looking for a silly comedy to watch with your friends, this is the movie you are searching for. But if you are trying to find a clever comedy that will make you laugh until it hurts, you will be disappointed. This is an okay film, but not really worth the price of admission.
Watch the teaser trailer below: