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Page 8 {The Blue Banner} Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Hot Tub Time Machine delivers blast from the past By Josh Robinson Staff Writter JRROBINS@UNCA.EDU W ith memories of The Hangover still fresh in our minds. Hot Tub Time Machine attempts to take us to a distant place we’ve never been be fore: the ’80s. Well, considering the fact that a lot of the people that will be interested in this movie were not even bom until the ’90s, this effort is not en tirely in vain. Plenty of movies at tempt to create wacky, whim sical and far- off lands with non-conventional trends and styles, but when traveling back to the ’80s, it is not hard to find some of the most ri diculous fads the world has ever seen. Simply put, the Reagan years are the perfect backdrop for a comedy. After all, it worked for National Lampoon s Vacation. But what is really in a name? Who ever was in charge of naming this movie must have taken a page out of the book known as Snakes on a Plane. With a title like Hot Tub Time Ma chine, not much is left to the imagi nation, but the hot tub is only slightly more original than Bill and Ted’s time traveling, George Carlin-operated tele phone booth. The cast oiMachine consists of John Cusack (who coincidentally debuted in ’80s teen movies), Craig Robinson (more commonly known as the ware house worker, Darryl, from “The Of fice”), Rob Corddry (of “The Daily Show” fame) and Clark Duke, (who you may, or most likely may not, re member from Super bad). After Lou (Corddry) visits to the hospital, his childhood buddies Adam (Cusack) and Nick (Robinson) decide to take him for a therapeutic trip to the winter mountain resort where they ad ventured as teenagers, dragging Jacob (Duke), Adam’s nephew, along with them. Significantly raunchier than the other ’80s-centered, time-traveling adven ture known as Back to the Future, Hot Tub Time Machine makes no attempt to explain why spilling an energy drink onto the hot tub controls transports people back in time a quarter centu ry. Neither does the resort repairman, Chevy Chase. The story does not revolve around the hot tub. The bubbling pool of Photo courtesy of MGM and United Artists The movie makes no attempt to deliver some sort of moral message or deeper meaning, which sets it apart from many of today’s over-the-top comedies and allows it to simply be a good time, no strings attached. ecstasy simply acts as the literal and figurative bridge between the past and present. The movie makes no attempt to deliver some sort of moral message or deeper meaning, which sets it apart from many of today’s over-the-top comedies and allows it to simply be a good time, no strings attached. Where some movies would have you believe the best policy is not to mess with the past, this movie poses the question, “What if?” and responds with an emphatically better answer. Remember The Butterfly Effect with Ashton Kutcher? Yeah, me neither, but the but the altered future in Hot Tub Time Machine is much cooler. Unless you take yourself too serious ly, you will know what I mean when I ask, “You know how Napoleon Dyna mite seemed like a dumb idea before you saw it?” Well, the same applies for this movie. It is so intentionally stupid it turns out to be funny. If you are like me, after seeing Hot Tub Time Machine, you will be thank ful you never lived any conscious or self-aware years in the ’80s. It was cer tainly not a time period marked with great strides in human accomplish ment, with the exception of the rise of video games and the birth of the Teen age Mutant Ninja Turtles. John Hughes surely would not want to be associated with a movie like this, and that is probably for the bet ter. Classics like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Offh&VQ their place, and so does Machine. I am not saying that 20 years down the road you are going to make sure you buy this movie on Mega Blu-Ray 3D IMAX Reality Experience DVD, but you will probably want to rent it. Hot Tub Time Machine is definitely a movie worth seeing, as it is easily the funniest movie of the year. Of course, Chris Rock’s remake of Death at a Fu neral and Adam Sandler’s Grown Ups aren’t out yet. Events Around Asheville HATCH Asheville Thursday - Sunday Complete schedule available at www.hatchfest.org Action Fest Thursday - Sunday Action cinema film festival and guest Chuck Norris. Updates available at twitter.com/Actionfest OCIAL ATd i Pleasurb (^ubI GALACTIC I WITH SPECIAL GUESTS CYRIL'NEVILLE AND COREY HENRY (OF THE REBIRTH BRASS BAND) 1+ CEDRIC BURNSIDE & LIGHTNIN’ MALCOLM 11 Wed. Apr. 9pm _ I *f/#MUSSai +MIKE FARRIS Thu. Apr. 15“'© 8pm f fii ■Mf-ncniiif in' Omi-BvTMCkeRS Km Piv PPP P P'ip PTH P'fP PI AITIIIFiSTClISIRIIIfilTAWUI *FUN.fA ROCKETiTO THE MOON ,'&^SINGITLOUD' I Mon.Apr. 1 @6pm’....^ I iiiniinH.tlieorangepeel.Det KTickEtPiaai : BOX Offtl* WEDNESDAY-SAtURDAY I2pm-6:.t0|iin I 1D1 BlIJMOREAVE ★ASHEVIllE.NC* 828.225.5851
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