Hot Tub Time Machine - Blu-ray Review

More than just a knowingly-dumb, high-concept comedy, Hot Tub Time Machine is shaping up to be the funniest comedy of 2010. Filled with fun '80s references, a total sense of self awareness and some very good comic performances by John Cusack, Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson, Hot Tub Time Machine is messy and (perhaps deliberately) haphazardly thrown together, but consistently funny and quite rewatchable. The Blu-ray is a disappointing missed opportunity in the special features department, but the film is fun enough to pick up the slack. It's not for everyone, but it's currently my favorite comedy of the year.

It's almost impossible to steer people towards the 2010 comedy Hot Tub Time Machine without referencing last year's breakout comedy The Hangover, a movie that has unfortunately become the comedy touchstone for a lot of current moviegoers. Well, if you liked The Hangover, there's a good chance you'll like Hot Tub Time Machine; it's got the same vibe of friends hanging out and celebrating bad behavior and extreme R-rated obnoxiousness. However, if you liked The Hangover, there's a good chance you won't like Hot Tub Time Machine. They're not really movies made for the same audience. The rhythms are different, the comic sensibilities are different and the overall tone is just different enough to alienate even the most fervent fans of The Hangover.

Personally, I prefer Hot Tub Time Machine. It's goofier and totally aware of just what kind of movie it is. It tempers the raunch with some strong character work and relationships that feel real. It actually has something on its mind about growing older and facing the reality that life doesn't always turn out the way you expect. Plus, it's about time travel and the 1980s and it stars John Cusack, and none of that is bad. It's far from a perfect movie and is rather sloppily put together, but that almost seems by design -- it's unassuming in its form but clever and insightful in its content. What seems like a stupid movie about men behaving badly is actually kind of sweet and occasionally subversively making fun of its own stupidness. It's a movie I expect to be returning to quite a bit in the future.

The Blu-ray of Hot Tub Time Machine is a mixed bag. Picture and sound quality are terrific, with the 1080p HD transfer showing a great amount of fine detail and vibrant color. The disc includes both the R-rated theatrical cut and an Unrated version that doesn't even run a minute longer. There's hardly any visible difference between the two, making the Unrated version kind of a waste. The lack of compelling special features is also a disappointment. The best extra is 11 minutes of deleted and extended scenes (including an entirely different cut of the "threesome" scene with Rob Corddry, with different actors involved; either there were extensive reshoots or it's indicative of how loose and messy the movie really is). Elsewhere, it's just some standard promotional featurettes and the theatrical trailer. A commentary track with the principal actors would have been great. Even a blooper real would have been welcome, seeing as each of the four leads are all funny in totally different ways. Sadly, there's nothing like that on the disc. A digital copy has also been included, for playback on your computer or portable media device.

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