"Time Machine" is plenty hot

There are some things you never want to hear yourself say, like "I'm looking forward to that root canal" or "Man, I love that new Nickelback song." I recently found myself forced to utter one of those phrases, which I had only recently added to the list.

"One for ‘Hot Tub Time Machine,' please."

I expected this movie to be dreadful. I hated the trailer, I hated the "retro" ‘80s plot idea, and, above all, I hated the title. So, when "Hot Tub Time Machine" turned out to be a smart, well-executed and flat-out hilarious comedy, nobody was more surprised than me.

The plot of this movie is almost beside the point. It stars John Cusack, Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson as a group of buddies who, unhappy with the way their lives have turned out, decide to rent a room in a ski resort they frequented when they were younger. The hot tub in their room malfunctions, they pass out and wake up in 1986, right in the middle of their debaucherous heyday.

The movie clearly and unapologetically borrows from all of the time-travel films that have come before it. Lines reference "The Terminator," "Timecop" and "The Butterfly Effect," and Crispin Glover (George McFly from "Back to the Future") has a minor role as a one-armed (and sometimes two-armed) bellhop at the resort. In fact, "Back to the Future's" hands are all over this film, as plotlines about children fading in and out of existence, making money betting on future events and using music from the future in the past, all staples of the "Future" trilogy, make appearances at various times throughout the film.

What makes this movie work so well is that it is always aware of how ridiculous it is. At one point, Craig Robinson recites the name of the film in a line, and then immediately looks into the camera to let the audience know he's in on the joke, Eddie Murphy-style.

In fact, it's only when the movie tries to be serious or thoughtful that it falls flat. In particular, John Cusack, who seems to have been cast as a throwback to ‘80s nostalgia, is totally wasted. He is not involved in any of the humor, and his romantic subplot is unconvincing and ineffectual, serving only to interrupt the fun.

And there is a lot of fun to be had in this film. "Hot Tub Time Machine" earns every bit of its "R" rating with gratuitous lewd humor, nudity, drug references and enough "f" bombs to sink a battleship. If the ‘80s were even a third as fun as this movie made them out to be, I certainly wouldn't mind making a visit.

Potential movie-goers may be turned off, like I was, by the silly trailer and even sillier title of this movie, but they would be doing themselves a disservice if they skipped the film. It is genuinely funny, full of nostalgia, and the most enjoyable movie experience I've had this year.