Hot Tub Time Machine 2
Starring Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Adam Scott
Directed by Steve Pink
While wedding high concept storytelling with low brow comedy, 2010's Hot Tub Time Machine retained a modicum of relatability by tapping into a fantasy that we all routinely indulge in: What if you were offered a redo of one critical moment in your life? Already deprived of the original’s novelty factor, this follow-up also abandons any opportunities for emotional resonance in favour of posing the more speculative question: What if someone travelled back in time and shot you in the dick?
If you're Lou (Rob Corddry) – a temporally displaced, insufferable billionaire who struts around like Bret Michaels and has exploited his knowledge of aughts-era technology to launch search engine “Lougle” in the '80s – you have your buddy Nick (Craig Robinson) and son Jacob (Clark Duke) haul you into whirlpool/wormhole and transport you to 2025. Joining up with Adam Jr. (Adam Scott) – the son of John Cusack's character from the first instalment – they attempt to identify Lou's assailant when they're not busy sodomizing each other on national television.
The latter plot point is intended to illustrate – à la Idiocracy – how deplorable popular entertainment will become in the very near future. However, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 suggests that those dark days are already upon us.
With Cusack having the good sense to steer clear of this ill-conceived sequel, Corddry is disastrously promoted to lead. While you begrudgingly appreciate Corddry's uncompromising boorishness – it's unusual for a comedian to make no attempts to ingratiate himself to an audience – he lends the already laboured attempts at comedy a spitefulness that rankles rather than amuses.
Ultimately, a dip in this Hot Tub leaves you feeling in desperate need of a shower.
