One of the most creative takes on a time-travel movie came to us in the form of Hot Tub Time Machine. The franchise asked an important question: What if you got in a hot tub, and it took you back to a trip you went on back in 1986? Well, the group of friends and Jacob (Clark Duke), who wasn’t alive yet, get to find out. It is a hilarious look into time-travel and also explores that idea we all have. What would we do if we could go back in time and change the past? Would we jeopardize the future that we did end up with? Now, you can discover that as both films start streaming on Max in January!
The first film stars John Cusack as Adam, a man who has just gone through a break-up. He’s on the trip with his friends Lou (Rob Corddry) and Nick (Craig Robinson). Lou is a party animal who won’t stop even though he’s too old to be doing so, and Nick is the definition of a wife guy. The group goes back to the ’80s, where they meet a young Sebastian Stan, and the rest is history. Literally, it is in the ’80s.
The second film is more of the same, but Cusack didn’t return and, instead, we have Adam Scott joining the cast as Adam Jr., the son of Cusack’s character. How is that possible, you ask? Time-travel logic. Lou, Nick, and Jacob all take a trip in the tub once more and head to 2025 (the movie was released in 2015, so they jump 10 years into the future). Well, the group goes into the future to discover who shoots Lou in the groin at a party celebrating how wealthy he is.
The ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’ Movies Are Hilarious Takes on a Fun Genre

Image via MGM

It isn’t easy to be original with time-travel. Many try and only a few (mainly Christopher Nolan) succeed. After movies like Back to the Future, comedy takes on a time-travel story have fallen flat time and time again. But the Hot Tub Time Machine movies have found that fun balance between not taking themselves too seriously and still messing with the logic of time-travel. For a brief moment, Jacob vanishes when it looks like Lou and Kelly won’t conceive him, and that’s how we know Jacob is actually Lou’s son. That’s hilarious!
Now, you can take a dip in the tub starting on January 1 on Max.

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Release Date

March 26, 2010

Director

Steve Pink

Runtime

99 minutes

Writers

Josh Heald
, Sean Anders
, John Morris

Budget

$36 million

Studio(s)

20th Century

Distributor(s)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, 20th Century

Sequel(s)

Hot Tub Time Machine 2

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