By Shelby
Much like with Snakes on a Plane, you pretty much know what to expect going into a movie called Hot Tub Time Machine. But what I didn’t expect was for Hot Tub Time Machine to be so consistently funny. Basically the plot is that four guys (John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry and Clark Duke) get in a hot tub at a ski resort that ends up being a time machine back to the ’80s. And from there, wackiness ensues. It’s silly to the extreme, but it’s also tons of fun, especially for anyone with a penchant for ’80s nostalgia. (Hello, George McFly!)
The entire cast is hilarious (although honestly, I’m wishing Lizzy Caplan would quit playing the same character over and over again), but mostly, for me, it was good to see John Cusack again. It feels like it’s been a while. And yes, I know Chuck Klosterman believes Lloyd Dobler single-handedly ruined an entire generation of women, but on the other hand, he is also responsible for classic scenes like this one.
Anyway, as an avid avoider of disaster movies, I hadn’t seen John Cusack on the big screen in a while, and it’s doubly fun that he’s pretty much in the same setting from Better Off Dead.
Also, it was kind of refreshing to see an R-rated comedy that didn’t have anything to do with Adam McKay or Judd Apatow, which gave it a little bit of a different bent. The movie was directed by Steve Pink, who wrote the screenplays for High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank.
But after seeing the movie, in true Carrie Bradshaw fashion, I couldn’t help but wonder:
Where are all the R-rated comedies about women?
I can’t think of any. But movies about the wacky antics and rituals of male bonding seem to abound. There’s practically an entire sub-genre of bachelor party comedies, from The Hangover to Very Bad Things to Bachelor Party, but I’m fairly certain I’ve never seen one centered around a bachelorette party. Women get drunk, bond and make hilariously bad decisions just as often as men (and in heels, natch). The recent box office success of female-driven films like Sex and the City, Julie & Julia and Valentine’s Day, not to mention the entire Twilight juggernaut, proves that women do go to the movies, and they do it in droves. Here’s hoping Hollywood picks up on this untapped comedy gold mine and decides to make a fun movie about funny women enjoying themselves.
And maybe for a change the men can be the ones sitting at home by the phone.
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