Hot Tub Time Machine (2010/Unrated/MGM/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: D Film: D
It is one
thing to make a movie that is funny dumb, but another to make a film that is
outright dumb and Steve Pink’s Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) is sadly the
latter. The idea is that four friends in
this gross-out comedy eventually reunite and go into the title appliance, but
it turns out to have a whirlpool that works like a wormhole for time travel and
they land up in the 1980s.
OK,
having John Cusack on board is a plus for credibility, but that is all lost in
the screenplay by John Heald, Sean Anders and John Morris that seems desperate
and cheap. Needless to say MGM needed a
hit and putting their money on this dud when they could have picked so many
other scripts (and to think this is under the United Artists name) they took
this one, it is no wonder they are in such trouble. Even throwing in Chevy
Chase and Crispin Glover does not help. The humor is obvious and the film is useless.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 AVC @ 33 MBPS digital High Definition image is weak, noisy and
ill-defined more than it should be, though the 1980s color is not as bad. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix
does not have the best soundfield and the low budget shows in the recording,
but the selection of 1980s hits sounds very good, making this the default
highlight of the whole thing.
Extras
include a Digital Copy DVD–ROM for PC and PC portable devices, trailer, Deleted
Scenes which could not have saved the film if left in and five featurettes.
- Nicholas Sheffo
