Hot Tub Time Machine
Three drifting friends revisit a disastrous 1986 night through a malfunctioning hot tub and discover that fixing the past may endanger the future.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- irreverent
- raucous
- crude
- adult comedy night
- 1980s nostalgia marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film an energetic, crude, and intermittently effective throwback comedy whose high-concept premise and cast chemistry outweigh its uneven jokes.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The characters return to a defining 1986 party night surrounded by 1980s styles, celebrities, and period-specific social rituals.
The friends must repeat a fateful night while resisting temptations to alter relationships, identities, and Jacob's future existence.
Adam, Nick, and Lou are middle-aged men trapped in romantic, professional, and personal crises who respond through reckless partying and childish rivalry.
Returning to the night that shaped their lives gives the three friends an opportunity to reconsider the decisions behind their present-day failures.
Films like Hot Tub Time Machine, and why
Back to the Future
shares screwball time travel, irreverent humor, and characters attempting to revise their personal futures
The Hangover
shares raunchy buddy comedy, arrested adulthood, and a mismatched group enduring an absurd high-concept ordeal
Old School
shares crude ensemble comedy, midlife dissatisfaction, and friendship tested through reckless escapism
Peggy Sue Got Married
shares 1980s nostalgia, fish-out-of-time humor, and the comic consequences of altering a familiar reality
Movie Details
- Director
- Steve Pink
- Release Date
- 2010-03-26
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (2838)
Cast
- John Cusack
- Craig Robinson
- Rob Corddry
- Clark Duke
- Sebastian Stan
- Chevy Chase
- Crispin Glover
- Lyndsy Fonseca
- Lizzy Caplan
- Collette Wolfe
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Hot Tub Time Machine about?
- Three drifting friends revisit a disastrous 1986 night through a malfunctioning hot tub and discover that fixing the past may endanger the future.
- What is Hot Tub Time Machine like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Hot Tub Time Machine as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Hot Tub Time Machine violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Hot Tub Time Machine.
- What did critics think of Hot Tub Time Machine?
- Critics broadly found the film an energetic, crude, and intermittently effective throwback comedy whose high-concept premise and cast chemistry outweigh its uneven jokes.
- Which films are like Hot Tub Time Machine?
- Films with a similar feel include Back to the Future, The Hangover, Old School, and Peggy Sue Got Married.
- How long is Hot Tub Time Machine?
- Hot Tub Time Machine runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch Hot Tub Time Machine?
- In United States, Hot Tub Time Machine is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex.
