As the title indicates, four males pile into a ski resort hot tub for a night of heavy partying and wake up in 1986.
Adam (John Cusack) jokes about the awful clothes and hair of
that era along with a soundtrack of golden oldies. And, of course, there are the
ramifications of going back in time, and maybe change your life and career
trajectory.
These guys are losers with depressing futures. Adam never has accomplished
anything and his girlfriend just dumped him. Nick (Craig Robinson) is henpecked
and cuckolded, and never followed his dream of a music career. Lou (Rob Corddry)
is a suicidal alcoholic. Jacob (Clark Duke) is Adam's video game-obsessed nephew
who wasn't even born in 1986. None of these characters are very memorable or
amusing, mind you.
The question confronting the three men during their déjà vu experience is do
they change the future or not? Jacob, who discovers his sexually-adventurous mom
among the Winterfest 1986 partygoers, definitely wants the men to follow the
script so that he will be born.
The ensuing conflict of whether to alter the future or not is
what could have been the best part, but there wasn't much effort to keep the
viewer interested beyond obvious humor.
Had the movie exploited the experience of being in the 80s or
explained in greater detail how and why they got there, it might have been a lot
better film. However, all the audience is given is feeble enlightenment from
would-be helper Chevy Chase, who plays an eerie hot tub repairman.
This movie had the makings of something good, similar to "Click," but fails on too many levels, including the most important in a comedy - humor.
2 buckets.
