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SPOILER-FREE SUMMARY:


Almost, but not quite, as funny as The Hangover, this is a real laugh riot.  I laughed until I cried and I left with my side in utter agony.


WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!!!


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I know, I know...Hot Tub Time Machine is not necessarily a genre movie.  But it does feature time travel and there's even a reference to "Stargate" fan-fiction so I'm reviewing it anyway.  Besides, it's a GREAT fucking movie.


Everything about this movie is funny and the jokes are unrelenting--not a minute goes by that you aren't laughing at something.  John Cusack is in top form, basically playing a grown version of any one of his characters from the actual 1980's, Craig Robinson is his usual deadpan self, Rob Corddry turns in what is easily his funniest work to date, and Clark Duke is great as the young, geeky member of the group.  The brilliant Chevy Chase is wasted, though, in a bit part as the mystical hot tub repairman.  That was especially sad since he's been putting out some fantastic work on "Community" week after week.  My favorite character, though, was Crispin Glover's bellhop; he shows up at the beginning of the film (in the present day) with one arm missing but when the guys meet him in 1986, he has both arms.  The mystery of what happened to that arm is one of the funniest recurring jokes I've ever seen.


I've said pretty consistently since last summer that The Hangover is the funniest movie ever made and, having seen it 6 or 7 more times since then, I still agree with that assessment.  What's funny and what isn't funny is sort of fluid with me so this seems like an endorsement that may change with time but, for now, I feel completely comfortable stating that Hot Tub Time Machine is the 2nd funniest movie ever made.  If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and check it out.