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Avg. Critic Score: 63 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 17+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

100

The New York Times | A.O. Scott
The movie itself is a nonstop barrage -- somewhere between a riot and an orgy -- of crude, obnoxious gags and riffs. If you are a connoisseur of sexual, scatological or just plain stupid humor, you will find your appetite satisfied, even glutted. Read full review
90

Los Angeles Times | Betsy Sharkey
About a billion laughs (though "Hot Tub" is not for the faint of heart or anyone even slightly concerned with what's happened to common decency these days). Read full review
75

Washington Post | Ann Hornaday
The raunchy, guy-centric comedy Hot Tub Time Machine makes a vertiginously high-concept bid to be this year's version of "The Hangover" and darned if it doesn't succeed. Read full review
75

Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum
With sharp riffs on the intersection of '80s pop culture (ALF, Kid 'N Play, Ronald Reagan!) and 21st-century culture (Twitter, Viagra, Second Life!), this Time Machine is a fun dip into a pool of memories that are best forgotten again once the booze wears off. Read full review
75

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
Succeeds beyond any expectations suggested by the title and extends John Cusack's remarkable run: Since 1983, in 55 films, he's never made a bad one. Read full review
63

Rolling Stone | Peter Travers
Hot Tub Time Machine should have been better than this. It could have been poignant. Read full review
50

The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt
A loud, disjointed and not terribly funny comedy, which probably is what one expects with a title like that. The unfortunate thing is, it didn't need to be. Read full review
50

San Francisco Chronicle |
Most of its screenplay is far too vulgar to recount. To paraphrase Mary McCarthy, every word is an obscenity, including "and" and "the." Read full review
50

USA Today | Claudia Puig
For hilarity, characterization and clever structure, "The Hangover" is far superior. Still, there are some laughs in this uneven but good-natured raunchfest. Read full review
50

Variety | Dennis Harvey
Even by recent standards for mainstream comedy packaging, "Tub" looks dull and ugly. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Hot Tub Time Machine on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 17+ Drugs, topless women make this comedy too steamy for teens.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Hot Tub Time Machine is like a college party weekend, filled to the rim with profanity, sex and sex talk, as well as drugs, alcohol, and a little fighting. Several sex scenes, which include topless women and some bare male bottoms, as well as near constant profanity (from "f--k" to "p----y"), make this a decidedly adult movie. One big joke involves the possibility of a straight man performing a sex act on his straight male friend. Some comedic drug and alcohol scenes, along with the film's focus on men re-evaluating their middle-age lives, also pushes it into mature territory. Older teens might enjoy the movie, but it's definitely intended for adults who remember the 1980s and grew up enjoying these kinds of teen party movies, especially those starring John Cusack (Better Off Dead, The Sure Thing, etc.).

Families can talk about the concepts of change and regret. What do you wish you could change or do over again? Is it ever too late to change your lives? Is it impossible, or just more difficult, as one gets older?
What did you think about the drugs and alcohol in the movie? Is it OK to use these subjects for humor?
What kinds of things keep friends together over many years? What kinds of things cause them to drift apart? Are these a good or bad?
What would life have been like in the 1980s? Does it seem simpler and more appealing (without Internet or texting), or does it seem primitive and impossible?

The good stuff

Positive messages: Despite the ultimate positive message -- that people have the power to change their situations -- the movie is filled with gags about drugs, fighting, and objectification of women that make its lesser messages something to note.
Positive role models: None of the main characters are worth emulating: they are all sad, beaten-down, middle-aged guys whose lives did not turn out as they hoped, plus one twentysomething who spends all his time indoors on a computer. Their behavior throughout most of the movie consists of debauchery and indecision, and one character takes a morally questionable path at the end. But eventually the characters come to feel good about themselves and learn to deserve the good things they have. Perhaps the twentysomething, Jacob, is the most positive of the group; he seems to have gained some wisdom from the mistakes of his elders.

What to watch for

Violence: The movie has a good amount of shouting and arguing, plus an ongoing series of mild fist fights with a bully.
Sex: Aside from plenty of flirting, kissing, sexual innuendo, some naked male backsides, and some visual jokes about oral sex, there are two sex acts. One character has sex in a tub with a girl, but stops because he feels guilty about being married (although this is the past and he's not technically married yet). There is full frontal female nudity in this scene. In another scene, a character has unprotected sex with a woman (the point is to get her pregnant so that her grown son can continue to exist in the present), though no nudity is visible. A third sex act almost happens, a three-way between two guys and a woman, and the scene contains female frontal nudity and a naked male backside, as well as jokes about other parts of the anatomy.
Language: This movie features almost constant swearing from beginning to end, including, most frequently, "f--k" and all its different variations. Other foul language and innuendo includes "s--t," "dick," "penis," "vagina," "p---y," "ass," "balls," "Jesus," "bitch," "slut," and many more.
Consumerism: Many period products and brands, circa 1986 are shown and referenced, mostly for humor, including MTV, Sony Walkman, and Jansport. Pepsi is shown and referenced. And a Russian-made "Red Bull" knock off is essential to the plot. It's not actually "Red Bull," but the real "Red Bull" is referenced in comparison.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: These adult characters drink a great deal (beer, scotch, vodka, etc.) and do plenty of drugs, but it's mostly for humor. Many different kinds of drugs, from cocaine to Ritalin, are referenced and/or shown. One character eats psychedelic mushrooms, but they seem to have no effect. The same character also smokes pot from a bong. One scene should be noted: early in the film, a character nearly dies after drinking and driving and then parking in his garage with his car engine running. He is (jokingly?) referred to as an alcoholic.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.