I consider myself a movie fan and a film critic, but I'm certainly not a film historian. I know a lot about movies from a certain era, but I must admit that I'm often at a loss when it comes to tracing the legacies of movies. For example, I don't know what the first teenage sex comedy was. I've seen trailers for movies from the 70s which would clearly fall into this category, but I'm not sure when the genre was invented. However, when most people think of these films, they picture movies from the 80s. Once Porky's became a hit, these raunchy movies came out of the woodwork and seemed to be everywhere. Hot Tub Time Machine remembers these movies very well and uses them as the core of its story.

Hot Tub Time Machine introduces us to three friends, all of whom are in their early 40s. Adam (John Cusack) sells insurance and has just had yet another relationship come to an end. Nick (Craig Robinson) works in a dog salon, despite the fact that he was once a promising musician. Lou (Rob Corddry) is a mess -- he drinks too much and is always broke. As the film opens, Lou comes home and passes out in his garage with the car running. He denies that this wa a suicide attempt, but Adam and Nick see this as a cry-for-help, and they decide to take Lou on a road-trip to Kodiak Valley, which was their favorite skiing destination when they were teens. Adam's nephew, Jacob (Clark Duke), who lives in Adam's basement, comes along for the ride. When they arrive at their destination, they find that the once popular resort is not run-down and on the brink of closing. The one bright spot is that their room has a hot tub. They party the night away, and the next day they discover that they have traveled back in time to 1986. Adam, Nick, and Lou all look like their teenaged selves, while Jacob looks the same, as he wasn't born in 1986. They realize that they are reliving a particular trip and that they must attempt to re-create everything that happened during that time, so as to not affect the future. Will the temptation to right wrongs prove too much for them?

Secondly, Hot Tub Time Machine is a time-travel movie, complete with all of the stereotypical issues which accompany this sort of story. As noted above, the guys are told that they must replicate all of their actions from 1986, or there may be repercussions in the future. This never gets too complex (actually there are some jokes which spoof those kinds of movies) and much of it echoes Back to the Future. (The fact that Crispin Glover is prominently featured in the film drives this home.) A la that Michael J. Fox classic, there is a sub-plot concerning the fact that Jacob may not exist if something goes wrong.

This leads directly to the film's next facet -- a spoof of/love-letter to 80s teen-sex comedies. Once the guys travel back to 1986, much of the story mirrors some classic and not-so-classic movies from that era. There are problems with girls and problems with jocks/bullies which are lifted directly from those movies. (There's even a cameo by one of great villains of this time.) The problem with this is that these sections of the film offer no surprises to those who are familiar with these movies.

Lastly, Hot Tub Time Machine is an incredibly raunchy movie starring Rob Corddry. I don't know why, maybe it was the presence of John Cusack, but I didn't expect the movie to be as out there as it is. (Keep in mind that I did watch the unrated version.) The movie features non-stop profanity and there are some visuals and quotes which I certainly wasn't expecting. It's almost as if the movie was determined to not only mine 80s movies, but to out-gross the films of the American Pie era.

But, enough analysis, is the movie funny? My wishy-washy answer is yes and no. There were some scenes where I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes. At least two of there were from rants by Corddry's character. However, the movie far too often falls back on crude jokes and is never clever enough. There are some dry lines from Clark Duke and Craig Robinson which are humorous, but some scenes simply lie flat. Speaking of which, Cusack is never funny or charming here, and again, one questions his presence. And while I did laugh at some of Lou's outbreaks, far too much of the movie centers on Lou, and as the most unlikable character, this is a mistake.

Hot Tub Time Machine has a severe case of identity disorder. As an homage to 80s films, it should appeal to Generation X. However, it's tone clearly aims it at a more modern audience. The mix delivers some laughs, but not as many as we would like.

Hot Tub Time Machine keeps almost losing its arm on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 30 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing no overt grain and no defects from the source material. The colors look very good, especially when the movie skews towards the pastels of the 80s, and the image is never overly dark or bright. The picture shows a nice amount of detail and textures are readily visible on surfaces. The depth in landscape shots looks good. The Disc offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The in-film music sounds great, especially the throw-back tunes. These cues provide good stereo and surround effects. The surround effects during the crowd scenes are good. The music and a few action scenes offer good subwoofer effects.

The Hot Tub Time Machine Blu-ray Disc contains a small assortment of extras. The Disc contains nine DELETED SCENES which runs about 12 minutes. Most of these are simply longer or alternate versions of scenes from the finished film. Two show Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson ad-libbing various lines for scenes. The problem is that none of this is particularly funny, so we can see why the scenes were trimmed. "Production: Acting Like Idiots" (96 seconds) features comments from the cast discussing the story and the atmosphere on the set. "Chevy Chase: The Nicest Guy in Hollywood" (105 seconds) offers soundbytes from Chase and comments from the other actors who describe what it was like to work with him. "Totally Radical Outfits: Dayna Pink" (94 seconds) has the Costume Designer discussing the look of the film. "Crispin Glover: One-Armed Bellhop" (92 seconds) allows the off-beat actor a chance to discuss his character. The final extra is the THEATRICAL TRAILER for the film.