Not that there were a ton of expectations for Hot Tub Time Machine 2,
but however modest they were the film fails to meet them. The first movie was
simple: a bunch of losers go back in time to the 1980s and change their lives
for the better. The sequel picks up on that in the worst way possible by
showing what creeps they all turned out to be. Granted, the first ten minutes
are arguably the funniest in the entire movie as it begins with a montage of
their amoral exploits. Nick (Robinson) has stolen every hit pop song he can
think of and used it to become a huge star. Lou has used his knowledge to create
"Lougle" (instead of Google) and to become the lead singer of Motley
Lou. It's stupid but fitting in the mold of the original movie, and the pop
culture parodies are initially very funny, even if they aren't all that clever.
Nick's cheesy rendition of Lisa Loeb's irritating hit single "Stay"
is a highlight, and so is her brief cameo as a lowly cat handler. As for Lou's
nerdy son Jacob (Duke), he's content just being lazy and living off daddy's
wealth, although the simmering rivalry between the two continues. Where’s Adam?
He's off having some grand adventure after writing a sci-fi novel based on
their previous adventures. Let's just say Cusack is fortunate to only appear in
flashbacks. 
Lou is such a prick that somebody eventually shoots him right in the yam
sack, and in an effort to save his life they dive back into the hot tub to go
back in time. However, something goes wrong and they end up ten years in the
future when things have changed dramatically. Lou is still alive and still a
prick, only much older; Nick is a washed-up has-been with a terrible dance song
reminiscent of Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy wit It"; and Jacob now has
all the fame and glory he always hoped for. Does that make him the prime
suspect? You won't care much, and neither does screenwriter Josh Heald, who
spends his time with uninspired gags about the future. The best he can come up
with is that the future will have driver-less "smart cars" that may
turn evil. Rather than trying to solve the mystery of Lou's murder, the film
mostly spends its time reminding us of better time travel movies like Terminator
and Looper. The jokes are needlessly crude and excruciatingly long,
like a nauseating game show scene in which Nick is forced to have sex with Adam
Scott's character, who turns out to be a pansy with knowledge that could help
find Lou's killer. Scott essentially takes on the Cusack straight-man, but
other than a psychedelic drug scene doesn't do anything memorable.
Corddry is, unfortunately, all too memorable as Lou who is such a scumbag
that we don't really care if his killer is ever found. It's a wonder there
aren't more people trying to kill him. Robinson is hilarious at times but his
character is more mean-spirited than before, and Duke is pretty much just a
walking punchline. Needless to say little attention is paid to the time travel
dynamics and whether anything actually makes sense, but some of the corners
that are cut for plot simplicity are embarrassing. Directed without much style
by the returning Steve Pink, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 wastes an
opportunity to be a Bill & Ted-style romp through time, which is how
it has been presented in promos for months. Instead it's just another lazy and
uninspired sequel and a complete waste of time.
Rating: 2 out of 5
