'Ronseal - quick drying wood stain. It does exactly what it says on the tin'. And that basically sums up Hot Tub Time Machine. Like Snakes on a Plane before it, it really is a Ronseal of a movie. I've got to be honest, it is a very good title, and it's probably up there with some of the best attention grabbers in cinema history, but having seen it, I suspect it came out of the womb as a just that, a title, and perhaps the merest hint of an idea, but never really matured beyond the playpen in which in continues to sit.
The storyline, four middle aged mates, going back in time (via said hot tub) and having to relive a weekend in the 80's in their teenage bodies, clearly owes a lot to Back to the Future, but Great Scott, it lacks all of the heart, subtlety, charm and humour of the classic that we all know and love. It starts off well enough, introducing the chaps we will be spending the next 90 minutes with, all at various degrees of happiness in their 40's, then joining them on a ski trip as they try to relive their youth. One boozy night in a bubbling bath and they get exactly that but not as they expected.
It's an interesting idea - what would we do if we really had to go back to those early, care free years and live them all over again, coupled with the undoubted nostalgic humour of 80's fashion, trends and music. It's a shame then that Sean Anders and Josh Heald didn't actually take any time or care into attempting to think of any jokes, but then what might you expect from the pens that brought you Sex Drive and Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay?
As soon as they are transported back I was led to think I was on to a winner with some good visual gags (clothes and haircuts) and the characters realising that they were all a bunch of tools in their youth. There is also a collection of cameos from Chevy Chase which is a good little pro-80's touch. That glimmer of hope lasts for only about 5 minutes and we soon resort to type, sex jokes, puking, gay jibes and Chase becomes both pointless and hugely irritating. That's it. It also has the indecency to attempt to patronise the viewer with the usual time travel plot (must not change history and get to midnight) only to not bother to stick to it, and at times forget about it's existence all together. Am I meant to actually give a toss whether they deviate of not? Whats the worst that could happen? The DVD disappear into thin air?
The pity with it is that they've convinced John Cusack to be involved, along with Clark Duke and Craig Robinson, who are all funny in their own right but are only given tiny glimpses to show it. While Back to the Future had characters we instantly liked, a well structured and layered plot (that continued for two other films interwoven with one another) and an innocent, subtle yet chirpy humour throughout despite themes of sex (and even incest!), Hot Tub is like it's smutty, perverted, younger sibling - it should have learnt the lessons from it's older brother's impeccable behaviour but is too ignorant and immature to bother.
By the end of the film, the writers seem to remember that there is an audience involved in the whole cinema process and start to write some actual jokes and a romantic sub plot involving Lizzy Caplan (doing a decent job). It all comes together with a comparatively 'nice' ending with some good gags about Cold War paranoia and alternative realities. This only managed to aggravate me even more, a great title, a good idea, some chuckles to begin with, even some laughs at the end. So why all the utter tosh and tripe in the middle?
Don't be tempted by the title, it's all a waste of time, barely passable as comedy, and doesn't deserve your attention. You'd be much better served watching some wood stain drying. It doesn't even have to be quick drying.....
About Me
- Ollie Miney
- Lover of all things film, ready to tell you what to avoid, and more importantly, what to seek out.
Showing posts with label Chevy Chase. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chevy Chase. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Sunday, 5 December 2010
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (1983)
Monday off work, freezing cold, spent the morning Christmas shopping and the afternoon traipsing round Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, occasionally stopping to drink mulled wine and spiced cider. One more sneaky pint of ale en route back and then on to the sofa to chill out before the long weekend comes to an end. What we need during these moments is something warm, something familiar, something safe. And so it was that I put on National Lampoon's Vacation.
It's a film that I remember very fondly from my childhood, my mum and dad loving it. I recall them cackling away as I sat there not getting the majority of the jokes and stirring uneasily during the 'love' scenes. However, despite the film being in my DVD cabinet for as long as I can recall, this was the first time I had watched it quite a while. So how does it stand up after all this time?
It stars Chevy Chase, Saturday Night Live regular, at a time when he was at the peak of his powers. Fresh from the success of Caddy Shack, he was everywhere and would go on to star in successful vehicles such as Fletch, Fletch lives, Funny Farm, Spies Like Us and another that I loved as a child, The Three Amigos. It's written by the late, and great, John Hughes who of course penned a whole host of classics, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Home Alone, The Breakfast Club, The Great Outdoors and the wonderful Planes, Trains and Automobiles. He also directed Uncle Buck and Weird Science.
Behind the camera you have Harold Ramis, also riding the rave of Caddy Shack, and before he would hit the heights of Groundhog Day and also helping to pen Ghostbusters with Dan Ackroyd.
All the ingredients are there.....
But it misses the mark.
On this viewing I must admit I barely laughed. There were one or two chortles, but nothing more than that. And before you say it, it's not because I've seen the film before and know all the gags. Put me in front of Airplane! and I'll laugh from start to finish, despite knowing every last joke inside out. The story is a nice premise and should work well, family setting off on a 2 week vacation to Wally World (basically Disney Land) but instead of flying there, they decide that a trip by road will be a great opportunity to all bond. Anyone who has ever journeyed anywhere by car as a family, on a trip further than the local supermarket, knows that this is a recipe for disaster, and this film is no exception. If something can go wrong, it inevitably does. Car crashes, deaths, nudity, toilet humour, financial woe, it's all there as the vacation hits a steadily downward trajectory.
The problem with the film is that it lacks any real cohesion. It feels like a collection of sketches, like you might find in Saturday Night Live. Can you imagine a film based on all the gags in the Armstrong and Miller show, but with all the characters the same throughout? That's what you have here. None of it seems to fit. Disaster, comic pay off, back on the road, next disaster, punchline, better back on the freeway. The punchlines themselves didn't feel quite as they should have either, as though they were too soon or too late. The secret to comedy, someone once said, is timing. They all missed a beat or two here.
It's a credit to Chase and some of the other cast, notably Beverly D'Angelo (Chase's on screen wife), Imogene Coca (bitter and grumpy Aunt Edna) and good old reliable Randy Quaid doing what he does best as cousin Eddie, that the film stands up at all. They do their best with what they have. Chase is naturally funny in a straight kind of way, and putting him in these increasingly nightmarish situations, is a good formula.
However, it's not until you get to the final 20 minutes that the film really settles, with Chase turning a little darker and John Candy turning up for a fun finale that ends on a happy note.
It all feels a little rushed as a whole though. It seems as though everyone involved thought that the most important thing was to get the film out there, regardless of what state it was in. It's not just the comic timing that is off here, this film seemed to happen too soon. All those involved, that I referred to above, went on to make and be involved in some fantastic films that are still talked about today. National Lampoon's Vacation came before they all knew exactly what they were doing, it's rough around the edges. But Ramis and Hughes were able to learn from this and not make the same mistakes on other projects.
Without this film, I doubt we would have Planes, Trains and Automobiles in the state that it is. For that film, which really is a classic, owes a lot to National Lampoon's Vacation, is essentially the same story but with tighter writing, better actors, funnier gags and a heart. If Hughes needed to make this film in order to make Planes, that's fine by me. And for that we should be eternally grateful.
It's a film that I remember very fondly from my childhood, my mum and dad loving it. I recall them cackling away as I sat there not getting the majority of the jokes and stirring uneasily during the 'love' scenes. However, despite the film being in my DVD cabinet for as long as I can recall, this was the first time I had watched it quite a while. So how does it stand up after all this time?
It stars Chevy Chase, Saturday Night Live regular, at a time when he was at the peak of his powers. Fresh from the success of Caddy Shack, he was everywhere and would go on to star in successful vehicles such as Fletch, Fletch lives, Funny Farm, Spies Like Us and another that I loved as a child, The Three Amigos. It's written by the late, and great, John Hughes who of course penned a whole host of classics, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Home Alone, The Breakfast Club, The Great Outdoors and the wonderful Planes, Trains and Automobiles. He also directed Uncle Buck and Weird Science.
Behind the camera you have Harold Ramis, also riding the rave of Caddy Shack, and before he would hit the heights of Groundhog Day and also helping to pen Ghostbusters with Dan Ackroyd.
All the ingredients are there.....
But it misses the mark.
On this viewing I must admit I barely laughed. There were one or two chortles, but nothing more than that. And before you say it, it's not because I've seen the film before and know all the gags. Put me in front of Airplane! and I'll laugh from start to finish, despite knowing every last joke inside out. The story is a nice premise and should work well, family setting off on a 2 week vacation to Wally World (basically Disney Land) but instead of flying there, they decide that a trip by road will be a great opportunity to all bond. Anyone who has ever journeyed anywhere by car as a family, on a trip further than the local supermarket, knows that this is a recipe for disaster, and this film is no exception. If something can go wrong, it inevitably does. Car crashes, deaths, nudity, toilet humour, financial woe, it's all there as the vacation hits a steadily downward trajectory.
The problem with the film is that it lacks any real cohesion. It feels like a collection of sketches, like you might find in Saturday Night Live. Can you imagine a film based on all the gags in the Armstrong and Miller show, but with all the characters the same throughout? That's what you have here. None of it seems to fit. Disaster, comic pay off, back on the road, next disaster, punchline, better back on the freeway. The punchlines themselves didn't feel quite as they should have either, as though they were too soon or too late. The secret to comedy, someone once said, is timing. They all missed a beat or two here.
It's a credit to Chase and some of the other cast, notably Beverly D'Angelo (Chase's on screen wife), Imogene Coca (bitter and grumpy Aunt Edna) and good old reliable Randy Quaid doing what he does best as cousin Eddie, that the film stands up at all. They do their best with what they have. Chase is naturally funny in a straight kind of way, and putting him in these increasingly nightmarish situations, is a good formula.
However, it's not until you get to the final 20 minutes that the film really settles, with Chase turning a little darker and John Candy turning up for a fun finale that ends on a happy note.
It all feels a little rushed as a whole though. It seems as though everyone involved thought that the most important thing was to get the film out there, regardless of what state it was in. It's not just the comic timing that is off here, this film seemed to happen too soon. All those involved, that I referred to above, went on to make and be involved in some fantastic films that are still talked about today. National Lampoon's Vacation came before they all knew exactly what they were doing, it's rough around the edges. But Ramis and Hughes were able to learn from this and not make the same mistakes on other projects.
Without this film, I doubt we would have Planes, Trains and Automobiles in the state that it is. For that film, which really is a classic, owes a lot to National Lampoon's Vacation, is essentially the same story but with tighter writing, better actors, funnier gags and a heart. If Hughes needed to make this film in order to make Planes, that's fine by me. And for that we should be eternally grateful.
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