Ed's Review Dot Com

Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),

Adam Scott, Gillian Jacobs, Chevy Chase, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Angela Kerecz

The gang is back, but when Lou is shot, the gang decides the they have to go back in time to find out who did this, and stop him. But the tub does not take you where you want to go, it takes you where you NEED to go, so the guys end up 10 years in the future to stop the one who traveled “back” to shoot Lou. Good thing the hot tub still works.

This is the “long awaited” sequel to 2010’s Hot Tub Time Machine. It’s the same old gang, minus John Cusack as Adam, but we get the addition of Adam Scoot to play Adam Jr. in the future. This is a raunchy sequel to the equally raunchy original movie, but it isn’t hitting on all cylinders. First and foremost, the plot is really nutty. They are so confused with going to the future to fix the past which is the present is so confusing that even they lose the way. The concept of time travel in a Hot Tub was very unique and original in the first movie, and the issues problems with the paradox of time travel and the uniqueness of the idea was very fresh in the original. Now it’s not original and they lost sight of the original. The whole plot is really screwed up here. It’s funny in some parts, but not nearly as good as the original. So we’re stuck with some good actors doing the best they can with a weak story. Five years to develop a sequel and it still didn’t measure up. So what do I say about Hot Tub Time Machine 2? Well, it’s funny in places. Adam Scoot and Craig Robinson are especially good, but many of the jokes and gags fall flat, and the nasty stuff is hit or miss sometimes. A few times they seem to go a little too far. So it’s a good film to skip, cause you don’t really need to see this one. But if you really like the first one and you’re interested in a bunch of clowns bouncing through time with basically no purpose, then give it a try. It’s not horrible, it’s just not very good.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Universal Pictures, Red Granite Pictures, New Line Cinema,

Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Laurie Holden, Angela Kerecz, Kathleen Turner, Rachel Melvin

Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) has been devastated after the loss of Ms. Samsonite in the first movie and 20 years have passed with Harry (Jeff Daniels) hanging in there for him. But when Harry finds out he has a daughter that he never knew about, he has to head out to find her at all costs. She’s been adopted, but when he finds out where her adoptive family lives, he’s on another road trip to find her at all costs. Naturally, stupidity happens.

I think a lot of people were excited when they finally announced a sequel to Dumb and Dumber. It’s hard to imagine that it’s 20 years later, but the film takes that into account, and we get a quick summary of what’s been happening over the last 20 years. Then hilarity ensues. These guys are Three Stooges dumb, and they know their characters very well. I imagine it was fun for them to get back into the character after 20 years. The film didn’t do too well, and I suppose some of that is that it is 20 years since the first one. That’s a long time for a sequel. Furthermore, people have high expectations for Jim Carrey, and I think many folks have forgotten how stupid these characters really are. So it ends up being a lot of puns, a lot of slapstick, and a lot of a just plain silliness. It’s very, very low brow humor, so you aren’t going to get any satisfaction in the plot or the cleverness of the script. But it’s exactly what you should expect, and I did find it very funny. Certainly it’s not as great as the original 1995 movie, but it’s still really funny in the same kind of way. Filled with extra characters that bring a lot of value to the movie as well. Harry’s daughter Penny (Rachel Melvin) is a chip off the old block. So don’t be so snooty and dismiss this movie, or listen to the critics that hated it because they didn’t watch enough Three Stooges as a kid. Guys have got to love this kind of off-beat humor, and if you don’t go in looking for a masterpiece, this is a bunch of chuckles. I must say, I enjoyed it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog