Having just watched Hot Tub Time Machine for the first time on Tuesday, I am pretty sure my opinion of Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is going to be different than most. Typically, my passion for a film does not come in the first viewing. It comes in the 2nd, 3rd or in some cases the 1,000th viewing. With that said, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 was, in my humble opinion, one of the rare films that actually improved from the first.

I say this for a three reasons 1. No John Cusack, I mean I love him as an actor but his character, Adam, in the first film was one of the few things I hated. I always felt that he was a shitty friend to the main characters. By the end of the film, I still thought he was a shitty friend. So seeing that he was a no show in the second film validated my original opinion. 2. By the very end of the first film, I had questions about what the future was going to be like for these guys now that they actually changed their stars. This movie nailed it. It was so funny watching how they managed to have the world at their fingertips but were still able to mess everything up. 3. They seemed to take the improve even further in this one. The “you’re a nerd” song and their “you look like” jokes made for some of the best scenes in the film.

As far as the plot, who cares? The point of this film is not in watching these guys learn something. Who cares if they gain some huge insight on life? It’s basically 3, sometimes 4, degenerates tackling the future and making fun of each other along the way. I mean, the name of the franchise is ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’. If that does not immediately make you go “WTF” and check your brain at the door, then you have no business watching. If you go in and expect the Godfather 2, you will be greatly disappointed. Instead, think of it as The Hangover II, it’s basically the same thing in a new setting. If you loved the first one, and want to have fun and laugh for 90+ minutes, whip out some cash and go see this film.