3/10

John Cusack is missed very much. That’s not just a statement coming from a critic/audience member, but the sequel to the 2010 hit original misses just as much. The sequel (if you can call it that) has a weird way of mentioning his character several times, as where most sequels would try to forget he ever existed in the first place. This reminder that Cusack (Who hasn’t passed on much) isn’t in the film, only adds to one of the most painful comedy sequels i have ever sat through. It’s a constant whispering of how much better the original film was with Cusack playing the voice of reason. Without that voice, the children are free to tastelessly binge. The film picks up ten years after the events of the first film, with the assassination of the world’s richest man (Rob Coddry), and his friends (Clark Duke, Craig Robinson) attempt to save his life. I found it revolting how much i really hated this film. I knew that it was going to be a failure going in. Granted, the first film looked terrible by it’s trailer, but it ended up a pleasant surprise. What makes part two so painful is that it follows the same roads a lot of other comedy sequel failures travel down. For one, the characters are amped up to eleven. Coddry’s character was trashy in the original, but his portrayal is a character i hated so so much. From sleeping with his friend’s wives, to being morally shallow, this character shouldn’t be the main protagonist in any film. The film also explores some of the exact jokes and punchlines that were presented in the original. It seems like script writers always have this belief that the same joke can be played off just as funny the second time, and they were really wrong on this one. The blatant look to the camera when the words “Hot Tub Time Machine, Too” are uttered, is just further proof that this script was constructed in a short amount of time. Just look at the poster. It’s so mindlessly dull that it serves as a representation of the trouble anyone is getting into with this offering. The characters and their time travels just don’t work here. In the first film, we cheered for them because their lives were kind of pathetic, and they longed to change the things they regretted. This film’s traveling is the staple of an assassination sniper mystery that could’ve been prevented to begin with. We figure out the assailent by film’s end, and this ending completely makes zero sense to anyone with even half a brain. The events and situations have so many holes in them that even with a wide open ending, the film’s cast wouldn’t even dare flirt with a third film in the series. Most of the film would get a pass if it were funny, but it’s not. I laughed one time in the whole movie, and it was during a scene when one of our main characters is getting sexually assaulted. Do you see how low i’ve sunk? Overall, “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” is a slap across the face to an already ridiculous premise. At 88 minutes, it is the bare minimum of effort that should only increase the DVD sales of the first movie. On that aspect, maybe it’s genius.