Hot Tub Time Machine

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Four guys (John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clarke Duke) get transported back to 1986 in a hot tub that's a time machine, and as they try to retrace their steps, so as not to disrupt the present, they figure out where their lives went wrong.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clarke Duke, Sebastian Stan, Lyndsy Fonseca, Crispin Glover, Chevy Chase, Collette Wolfe, Lizzy Caplan, Charlie McDermott, Aliu Oyofo, Jake Rose, Brook Bennett

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Why the Hell not?!

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: At first I was worried, as the audience around me laughed and I didn't. But when I finally did get around to laughing, they were big belly laughs.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Some of those 80s fashions might make you cry. Especially when you realize that they're not that different from the stuff that's coming into style right now.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Not so much an award as whatever the opposite of that is called. You see, while the movie takes place in 1986, the notoriously funny 80s styles that the film features are actually from 1982. I imagine the film was written in hopes of exploiting 1982's New Wave style, but it probably took several years to sell, get packaged, and get made, so they had to move the date forward or the main characters would've been pushing 50, if you do the math (which I did). At the same time, there's no point in doing a time travel theme to the 80s, if you're not going to highlight the beautiful colors and shapes that make up the look of 1982, so they cheated. But I was there, and I know the truth.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Sebastian Stan plays a dead-on 80s bad guy, and gets you wondering how the acting back then got away with being so bad. And if Rob Corddry hasn't broken out for you yet, this movie should do it. He's got most of the funny lines.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Steve Pink does a great job of spoofing 80s movies, from the two-dimensional good looking preppy bad guy who always wants to pick a fight for no good reason to the abundant gratuitous bouncing bare breast shots that used to be in every movie about teenage boys. Remember those? And remember how our parents used to let us go see them? Yeah, times have changed. You just can't make movies about teenage boys who have the power to pop open women's shirts with their eyes, anymore. (P.S. if you're too young to remember Zapped, I suggest you rent it. If nothing else, so that you can better understand why Generation Xers turned out the way we did. We grew up on movies like that.)

Q: How is the story/script?

A: While you can predict a lot of what's going to happen, the writers create original dialogue by following convention and then taking it back as soon as they've done their due diligence to the convention. So that the joke becomes, "We know how this scene is supposed to go, and we're going to make you think we're going that way, but we're not really going to go that way. Instead, once you're comfortable with your little convention, we're going to go much further, in a potentially offensive direction, that you didn't have the guts to predict." After you've seen it, think about what I'm saying. Preferably while under the influence of magical mushrooms. It will make perfect sense.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/hot-tub-time-machine/37538/trailers

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I Love You, Man

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: After getting engaged, a mature, grown up man (Paul Rudd) realizes that he has no close friends to call, "Best Man." So he seeks out his perfect mate by going on "man dates," and soon finds himself deeply entrenched in a Bromance with a guy who is his polar opposite, a commitment-phobe with a Peter Pan complex (Jason Segel).

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Sarah Burns, Jamie Pressly, Jon Favreau, Jane Curtin, J.K. Simmons, Andy Sandberg, Thomas Lennon, Rob Huebel, Mather Zickel, Josh Cooke, Joe Lo Tuglio, and Lou Ferrigno as Himself.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! While the premise is outlandish, this character driven comedy remains grounded in reality, as it explores how hard it is to make new male friends once you're past the age of 30. And also, it's hilarious.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The regularly scheduled awkward moments have the audience laughing so hard that you might miss some of the dialogue.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: One thing that's sad is that in real life this love affair could never be because, as an Angeleno, I promise you that a guy who lives in Silverlake would never purposely become friends with anyone who lives in Venice. Likewise, most Venice inhabitants are proud to be AWOL-- Always West Of Lincoln. And they usually own at least one T-shirt that says so. (But if you come for a visit, slap that insider lingo on a Westsider, and I guarantee they'll be impressed.)

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It's hard to escape a nomination for Best Kiss at the MTV Awards when you've got man on man action. What? You didn't know this is a movie about gay love? Did you not read the title?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Paul Rudd is an understated master of something intangible. It's awkward. It's real. And sometimes it breaks out into song-- or dance. Who is this man? Is he a straight arrow? Or is he a total freak? Only those who have seen him behind closed doors can know for sure. But the biggest laughs for me come from that hot new director, Jon Favreau, who goes back to his acting roots, to play an a-hole of unmatched proportions. I love him more with every role, Man.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: There are some shots that are genius, like one at the engagement party, where Jon Favreau walks into the center of a frame to insult the restaurant they're at, right in front of the owner. And there are some sequences, like the first fencing and locker room scenes, where you can't tell where you are in the scene, or where any of the characters are standing in relation to each other, because the director 'crosses the line'-- there's more insider lingo for you, but if you're going to see this movie, you're going to have to get used to that.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The scenes from the previews are all much funnier in the context of the actual film, where they are often grounded in something bigger and more important than a fart. This movie has all the requisite set ups and pay offs, and some of them, you won't even see coming. The ending is a little abrupt, but if you stay tuned for the credits, you'll enjoy a nice little tag that wraps up the hanging threads nicely, and contains my personal favorite laugh in the whole film.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: Rare shout out to the costume designer who clothed Jason Segel. His casual outfits are ridiculous and familiar-- as he nonchalantly sports Ugg boots with shorts, like a true Venice local. But his formal-wear is where the costume designer, Leesa Evans, shows true insight, fitting all his suits a size too small, as if he has recently grown outward of them and not yet noticed that he needs to go shopping... Or to the gym.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/i-love-you-man/32120/trailers

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