I just heard about an upcoming science fiction movie that looks like it could be a lot of fun. It’s the kind of movie you hear about and you have an immediate reaction. You either think, “That sounds awesome!” or “No, it sounds stupid. And only idiots say ‘awesome.'”
The title: Hot Tub Time Machine.
I heard about it from a friend who worked on the movie, and my first thought was, “Wow, that sounds really bad.” My second thought was: “No, actually, it sounds really good.”
The premise: Four buddies fall asleep in a hot tub after a night of partying in 2010 and wake up in 1986. Could be stupid, could be good. I’m leaning toward good, based on the cast: John Cusack; Chevy Chase; Rob Cordrry, who was on The Daily Show; and Craig Robinson, who plays Darryl the warehouse superintendent in The Office. Also: Crispin Glover, who played George McFly, the dad in Back to the Future.
Crispin Glover and Chevy Chase would be what we bigshot Hollywood insiders call “stunt casting,” since they’re two actors best known for their 1980s work. And John Cusack’s first fame was in 80s John Hughes movies, as well as Cameron Crowe’s 1989 Say Anything.
My friend who told me about the movie is Steve Nelson, an Internet marketing consultant. There’s a sequence of the movie set in Second Life, and he and his wife, Troi Nelson, filmed those parts in SL, which is a kind of moviemaking called “machinima.″
Take a look at the trailer on YouTube. More trailers on the Web site, hottubtimemachinemovie.com.
It’s in theaters March 26.
This says “funny” to me. If it says “stupid” to you, well, you know where the comments are, and how to write a flame, right?
Mitch Wagner is a science fiction fan, technology journalist, and Internet marketing consultant. Follow @MitchWagner on Twitter.
