My Thoughts...


I just picked up the blu-ray of this yesterday and watched it, my only other viewing of it previously was in the theatre. Skip to the bottom if you want my tl;dr.

When I saw it in the theatre, I was excited. I was hyped. I was slow to watch the original, which I thought was fantastic. I don't know why I dismissed it. I didn't go see it in the theatre, I watched it at home and came away pleasantly pleased. It was better than I thought it was going to be. So, when I heard there was going to be a sequel, I was intrigued, but not super excited, because comedy sequels rarely work.

And then I saw the trailer. And I got my hopes up a little bit. Maybe they are doing a Back To The Future style timeline: first movie go into the past, second movie go to the future, and third movie go even further into the past. I thought they could pull it off. So yeah, I changed my mind about comedy sequels just this once and let my guard down. I watched the trailer over and over, laughing my ass off. Especially when they sing 'you're a nerd' to Clark Duke.

Then I heard John Cusack had a scheduling conflict and couldn't be in this. Which is a little suspect. Unless he was super busy for a year straight, why couldn't they just wait to shoot it? How where they going to work around this? Whatever, I'll still give it a chance.

Then the release date got pushed back. That's never usually a good sign. :/

So, it quietly came to the theatre. And just as quietly left. I managed to go see this one. I was really disappointed. I was let down. The missing Cusack story was explained pretty well, I thought. The jokes were pretty funny, and raunchy, but something was missing. I left the theatre thinking that maybe it got chopped up too much in editing. Like some other people pointed out on here, it was missing the charm that the first one had.

Fast forward to yesterday, when I bought the blu-ray. "Extended version? I knew it!" It was only $10, so I took a chance on it. Worst case scenario, I trade it in or give it to someone.

The extended version is MUCH better than the theatrical, in my opinion. I don't know if it was because I was drunk, tired, both, or because some time had passed, but I seemed to laugh more. The story seemed a little...better. Especially the ending. In the end, I'm glad I bought it, and now I really hope they do a third one, going further into the past, like BTTF3, but I am fearful they won't as this bombed in the theatres. Maybe they can do a kickstarter campaign and do it independently. I don't know. Fingers crossed.


TL;DR
If you are a fan of the first movie, the extended version on BD & DVD is way better than the theatrical and makes more sense. Definitely give it a chance and check it out.

Para tiempo means nada nunca.

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Hot tub time machine is one of my guilty pleasures.
I saw it on DVD long after it was released.
I enjoyed it immensely- mainly because I was in the mood for anything I hadn't seen a million times, there was no expectation of greatness, and I like silly films.

Also,the time travel aspect apeals.
I had a similarly pathetic bunch of friends, we never got anything right.

But hot tub 2 , which I'm watching right now, has very little to offer.
It needed the full cast.
And better laughs.

The original made me laugh and forget my troubles.
Hot tub 2 made me want to watch the original.

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I actually quite enjoyed 2 without John Cusack as he has the voice and acting skills of a wooden log.
These three seemed to have better chemistry without the pressure of a Hollywood A-lister being present.

It's all my personal opinion of course.

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I love both 1 & 2 - 1 has a great 80s nostalgia feel and is hilarious, 2 is a great trip to the future and is riotously hilarious IMHO

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