With the sequel to the classic movie "Hot Tub Time Machine" coming out on February 20th, I thought I would watch the original movie again to refresh me on what had happened. As I watched it and revisited the awesome mess that is Hot Tub Time Machine (which ranged from John Cusack getting stabbed in the eye with a toothpick to the whole gang fighting off stereotypical 80's teens who thought they were Russian spies), I couldn't help but notice the actual thought provoking and important messages that are hidden beneath all of the raunchiness and nefarious deeds that happened in the movie.
1. The 80's was an awesome, but downright bizarre decade.
From leg warmers to Jerry Curls, the Cold War and people rocking cassette players. If our nation ever went through an awkward stage in it s life, the 80's sure does seem to be it. Having said that, at the same time, I feel like I would have fit perfectly into this time period. I mean, who doesn't love neon?
2. Your friends will always be there for you.
Though you probably won't find yourself traveling back in time with your friends in a retro hot tub, the problems that the characters face in the movie are very similar to what we and our friends face. Whether getting over the one that got away (Great White Buffalo) to helping a buddy not get his butt handed to him by some thugs, we all know that through thick and thin, we can always seem to count on them to have our backs.
3. Second chances will be there, too.
The hot tub allows for the characters to go back to that fateful time in their lives which ultimately decided what their futures would be. With another shot at that moment in their lives, they were all able to change it for the better. Adam (John Cusack) got to meet the love of his life, Nick (Craig Robinson), was able to redeem his music career and Lou (Rob Corddry) was able to turn his life around and become a billionaire (with a little bit of help from knowing the future). Although you probably won't manipulate the space time continuum for your own personal gains, you will ultimately find yourself at some point in your life.
4. You have to seize the chaos.
As April (Lizzy Caplan) put it in the movie, "You gotta embrace the chaos. You have to, that way life might just astonish you." Let's admit it, the world we live in is a very crazy and chaotic place. No matter what we try to do to control it, we never know what is actually going to happen. We don't have a time machine and we cannot see the future, but we can at least know that in the end, through all the trials and tribulations that we face, the chaos will lead to something amazing and downright miraculous.
5. Hot tubs are awesome.
Okay, so maybe this is not exactly the best point to take away from the movie, but we should all agree that they are pretty sweet... especially if you have a drunken rager in them and end up traveling back in time for an awesome adventure. A man can dream, but unfortunately I will have to just stick with watching the sequel.
