MACGRUBER!!

The title should actually be MacGruber and Hot Tub Time Machine but it really didn’t have the same ring.

My dad was on vacation this week so he twisted my arm (totally, I swear) to take off during the day with him to see some movies. Gosh, but I had all this exciting work to do instead! Yeah, pfft. Whatever. Yesterday was saw MacGruber and today we drove up to Vaughn to catch Hot Tub Time Machine. Whether or not this lowers your opinion of me, I seriously enjoyed them both. They were better than they had any business being. I went in with, admittedly, low expectations and that makes easy to turn off the ol’ noggin’ and just enjoy the silliness. However, and this is the critical part, I think they’ll stand up for a repeat viewing or two.

MacGruber: if you don’t like the cast, you won’t like the movie. It’s pretty much that simple. Maya Rudolph needs more work. She’s so underrated and it’s great to see her get more roles. I’m not even a fan of the sketch that it is based on and I still liked the movie. Lots of really stupid lines and awkward moments but stuff ‘splodes, Val Kilmer was fun to watch, and finally saw a role I liked Ryan Phillippe in. He was probably the best character in it, next to the Colonel.

I’m not sure how well this is doing, in box-office terms. There were three of us in the theatre when it started. Just the two of us left halfway through. It was weird because he seemed to be having a good time and then randomly took off. Having the entire theatre to yourself, by the by, is completely sweet.

Hot Tub Time Machine: I made an ‘oops’ with this movie back when it came out. I really wanted to see it so I pitched the idea to my friends. It did not go well. See, most of my friends are older than me. Some, significantly. I forget this sometimes*. So, we’re sitting around with desserts and drinks and lay out the plan — “Let’s go see this movie!” Not all plans have to be complicated — and I get weird looks back.

“Why do you want to see it?”
“Because it would be hilarious cool to see what the 80s were like.”

This was the wrong answer. Wrong, wrong, wrong. No one sobbed into their drinks but it was damn close. This also led to confessions of what horrible leisure suits and afros and sunglasses were owned and worn with pride. They did not want to see the movie with me. My Dad, however, had no such complaints. He did have a ‘fro at one point. I’ve seen pictures. Not sure how my Mom felt about that back in the day. I went in expected a ton of bad 80s slang and lots of finger-pointing and laughing by the main characters at how different things were back then. Instead, it was one of the better stories I’ve seen all year. I loved it. They didn’t beat any stereotypes to death, they got the characters established and story moving nice and early on. Even the obvious bits were strong and not laboured. Dad and I, again, had the entire theatre to ourselves and I cannot recommend morning (pre- or around noon) movies enough. They are cheaper and the whole place is yours!

If the DVDs for each of these movies do not have awesome extras, it would be a crime.

 
 

*I’ve got a perfect example of this. I’m friends with a lady who hosted Polka Dot Door while I was young enough to be watching it. This only came up in conversation once and now we will never speak of it again. Even though it’s still really damn funny. And she’s an awesome kick-ass lady, too :)

Tagged as: movie, review