Adam (John Cusack) is a man going nowhere fast. Upon his return home one day, Adam finds his girlfriend gone, his nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) in his basement addicted to playing online games that simulate real life, and his friend Lou (Rob Corddry) in the hospital.
When Adam meets up with his friend Nick (Craig Robinson) at the hospital, Nick attempts to brighten up Lou by offering him a trip to their old ski resort to relive the fun of their youth. With Jacob tagging along, the three friends head back to the site of their past glory, and realize that things have not improved with time.
The scenic town is now run down and largely abandoned and their resort has long since seen better days. Undaunted, the group breaks out the alcohol and heads for the hot tub in an effort to make the most out of their time with one another and to escape their empty lives.
Upon awakening from their stupor the group discovers that they have been whisked back to 1986 and they appear to everyone there as the younger versions of themselves. Jacob flips though when he sees himself as a flickering image and becomes convinced that they must not do anything to alter the future and must relive the weekend of 1986 over exactly as they did the first time.
A quirky repair man (Chevy Chase), indicates that he can fix the tub, but that he will need some time. Adam is thrilled when he meets his old girlfriend and then laments the fact that he has to end their relationship in order to preserve the timeline. Adam has long regretted her leaving the love of his life and is tempted to do things differently this time.
Nick looks to relieve his failed musical debut as a singer, but knows that he must do what is needed to get home. Lou, on the other hand, is the loose cannon of the group and is thrilled to get another chance at glory and chase women since he has become a pathetic loser in the future.
What follows is a madcap and outrageous comedy that lovingly resurrects the classic 80’s movies of old and infuses the modern gross out humor to successfully blend the old with the new as the friends struggle to get through the weekend and return home without altering the future.
The cast is solid, and Crispin Glover is great as the bizarre bellhop destined to have his arm go missing, but the when and how drives Lou insane in anticipation. While Robinson and Cusack do solid work, Corddry steals the film as a scheming, madcap mix of depravity and patheticness that drives the film.
While the movie did drag in a few parts for me there were enough laughs in the film to keep me interested and enjoy the nostalgic look back at my beloved 80s.
3 stars out of 5
