‘Hot Tub Time Machine’: a case study that needs Naomi Klein

Last time John Cusack passed through town to hawk a film he produced, it was War, Inc., kind of a shambling satire of the George W. Bush glory days of “disaster capitalism” — complete with Marisa Tomei playing a Naomi Klein truth-seeking journalist type. While smart enough to salvage it from straight-to-video obscurity by promoting it in Toronto, then courting fiercely liberal bloggers , critical reception was unenthusiastic. Cusack’s “one for them, one for us” philosophy of moviemaking was thrown off its axis — although his de facto sequel to Grosse Point Blank did feature Hilary Duff. Now trying to make a commercial hit out of Hot Tub Time Machine, his lowbrow 1980s flashback opening this week, Cusack is either trying to subvert the system — or seeking revenge for the reception granted his higher-minded comedy. Two months ago via Mashable, the plans of distributor MGM to infest social media from the inside out were enthusiastically detailed. And the result is that every bit of editorial tied to the release seems a little sketchy, like a National Post piece on the history of cinematic time machines, or Canwest News Service coverage of a couple of less famous co-stars awkwardly staging a photo op next to a hot tub at the Air Canada Centre. Perhaps they can get away with it because it’s John Cusack, because the premise appeals to Gen X editors long past the brink of cynicism, because the title makes a mockery of anyone who takes it too seriously. Seeing the gatekeepers of Boing Boing gush over Cusack’s forthcoming stint as guest blogger with a post gratuitously plugging the movie is also suspect — what does their Hollywood skeptic Cory Doctorow think? And how can one ask without also playing into the marketing plan?