A TRIP BACK IN TIME … TO 2010
Sequel revisits Hot Tub Time Machine
Here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.
MOVIES
Big Releases on Feb. 20: Hot Tub Time Machine 2, McFarland USA Big Picture: It’s a little sad that there was desire (and funding) for a film called Hot Tub Time Machine — let alone a sequel. It’s even sadder that on my recent ski trip I spent all my time in the hot tub, eyes closed, trying to “go back in time” to stop myself from going into journalism. Clark Duke, Craig Robinson and Rob Corddry return from the original cast — losing John Cusack and adding Parks and Recreation’s Adam Scott (trading up). Against all laws of physics — much like a time machine — the first film made you laugh. Often. So will the sequel as the lovable group of idiots deal with the fallout of their time misadventures — from “inventing” the Internet, to sleeping with Marilyn Monroe. Meanwhile, McFarland USA is one of those cuddly-feely “based on a true story” sports movies about an outsider coach (Kevin Costner) who inspires a group of disenfranchised youth to believe in themselves. In this case, the unlikely sport is cross-country and the kids are Latino high school students from a poor California town. Forecast: Kevin Costner probably wishes he had a time machine to go back to the early 1990s when he was Hollywood’s No. 1 actor — and also to prevent himself from making Waterworld. As for Hot Tub Time Machine, they might as well make it a trilogy.
TV
Big Event: The Odd Couple (Feb. 19, CBS, CTV) Big Picture: It’s Like Two and a Half Men — minus the half. Matthew Perry is charming slob Oscar Madison, and Thomas Lennon is neat freak Felix Unger, in this latest adaptation of Neil Simon’s classic play. The mismatched college buddies move back in together after failed marriages — and the network hopes that hilarity ensues. The original ’70s TV series starred Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. Walter Matthau, of course, also played Oscar alongside Jack Lemmon’s Felix in two films (1968 and 1998). What kind of fresh, 21st-century spin can Perry and Lennon possibly bring to the story? Forecast: For those counting at home, this is Perry’s fourth attempt at headlining a sitcom since Friends. He has a track record for being the odd one out, but I hope the affable Canuck’s luck changes. (Still, they should probably have cast David Schwimmer as Felix). Honourable Mention: 87th Annual Academy Awards (Feb. 22, CTV/ ABC). My prediction? Host Neil Patrick Harris will open with a song-and-dance number about movies you’ve never seen — or heard of. They’ll follow that with a “fun” award like supporting actor or actress. You’ll be asleep by the third award — likely for cinematography or sound editing. You’ll wake up confused on the couch hours later — somewhere around midnight — to watch a rag-tag group of pretty people rush the stage to accept the trophy for best picture as the credits roll. You’ll go to bed. Visions of George and Amal Clooney will dance in your heads.
MUSIC
Big Releases on Feb. 17: Whitehorse (Leave No Bridge Unburned), Imagine Dragons (Smoke + Mirrors) Big Picture: No sophomore slump for these Dragons. Fresh off making history performing in a live commercial for Target during the Grammys, Imagine Dragons release their second album. Tough to top an award-winning debut, but these Las Vegas rockers are worth betting on. Canadian husband and wife duo Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland are literally a two-man band in Whitehorse. Formidable on their own, together the songwriters are a force of nature. Their smouldering folk rock is richer, darker and fierier on their new effort — tinged with elements of Americana and R&B. Forecast: Burned bridges? Smoke and mirrors? Sounds dangerous — but not for lovers of good music. On a side note, I anticipate a hip-hop duo named MC Newfoundland and DJ Labrador in the near future. Honourable Mention: Jose Gonzalez (Vestiges & Claws). The Swedish singer-songwriter is back with more philosophical, self-reflective indie folk. If he had been born a few decades earlier, we might have seen a Simon, Garfunkel and Gonzalez.