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Hot Tub Time Machine poster

Movies that feel likeHot Tub Time Machine (2010)

Four pals are stuck in a rut in adulthood: Adam has just been dumped, Lou is a hopeless party animal, Nick is a henpecked husband, and Jacob does nothing but play video games in his basement. But they get a chance to brighten their future by changing their past after a night of heavy drinking in a ski-resort hot tub results in their waking up in 1986.

If you loved Hot Tub Time Machine, the closest films we have are Paul (2011), The Adam Project (2022) and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022). All three share Hot Tub Time Machine's cerebral and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Galaxy Quest (1999).

πŸ… 64% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Steve Pinkcerebralwittyplayfulepic
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Disney Plus

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If Hot Tub Time Machine hit the spot, these will too

Paul poster
Paul
2011 Β· dir. Greg Mottola
πŸ… 70%β˜… 6.9adventure Β· comedy Β· science fictionPeacock

The same mix in both: ideas, then wit

For the past 60 years, a space-traveling smart-ass named Paul has been locked up in a top-secret military base, advising world leaders about his kind. But when he worries he’s outlived his usefulness and the dissection table is drawing uncomfortably close, Paul escapes on the first RV that passes by his compound in Area 51. Fortunately, it contains the two earthlings who are most likely to rescue and harbor an alien on the run.

The Adam Project poster
The Adam Project
2022 Β· dir. Shawn Levy
πŸ… 68%β˜… 6.7adventure Β· science fiction Β· comedyNetflix

Common ground: time travel

After accidentally crash-landing in 2022, time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed teams up with his 12-year-old self on a mission to save the future.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special poster
πŸ… 95%β˜… 6.9comedy Β· science fiction Β· adventureDisney+

Playful and epic in the same breath

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

On a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Quill, the Guardians head to Earth in search of the perfect present.

Free Guy poster
Free Guy
2021 Β· dir. Shawn Levy
πŸ… 80%β˜… 7.1comedy Β· adventure Β· science fictionDisney+

Science fiction built on ideas, twice over

A bank teller discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, and decides to become the hero of his own story. Now, in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way before it's too late.

Barbarella poster
Barbarella
1968 Β· dir. Roger Vadim
πŸ… 64%β˜… 5.9science fiction Β· adventure Β· comedy

Witty comedy, and it commits to that

The difference: Made in the 1960s, in a different era of the craft

In the far future, a highly sexual woman is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she encounters various unusual people.

Back to the Future Part III poster
Back to the Future Part III
1990 Β· dir. Robert Zemeckis
πŸ… 79%β˜… 7.5adventure Β· comedy Β· science fiction

One thread runs through both: time travel

The final installment finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles poster
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2014 Β· dir. Jonathan Liebesman
πŸ… 20%β˜… 5.8science fiction Β· action Β· adventureParamount+

Adventure with a pulse of play, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to action than Hot Tub Time Machine does

When a kingpin threatens New York City, a group of mutated turtle warriors must emerge from the shadows to protect their home.

Men in Black: International poster
Men in Black: International
2019 Β· dir. F. Gary Gray
πŸ… 23%β˜… 5.6comedy Β· science fiction Β· actionParamount+Starz

Both lean on scale more than on science fiction

The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.

(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 poster
(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1
2004 Β· dir. Michael Herbig
β˜… 5.5comedy Β· science fiction Β· adventure

Cerebral comedy in both cases

Hundreds of years after humans have settled on Mars, Regulator Rogul and Lord Jens Maul lead a force of Martians to Earth in order to conquer the planet. Queen Metaphor looks to the gay heroes aboard the Dreamship Surprise – Captain Kork, Mr. Spuck, and first engineer Schrotty – for help.

The Rocketeer poster
The Rocketeer
1991 Β· dir. Joe Johnston
πŸ… 73%β˜… 6.6adventure Β· science fictionDisney+

Adventure built on scale, twice over

The difference: Trades the wit of Hot Tub Time Machine for an angle of its own

A stunt pilot comes across a prototype jetpack that gives him the ability to fly. However, evil forces of the world also want this jetpack at any cost.

Galaxy Quest poster
Galaxy Quest
1999 Β· dir. Dean Parisot
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.4comedy Β· science fiction Β· adventureParamount+

Witty science fiction in both cases

For four years, the courageous crew of the NSEA Protector β€” Commander Peter Quincy Taggart, Lieutenant Tawny Madison, and Doctor Lazarus β€” set off on a thrilling and often dangerous mission in space... until their series was cancelled! Now, twenty years later, aliens under attack have mistaken the Galaxy Quest television transmissions for "historical documents" and beam up the crew of has-been actors to save the universe. With no script, no director, and no clue, the actors must turn in the performances of their lives.

Small Soldiers poster
Small Soldiers
1998 Β· dir. Joe Dante
πŸ… 51%β˜… 6.3comedy Β· adventure Β· fantasyPrime Video

Comedy built on play, twice over

When missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, the toys soon begin to take their battle programming too seriously.

In the mood for more cerebral?

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The best-reviewed films that share Hot Tub Time Machine’s defining feeling.