By Nicole Pieri

Sequels are notoriously known for ruining their original movies. Even if the original movie isn’t a groundbreaking piece of art, a sequel can be a death sentence for a franchise. Hot Tub Time Machine 2 was no exception to this.

This sequel, directed by Steve Pink, finds us in the world where the 2010 cult hit Hot Tub Time Machine left off. Since deciding to stay in 1986 and getting rich off of predicting the inventions of the future, Lou (Rob Corddry, Sex Tape) has built an empire on his Internet search engine, “Lougle.” When he is put in danger at a party, Lou, his son Jacob (Clark Duke, “Greek”) and best friend Nick (Craig Robinson, This Is the End) jump back in the time-traveling hot tub to find the person who hurt Lou. Instead of going back in time, the friends find themselves in the future where they meet Adam Yates Jr. (Adam Scott, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) and get into crazy shenanigans.

As good as the cast of this movie is, the characters are so unlikeable that even the supremely-talented and always-charming Adam Scott cannot save this sinking ship. The trio harasses each other harshly and relentlessly, bringing into question why they are even friends. Chevy Chase briefly reprises his role as the hot tub repairman, but his cameo proves to be boring and uninteresting.

The mess of gay panic and borderline homophobia make some scenes almost unwatchable, and the overabundance of raunchy humor for the sake of being raunchy and edgy is too much to handle by the second act of the film. Even a somewhat touching moment between Lou and Jacob is spoiled by lazy and offensive gay jokes.

Fans of the first movie will notice that John Cusack did not return as the leader of the gang, Adam Yates. The character’s absence is never quite explained, but it’s not hard to imagine why Cusack opted out of the sequel. Follow Cusack’s lead and skip out on Hot Tub Time Machine 2.