Second Life Featured in *Hot Tub Time Machine*!

Hot Tub Time Machine, the wacky John Cusack comedy opening tomorrow, has a lead character who's a Second Life aficionado named Jacob (played by Clark Duke). Or as reviews describe him, "a basement-dwelling Second Life aficionado", or less charitably, "a kid who would rather play hours of Second Life than talk to actual humans." And only last week, I was talking about the ingrained nature of the "guy in a basement playing Second Life" meme, though at least here he's also not notably fat or naked. (Then again, you never know.) Ironically, I'm writing this post next door to a Second Life aficionado who doesn't log in from a basement, but near Albert Einstein's old office in Princeton, and given that he's an acclaimed astrophysicist, could probably help John Cusack and friends with the time travel troubles which send them back to the 80s. (But if that's the case, shouldn't the Second Life kid wind up back in Habitat?)

Anyway, it actually looks like a pretty good movie if you're into that kind of thing (and I often am) -- if you catch it in the next few days, report back here. Photo: UA/MGM.

Comments

[Bob L]

"a kid who would rather play hours of Second Life than talk to actual humans."

So SL is nothing but bots or AI's? The correct statement is "plays Second Life to avoid putting on their pants before talking with another human being." Second Life lets us live out humanities oldest fantasy of being able to go out in public with no pants.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6708174]

The Second Life footage is brief in Hot Tub Time Machine, but is enough of the backstory to be mentioned in quite a few of the reviews (many of which were favorable.) I grabbed the quotes from about 30 of them that talk about Jacob, stuck in the basement, playing Second Life, and compiled them here:

http://curiostrip.com/2010/03/28/jacob-in-jail-second-life-in-hot-tub-time-machine/

[melponeme_k]

I love how SL gets hit with the stigma.

But nary a word is said about the millions of rejects growing fake soybeans in Farmville.

lol

[Arcadia Codesmith]

I'm actually somewhat gratified that Second Life has become a point of common reference, even factoring in the negative stigma. After all, Hollywood is hardly kinder to gamers or even television watchers.