High Concept

COLLATERAL BEAUTY (2016) (D+) - This dumb movie, monitored as background Muzak on HBO, is a goofy rom-com disguised as a "Crash"-like swirl of personal tragedies. The producers thought it would be a good idea to have comic actor Will Smith act morose and have drama queen Helen Mirren try to yuk it up. Smith plays an ad exec mourning the death of a child from two years earlier, rendered mute and prone to creating elaborate domino sculptures (the Big Theme, if you weren't paying attention).  His three colleagues, each one grappling with their own personal demons, spy on him and discover that he has written angry letters addressed to Love, Time and Death. So they hire three actors to play his ludicrous game and represent Love, Time and Death.

Everyone will learn a Big Lesson, especially -- shock, surprise -- the three colleagues, one of whom is unlucky at love, another who is racing the clock, and another grappling with the possibility of death. Smith cries a lot. Edward Norton performs with his trademark smirk. Mirren looks embarrassed. Kate Winslet is horribly wasted. Keira Knightley (not Natalie Portman) flails as Love, fending off the creepy Norton character. No one has any chemistry with any other cast member. Alternatively maudlin and goofy, this does not work on any level. The reason the grade is so high is that it does have a fantastic ending. If only it weren't a chore getting to it.

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (2010) (B) - This makes me laugh, even the second time around. It is a shameless rip-off of "Back to the Future," "Porky's" and a few other slices of '80s cheese, but everyone in it is having so much fun. John Cusack strikes just the right tone as the leader of a band of misfits who travel through time via a mysterious hot tub during a reunion at a ski lodge. Rob Corddry is insane as the loud-mouth member of the bunch. He and Craig Robinson banter well, with the latter a master of incredulity.

A few familiar faces flit across the screen in minor roles: Lizzy Caplan as a love interest for Cusack, Crispin Glover as a staffer perpetually on the brink of losing an arm, and "Mad Men's" Jessica Pare in a lusty romp in the bubbling water. This is a heady brew of lust and laughs. And if you can get past the ridiculous concept (and Chevy Chase as the spooky maintenance man), you're in for a tub-full of yuks.