30 Minutes or Less
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride, Nick Swardson, Fred Ward, Michael Pena, Dilshad Vadsaria, Bianca Kaglich
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two criminals (Danny McBride, Nick Swardson) kidnap a pizza delivery guy (Jesse Eisenberg), strap a bomb to him, and make him rob a bank.

Review:

Tim: I'm not sure exactly what went wrong with 30 Minutes or Less, but something went really, really wrong. The film is boring, flat, unfunny, and stupid. I expected more from everyone involved. The film reunited director Ruben Fleischer and actor Jesse Eisenberg from one of my favorite movies of 2009, Zombieland. It featured a unique story (completely ripped off from a real-life event near where I grew up) with lots of comedic possibilities. And yet, the movie just fails.

One of the biggest complaints I have is that there were no likable characters in the entire film. Even our protagonists, portrayed by Eisenberg and Ansari, are both very unlikable. There's even a scene where these two best friends reveal all the awful things they've done to each other over the years. Neither one is even close to a good person, and there's nothing sympathic about them. Why should we care what happens to them? The criminals played by Danny McBride and Nick Swardson are unlikable as well. The movie just had no one you could care about or root for.

Eisenberg is fine in the lead role, but his character was so poorly written that there's not much he could do. He's enjoyed some terrific roles in the last few years, but this movie reminded me how careful he needs to be in his career. He could easily wind up making crap like this film for the next several decades. Aziz Ansari might actually be the best part of the film. He steals the scenes he's in. His high energy act does occasionally get annoying, but Ansari gives a very good performance.

I'm actually getting a bit tired of Danny McBride. His acting seems to be incredibly one-note, and after the atrocious Your Highness, I've lost all patience with him. He wasn't funny in this film, While his comedic timing is still perfect, the lines just missed the mark. Swardson has a few good moments, but his talent is limited. I really like Michael Pena, and I enjoyed him in the small role here. The cast is talented, but the characters they were given were too flawed and didn't have enough depth to make any real impact.

The events of the film are pretty forgettable. Sure, they are some decently constructed scenes now and again, but the whole film just feels a bit pointless. There aren't any genuinely strong laughs in the whole film. The experience wasn't torture, but I didn't really enjoy the movie.

30 Minutes or Less isn't terrible, but it is far beneath where it should have been. The movie is lucky to have Ansari to help it out. I didn't hate this film, but I was really disappointed in how ambivalent I felt about it. The movie simply didn't give us any reason to care about it. This is a failure.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Zombieland, Your Highness, Pineapple Express