30 Minutes or Less

When you look at the names that make up the star-studded cast of 30 Minutes or Less, it makes you think back to how recently they were unknown. Jesse Eisenberg was quite obscure before his Oscar nomination and the same goes for Aziz Ansari with his role on Parks and Recreation. But now they are well known actors. The main problem here is that 30 Minutes or Less is not a film with widespread appeal.

The R rated comedy is about a pizza delivery boy (Eisenberg) who is kidnapped by two idiots (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson) and forced to wear a bomb and rob a bank. The idiots need money to hire a hit man to kill McBride’s character’s rich father. So the pizza boy enlists the help of his friend (Ansari) and desperately tries to rob the bank without messing up enough for the idiots to set off his bomb vest. The concept itself isn’t very funny.

So in order for this movie to be successful, these potential scary concepts need to be funny. But they all aren’t. During the kidnapping, McBride and Swardson where ape masks, not funny enough. The masks are more appropriate for Ben Affleck’s gang in The Town than it is an immature comedy. Luckily individual moments save the movie. There is obviously a lot of adlibbing between McBride and Swardson, which provides unexpected exchanges that are quite funny. Ansari also has his moments bringing on the laughs; however Eisenberg gives a flat, almost boring performance. I think he was funnier in The Social Network and that’s not supposed to be a comedy.

A negative review doesn’t necessarily mean a movie like 30 Minutes or Less is bad. In fact, with a few more viewings, I’m sure there are plenty of quotable moments. But ultimately, the plot is the weakest aspect, which is never a good thing. Then there is the fact that it only runs 80 minutes. On the one hand, that is quite short. On the other, that means the movie doesn’t drag. Well either way, 30 Minutes is only for fans of this genre. (7.0 out of 10)