Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, Dilshad Vadsaria, Bianca Kajlich, Michael Pena and Fred Ward.
Length: 83 minutes.
Reviewed by: Vincent Harte.
Coming from the director and the star of 2009’s excellent Zombieland, hopes were high for 30 Minutes or Less but unfortunately the legacy of that previous work may just have weighed down this venture a bit too much.
30 Minutes or Less tells the story of Nick (played by Zombieland and The Social Networks Jesse Eisenberg) a slacking pizza delivery guy who has trouble meeting the rigorous demands of his job, namely to deliver his pizza within a half hour. Nick and his best friend Chet (TV’s Aziz Ansari) are having a rough patch in their relationship, with Chet trying to grow up and become a career man and feeling held back by his immature friend. Things come to a head between the two when it is revealed that Nick slept with Chet’s twin sister (Vadsaria) and the two part ways.
Running parallel to this is the story of Dwayne (Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express star McBride) and Travis (Nick Swardson) two immature thirty-something’s who spend their time watching movies and playing with explosives, this lifestyle is paid for by Dwayne’s father who, some years previous, won a large amount of money playing the lottery and uses this windfall to support his unproductive son. After being berated by his father Dwayne is convinced by a scheming stripper (Bianca Kajlich from TV’s sitcom Rules of Engagement) to hire an assassin to kill his father and claim his inheritance.
Needing $100,000 to fund this plan, the dim-witted duo order a pizza from Nick’s place of work assaulting him when he arrives and using their knowledge of explosives to build a bomb, which they strap to Nick’s person and inform him he has ten hours to rob a bank and deliver the money to them or they will detonate the bomb. Having nowhere else to turn Nick enlists the help Chet in order to carry out the heist.
On the face of it 30 Minutes or Less has it all, a top notch cast of fine comedic actors with a strong pedigree in this sort of picture, a crazy plot which has the potential for a whole host of memorable scenes and a director hot on the heels of a stunning debut effort. Yet somehow the ingredients never really blend together in the way that one would hope.
Pacing is also a serious issue with this film, with a pretty short run time of 83 minutes. This in itself is not a problem, in fact it should work in the films favour with the laughs coming thick and fast but the film feels a slight bit lopsided with an excellent closing act but slightly slow start, it would have been better to make the film longer and even out the two halves.
Verdict.
Come into this film looking at the previous work of its cast and creator and disappointment will be the only thing that will meet you inside the theatre, however if viewed with a clean slate it can be enjoyed for what it is, a screwball comedy that offers an agreeable cinematic experience but one that will not linger too long in the memory.
6/10
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