Sort of based on a real news story, 30 Minutes or Less is about a pizza guy (Jesse Eisenberg) who is forced to rob a bank when two guys (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson) strap a bomb vest to him. And his best friend (Aziz Ansari) has to help.
The movie is split pretty evenly between the three comics and Eisenberg, who are all pretty damn funny in their own right. For my money, Aziz wins the battle of who has the funniest lines. McBride, while always funny, is basically doing Kenny Powers. Swardson is kind of a saddled with a character with a conscience and Eisenberg probably would’ve benefited from swapping roles with Ansari.
Is it funny? Yeah, although I think almost all the best moments are in the trailer. It’s as realistic as a movie as this type can get, but it feels like the director sacrificed some of the comedy for “realism”. But at the same time, there are moments that are completely ridiculous. No way are these guys getting away and since they do, why not jack up the comedy to Harold & Kumar levels?
It’s like Ansari, the comedian and wild man, is saddled with being the reasonable best friend. Meanwhile, Eisenberg, who excels at being a neurotic mess is playing a slacker pizza dude that finally throws caution into the wind. And as funny as McBride and Swardson can be, they are in this movie too much. The focus probably should’ve been on the main characters and to some extent it feels like there are two movies struggling for dominance.
It’s entertaining, but I was expecting more. Maybe I set the bar too high going in. I say this is a decent rental. Maybe another rewrite, a couple of more scenes, some more manic action and one-liners from Ansari would’ve done it. As it is, I can only give 30 Minutes or Less 6 out of 10 Keggers, bros.
