Film Review: ’30 Minutes or Less’ starring Jesse Eisenberg & Aziz Ansari

After the hit Zombieland, everyone grew to love Jesse Eisenberg in comedic roles. I was definitely one of those people. It’s no surprise then that many were excited to hear that Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer and Eisenberg were teaming up for another comedy. No, not Zombieland 2 unfortunately, but 30 Minutes or Less, a comedy about a pizza delivery guy who gets a bomb strapped to his chest and has 9 hours to rob a bank in order to get the bomb vest off. It sounds like a very interesting premise, something that we haven’t seen before. It’s refreshing after some of our summer comedies like The Change-Up and The Hangover 2, which offered us the same storyline just with modified jokes. 30 Minutes or Less is funny, but it isn’t as good as I expected it to be.

Despite the fact that Zombieland and 30 Minutes or Less are sort of two different kind of comedies, it’s hard not to compare them. I was expecting 30 Minutes to have same kind of cleverness and wit when it came to jokes. Eisenberg doesn’t deliver as many comedic moments in this film. It’s hard, especially because his character is too concerned about the bomb strapped to his chest. That leaves most of the comedic moments to Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride. While Aziz is funny, and he delivers his lines with good comedic timing, Danny McBride is just insufferable. Not even Nick Swardson can balance McBride out. McBride’s character is brash, immature and stupid. Frankly, he’s just not funny. I may have laughed at a line or two of his, but the rest I found borderline offensive or obnoxious. He really brings down this comedy.

A thing 30 Minutes of Less has going for it is the fast pacing. The audience is on a joyride with these guys to get the bomb off. The fast pacing really works for it and doesn’t leave you with too much time to dwell on all the dumb things McBride’s character spews. Another highlight from the movie was a surprise. Michael Pena, who plays this gangsta hitman, is hilarious! Pena, who I’ve mostly seen in supporting dramatic roles, is probably the funniest guy in the movie, and I was really surprised by how well Pena can do comedy. I hope he takes on more funny characters in the future.

If you’re expecting a funny and clever comedy, 30 Minutes or Less will disappoint. I did somewhat enjoy the film. I wish most of the jokes didn’t rely heavily on McBride’s character. If you’re a fan of Danny McBride, you’ll probably find this movie a tad more enjoyable than I did.

30 Minutes or Less will release into theaters Friday, August 12^th.

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Last month, we both attended 30 Minutes or Less promo events in Chicago and Miami. To see pictures and videos of the stars talking about the film, click here!

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