Wasn’t 30 Minutes or Less promoted as a comedy? The funniest thing in the entire movie is an inside joke about Jesse Eisenberg’s character not using Facebook. And considering there was a Facebook joke in Eisenberg’s animated film Rio earlier this year, this is not a good sign of what’s to come for the actor.
Nick (Eisenberg) is a slacker pizza delivery guy who is kidnapped one night by a pair of idiots (played by Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). They strap a bomb to him and tell him to go rob a bank. He’s got 10 hours to pull it off or he’ll be blown to bits. If he goes to the cops, he’ll be blown to bits. He only has one option — rob a bank!
Not knowing what to do, Nick goes to his friend Chet (Aziz Ansari) for help. Although he’s a school teacher and has a lot to lose, it doesn’t take Nick much to convince Chet to help him. Soon they are buying ski masks and fake guns and planning how to pull the job off.
Although I like each cast member in other roles they have done, they all suck in this film with exception to Ansari. His contribution is the sole reason I didn’t get up and walk out of the screening. But even he gets a little annoying as the movie progresses and could have had his talents put to better use in the grand scheme of things.
This is director Ruben Fleischer’s follow-up to the 2009 film Zombieland, and I had high hopes for it. Sadly, it felt like nothing more than a vulgar sitcom. All that was missing was the fake set and laugh track.
Rating: 
Rated 14A
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Nick Swardson, Aziz Ansari
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Top image: A scene from 30 Minutes or Less. Courtesy Sony Pictures.
