Facebook? I don’t check that shit, I’m off the grid.
by Kevin Gaussoin, Editor-in-Chief
Amid scathing controversy claiming the film exploits a real world tragedy, 30 Minutes or Less attempts to make a comedy out of a plot that might otherwise be best expected in a torture-porn like that found in the Saw movie franchise. Does it succeed?
(Spoilers after the cut!)
Mmmff iff nnngt Fnnngne!
Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland, Zombieland, Facebookland) plays Nick, a mid-twenties slacker who never did anything with his life and consequently works as a pizza delivery guy. Nick shares a house with his childhood friend Chet (Aziz Ansari – Parks and Recreation, nottobedrunkenlyconfusedwithVikSahay) and maintains a clandestine relationship with Chet’s sister Kate (Dilshad Vadsaria – Greek). Danny McBride (Fanboys, Tropic Thunder, Land of the Lost, Eastbound and Down) plays Dwayne, an even bigger loser whose lotto-rich retired Marine Major father (Fred Ward – Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, Tremors, The Right Stuff) has no respect nor even any hope for his scheming loser son.
So The Major’s scheming loser son and his friend Travis (Nick Swardson – You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Reno 911) follow their favorite stripper’s advice and hire Chango (Michael Peña – Shooter, Crash, The Lincoln Lawyer), a scene-stealing chollo she knows who can off daddy warbucks so Dwayne can inherit the remainder of dad’s money and laze around all day unmolested. In order to afford to pay the gangster, Dwayne decides to force a pizza boy to rob a bank for them. Travis is something of an amateur munitions guy and…
You this this is some kinda joke, ese?
Wait, wait, no seriously, this is a COMEDY! Well, It’s supposed to be. Most of the time it’s that kind of uncomfortable comedy that (IMHO) ruined The Office. It’s too bad really. Jesse Eisenberg has some great lines, and Aziz Ansari is there to remind us that this is in fact supposed to be a comedy, and in a few scattered scenes, really succeeds. But then Dwayne and Travis are in a scene again and you just feel awful about the whole thing to the point where you are almost embarrassed to be in the theater supporting this thing.
Overall
I loved watching Nick, Chet, Kate and Chango, and found their scenes almost always funny and enjoyable. Maybe Danny McBride’s horrific repulsiveness in this movie is indicative of some strong acting skill, and if so, maybe he should get some acknowledgement for it, but really I was just glad that the movie was over.
ComicsOnline gives 30 Minutes or Less 2 out of 5 cold late pizzas.
For more movie reviews, keep ordering up the cheesy goodness from ComicsOnline.com, everything geek pop culture.
