Music, Style & Culture

30 Minutes Or Less

Combines the dry, smart wit of Jesse Eisenberg and the hysterics of Aziz Ansari.

Released in cinemas 16th September 2011.

Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer reunites with Jesse Eisenberg for this crude slacker comedy that has flashes of demented genius.

A melting pot of comedic styles, it combines the dry, smart wit of Eisenberg, the hysterics of Aziz Ansari and the slobbish sexism of Danny McBride. It's juvenile, but frequently laugh-out-loud funny.

You last saw him as cynical Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and now Eisenberg plays a cynical pizza delivery guy Nick, a bright but ambitionless man who outwits smartasses who try and fiddle the company's "30 minutes or less" delivery promise. His best friend is Ansari's Chet, a slightly dubious teacher who happens to be the twin brother of Kate (Dilshad Vadsaria), the object of Nick's secret affection.

Then you have the ridiculous pairing of spoilt pig McBride as Dwayne and his dopey mate Travis (Nick Swardson), with their plans for a tanning son/brothel. To get this, they need to hire a hitman to off Dwayne's lottery-winning father, and to get the fee they need to kidnap some poor sucker to rob a bank for them. An unecessarily complicated set-up.

After a call-out to the middle of nowhere, Nick wakes up with a bomb strapped to his chest, and the instructions to rob a bank within ten hours. Chet is dragged along for his chaotic descent into crime, which leads to a highly amusing bank raid and some ace buddy banter. The only aspect that leaves a bad taste is that the farce is based on a tragic real-life crime that didn't have a happy ending.

Fleischer keeps things moving with his breathless 90 minutes, but as a thriller/drama it's nonsense. However, a subplot between Nick and Kate is surprisingly touching for a film with such base humour. It's worth it to see Eisenberg potty-mouthed and joking about Facebook. In fact, the film is full of cultural references that are quite witty, considering the coarseness of half the film (McBride's half, obviously). Knowingly crass, and all the better for it.

Rating: 7/10