30 Minutes or Less Does Not Impress

Kenny Powers says "You're Effin Dead"

In 2009, director Ruben Fleischer struck gold when he directed the Action/Adventure-Comedy fusion film Zombieland. This summer, his latest attempt falls far short of his Zombie fame. 30 Minutes or Less is a story about a half-baked, sort of waste-of-a-life pizza delivery guy, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg), thrown into the world of hitmen, bank robberies, and car theft. He's forced to come up with $100,000 dollars in several hours at the hands of wanna-be criminal king Dwanye (the always hilarious but getting a bit stale Danny McBride).

Don't get me wrong, the movie is funny. Comedian and Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari does a great job of providing sparks of hilarity as Nick's buddy Chet who is along for the ride. There is something almost endearing and natural about the way Ansari delivers his polite, yet at times crude dialogue especially when its in juxtaposition to Eisenberg's frantic antics early on.

Speaking of Eisenberg, the guy has his moments that show you why he was an Academy Award Nominee. One rooftop scene in particular involving Eisenberg and his film's love interest, Kate (Dilshad Vadsaria), gives the film a break of the coarse language and jokes and replaces it with some straight up emotion and heart which, in my opinion, is what made Zombieland so good. It had the right balance of humor and zombie-gore mixed with in with scenes of real emotion. 30 Minutes or Less felt like it sought out to copy that formula but lost sight somewhere along the way. And not to knock Danny McBride (I love the guy and think he is hilarious), but I feel like audiences are going to be getting tired of the Kenny Powers persona he seems to be playing more frequently.

Insert some off the wall, inappropriate phrase

While many of the things he comes up with are hilarious, it just seems so repetitive. As does Nick Swardson's performance of an awkward sidekick. I had high hopes for this comedic duo as I think they are both equally talented performers in their own right. But together, it just seemed like the same old stuff.

The summer really has not been the greatest for original comedies and don't expect the tide to change with 30 Minutes or Less. It has its moments and will certainly get its share of laughs but don't rush to the theatre to catch it. Wait for it on Red-box where the movie, a bag of popcorn, and a couple of drinks will cost you 30 bucks or less to enjoy it.
       
FIVE STAR RATING: 2.5 out of 5

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