Film Review: 30 Minutes or Less (2011)

Talk about a polarizing movie: some critics have called it a hysterical, albeit preposterous, comedy (even the summer’s funniest?) while others have stated that if its runtime was as short as its title then it still would have been overlong and disappointing.  Regrettably, I tend to agree with the latter assessment.  As an action movie, it is lackluster; as a comedy, it is mediocre – you will either describe it as mindlessly hilarious or find it simply mindless and only chuckle-worthy.  Despite a lean 83-minute runtime that has almost no scene that fails to move the plot forward, watching it is still a bit of a drag.  Coming from Ruben Fleischer, director of the breakout comedy Zombieland (2009), you would expect this movie to be highly stylized and energetic.  However, 30 Minutes or Less (2011) is a drab production with undeveloped, patience-testing characters and no resolution; what’s more, it is only sporadically funny.  The term “a-musing” is an apt description for the comedy: an entertaining diversion without thought.  Figuratively, 30 Minutes or Less delivers on time but its product is largely stale and tasteless.

The film features two pairs of buddy characters that drive the plot to its destination.  Mid-life “adults” Dwayne and Travis have “big” dreams but have been total losers most of their lives.  With no real jobs to earn money so they can make a living, Dwayne decides he will hire someone to kill his hard-ass father “The Major,” a former-Marine, to receive his hefty inheritance early.  However, they don’t have the $100,000 needed to pay the crazed hitman Chango and his stripper girlfriend Juicy, so they kidnap pizza delivery boy Nick, strap an explosive vest (built by explosives guru Travis) to his body and coerce him to rob a bank.  Distraught with his own empty existence and with the seemingly short remainder of his life ticking away, Nick recruits best friend Chet to deal with the situation and ultimately compels him to be his partner in crime.

Unfortunately, the plot hardly thickens beyond that.  The movie has a half-baked romance that ties into the larger story, sometimes playing for kicks and giggles (i.e. Nick and Chet’s arguments about Kate, Chet’s sister played by the beautiful but underused Dilshad Vadsaria) and at other times used for suspense.  Nonetheless, 30 Minutes or Less races to deliver laughs without many subplots at all.  Even without any real distracting storylines, the film fails to have a real ending; some people will disagree as it clearly wraps up the main premise and plot, but beyond that the final scene offers little-to-no character resolution.  In fact, when the credits roll you will wonder what happened to the characters – not just some but all of them as the ending has no conclusion/denouement – you have to wait until after the credits for a short additional scene that provides resolution for two of the characters, ones you might not expect to be given it.  Furthermore, the only thing lacking from making it a total clichéd ending is a sunset for the characters to drive into…or maybe it did have one, but I can’t remember (fairly confident it is a night scene though) – still, given that the final shot of a film is somewhat forgettable is a testament to the its overall quality.

As for the laughter that the movie desperately tries to produce, it scarcely reaches comedic levels further than what is shown in the previews.  To be fair, the trailers don’t spoil all of the funny moments.  However, if you hoped the film would surpass the level of humor found in the previews or exceed expectations in other areas, then you will likely be sorely disappointed.

Part of the reason why much of the humor may or may not work for different audiences is the way in which it is delivered.  In particular, the primary characters ramble aloud quite a bit; this shtick is amusing for a while but it becomes annoying after some time.  For instance, several of the characters, particularly Dwayne and Nick, constantly fight with themselves; instead of trying to figure out their plans mentally or through physical acting and misdirection (i.e. withholding information from the audience), the film lazily uses clunky dialogue to do so, spoiling upcoming plot points. In that sense, the movie is straightforward with little-to-no twists.  Perhaps that is one of the most significant flaws of the film, as comedy often requires shock value or surprise; for example, if viewers know that a certain bad guy will be waiting for them then the thrill is gone.  Besides, the humorous nature of “babbling, bumbling band of baboons” (10 points to whoever recognizes that tongue-twister; hint: it will go to your “House”) only works temporarily; once its quirky charm wears thin, some viewers will find it irritating rather than funny and it will lessen their overall enjoyment of the comedy.

The participants of 30 Minutes or Less fit into their roles fine but their performances lack any truly memorable features.  Jesse Eisenberg, a surprisingly talented actor, has proven his range from playing both an overly ambitious genius and an indifferent, lazy slacker (common or almost typecast kind of character for him); as Nick, Eisenberg returns to the latter after giving an deserved Oscar-nominating turn in The Social Network (2011) as Facebook mastermind Mark Zuckerberg.  As I stated in that review, some viewers will find his quirky, rambling behavior too much to handle while others will find it amusing or even funny – for those of you who enjoy it, you will like this movie then, but for those of you who don’t, you may find yourself checking your watch at times, waiting for the comedy to be delivered.  Aziz Ansari plays his best friend Chet and might be the funniest, most entertaining and likeable character in the movie.  Danny McBride, on the other hand, is a real hit-or-miss kind of comedian, and his performance as Dwayne is no different; like Eisenberg, he tends to ramble and does so considerably in this film, much to the chagrin or perhaps amusement of the viewer.  Nick Swardson has been in a number of comedic flops over the past several years (so many so that I decided not to list a few examples as his filmography over the last five years is filled with flops, just click his name to see it on IMDB for yourself) and not been a highlight really since the underrated Grandma’s Boy (2006).  In this comedy, though, he misses his opportunity to shine in an almost leading character as Travis; he is decent since he makes for a suitable loser and half-wit, but his performance is average.  Michael Peña plays up the intensity as hitman Chango, while Tremors’ actor Fred Ward plays the also one-dimensional character The Major.  If it weren’t for the decent cast, this comedy would fall apart as a total misfire.

For yet another R-rated comedy this summer, 30 Minutes or Less is less mean-spirited or crude than its counterparts.  It contains some sexual content including a brief bit of nudity in a strip club scene, minor violence, but pervasive language is the major reason for its MPAA rating.  Still, compared to the crude feminine-driven humor in Bridesmaids or the nasty comedy in The Hangover Part II, for instance, 30 Minutes or Less is much less rude and vulgar and seems mild in contrast; still, comedies needn’t use the F-bomb or vulgarity constantly to be effectively funny, oftentimes less-is-more rings true – that is more of a rant against the summer’s R-rated comedies overall rather than this one, but it has its own comedic problems, as previously mentioned.  Sadly, this comedy ranks on the lower end of the spectrum alongside Bad Teacher as two of the more disappointing ones this summer.

Again, some will feel differently given varying degrees of expectations and the largely subjective nature of comedy, but one cannot deny the film is lacking in several areas.  Furthermore, instead of making a compelling thriller out of the supposed true story, the movie forces much of its humor and speeds to resolution, much of which is missing or simply neglected.  Hopefully Fleischer’s next directorial effort The Gangster Squad (2013), which features an unbelievable cast, will be a return to form as 30 Minutes or Less is indeed a sophomore slump after Zombieland.  This movie’s cast members will probably go onto bigger and better productions as well, but unfortunately they had to be a part of this disappointing dud; just don’t judge them solely based on this film as they are actually a pretty talented bunch who can stretch their acting legs more so than featured here.  In sum, although 30 Minutes or Less is far from a spectacular comedy, it is still a mediocre one that some viewers will love and others will hate (such is the life of a comedy); hence the 50/50 rating I provide – not enough to warrant a recommendation nor is it horrible enough to deserve a total branding.  Save this one for a rental or cable television unless you are dying to see it on the big screen but only as a matinee or at a reduced price.

30 Minutes or Less – 5/10

 

 

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