Just like Captain America: The First Avenger represented the end of the superhero segment of the 2011 Summer Movie Season, 30 Minutes or Less signaled the final raunchy comedy. Based on who you ask, Columbia Pictures definitely stacked this entry with some heavy comedic talent; I may not be the biggest fan of Aziz Ansari or Nick Swardson, but Danny McBride’s involvement virtually guaranteed that I would shell out the money for a ticket. And while many would question the presence of Best Actor nominee Jesse Eisenberg, it’s easy to forget that before he portrayed Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, he made his name in hybrid-comedies like 2009 entries Adventureland and Zombieland. One big speed bump involved the subject matter; while the idea of two idiots strapping a bomb to somebody and forcing him to rob a bank may sound like a wacky comedy, this scheme actually occurred in 2003 with tragic results. Volatile plot aside, 30 Minutes or Less still looked like it could be ludicrous enough to provide some great laughs.
By and large, 30 Minutes or Less was pretty disappointing, with the ludicrous story unfolding almost exactly as expected with very little genuine humor. Don’t get me wrong, the movie has some undeniably hysterical moments, but many of the attempts at humor fall flat, with McBride and Swardson often rambling and hoping to generate a laugh. The best part of this comedy is easily Aziz Ansari, freaking out and ranting with so much energy that you cannot help but laugh and wait for his next outburst. The story is so out-of-this-world insane that it does manage to entertain on a very simplistic level, but I’m afraid that some moviegoers might walk out actually thinking they can now pull off a bank robbery. It may not be the deepest film or the strongest comedy to help close out the Summer Movie Season, but 30 Minutes or Less can still entertain a specific audience; I just wouldn’t recommend that anyone rush out to the theater.
For more information, please read the full review.
Overall Recommendation: Low
