Gone are the days of our pizza deliveries being guaranteed hot and fresh within 30-minutes, unless you live in a fictional version of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The setting of 30 MINUTES OR LESS, the new comedy from director Ruben Fleischer (ZOMBIELAND) revolves around a pizza delivery boy named Nick (Jesse Eisenberg, SOCIAL NETWORK). Without any sense of ambition, Nick lives day-to-day, working for an unreasonable boss, and hanging out with his best friend Chet (Aziz Ansari, PARKS & RECREATION) while harboring mixed feelings toward Chet’s twin sister Kate (Dilshad Vadsaria).
Nothing about Nick’s life is extraordinary or exciting, except maybe for the way he drives while attempting to deliver pizzas before they get docked from his paycheck. Nick’s driving is as energetic and recklessly enjoyable as the film itself. 30 MINUTES OR LESS is a mere 83-minutes in length, a quick and dirty joy ride, but doesn’t leave you feeling cheated. The story picks up when Nick delivers to a junkyard, where he encounters Dwayne (Danny McBride, YOUR HIGHNESS) and Travis (Nick Swardson, BLADES OF GLORY).
Dwayne is a redneck loser with delusions of grandeur, the disappointment of a son to “The Major,” played by Fred Ward (TREMORS). Nick is the dimwitted, but good-hearted friend and accomplice to Dwayne’s dreams of inheriting his father’s lottery wealth. The only tip this delivery earns Nick is10-hours of adrenaline-fueled efforts to survive, as he wakes from his black out with a bomb strapped to his chest and two gorilla mask wearing idiots instructing him of his ultimatum… rob a bank, or be blown to smithereens.
From here, 30 MINUTES OR LESS is pure, fun-filled comedic action. True popcorn entertainment smothered in fresh, hot laughter is what you get from Ruben Fleischer, and it’s a refreshing change of pace. Eisenberg plays the freaked out slacker wearing the boom-vest to a point completely opposite of what we’ve seen from his other, more sharp-witted roles. Instead, Aziz Ansari nearly steals the show as the sarcastic, witty best friend who is dragged into Nick’s unbelievable situation.
Unfortunately, Danny McBride is beginning to wear a bit thin on the funny bone. While he repeatedly nails the numb-skull that thinks he’s smarter than he is role, it’s repeatedly the same role in virtually everything he does. Nick Swardson, on the other hand, is successful as Travis, the lovable and well-meaning Barney Fife to McBride’s Andy Griffith. Michael Pena (OBSERVE & REPORT) adds an absurdly flavorful spice as a hired hit man who ups the stakes for all parties involves in this small town plot that’s doomed by design.
30 MINUTES OR LESS doesn’t deliver any hidden messages or morals, doesn’t ask us to think too much or wrap our heads around any major plot twists or mysteries. The film is just fun. Period. In some ways, I equate the film the BEVERLY HILLS COP, in that Fleischer has rediscovered the satisfying formula for comedy plus action. This is the perfect summer film for a quick laugh while hiding out from the brutal summer heat.
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
