Yeah, I heard about how this movie takes from a (tragic) real life case and the writers have been writing this off to coincidence, but after watching the movie, I can't say that they meant any malice with this. Honestly, I didn't even care one way or another. It just didn't seem like it drew any parallels to anything that's really happened.
In short, Danny McBride plays the stupid and spoiled son of a former military guy, played by a perfect Fred Ward. His father won the lottery a few years back and now Danny McBride decides the best way to cash in it to kill his father. However, the hitman wants $100k to do the hit, so McBride and his buddy, played by Nick Swardson, decide the best way to get the $100k is to strap a bomb to a pizza delivery guy, played by Jessie Eisenberg, and tell him to rob a bank. They give him nine hours to rob a bank and get the money back to him. Eisenberg's character is a bit of a loser himself, so he tries to get help from his best friend, played by Aziz Ansari.
If the plot sounds stupid, well...it is. But the movie isn't really about the plot, it's all about the chemistry. The movie really feeds of the friendships of Danny McBride's and Nick Swardson's characters and also with Eisenberg's and Ansari's. I felt like when the movie focused on either of those pairings, it was really funny.
Danny McBride is basically playing an offshoot of his Kenny Powers character from Eastbound & Down, but when isn't he? If you like that about him, then you'll think he's funny here. It's just more of the same.
Michael Pena gives an off-beat and funny performance as the hitman. He's doing an unusual voice, similar to the voice he used in Observe and Report. I don't know what it is about this guy, but I thought he was hilarious. I still laugh when I think about his role in Fifty Pills. He seems to excel in these smaller roles.
The movie is very fast paced. It doesn't waste any time getting going and then before you know it, the credits are running. Even I was like, "Woah, it's over already?" The movie is listed at only 83 minutes, which normally would bug me, but here I think it helped. If it had been much longer, I think it might have started to drag and the flaws of the movie might have stood out more.
Earlier in the Summer I compared a movie to Pineapple Express. That comparison was inaccurate. This movie reminds me way more of Pineapple Express. If you liked that, you should probably enjoy 30 Minutes or Less on a similar level.
30 Minutes or Less is a stupid movie. However, it's really harmless and silly. I thought it was funny throughout the film and I laughed out loud many times. The crowd really seemed to be into it, too. I walked out of this not feeling like I wasted my time or my money. However, the many beers I had before seeing this movie might have made this movie funnier than it actually was.
I'd recommend this as a matinee. Go see it with a few friends, have a drink or two before and I think you'll have a good time.
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