Muni Reviews: 30 Minutes or Less (2011)

So this weekend Kazed and me went down to London to the Empire Big Screen event, to see clips of films that haven’t been released yet, as well as watch two feature films: Cowboys & Aliens (which Kazed has reviewed), and 30 minutes or less.

So the synopsis for this is pretty cool, two wannabe criminals (Danny McBride & Nick Swardson) kidnap and pizza delivery boy Nick (Eisenberg) strap a bomb to him and give him 10 hours to rob a bank or else they’ll blow him up. Nick goes to his best friend to help him get the money and save his life.

So right off the bat I want to say this is quiet possibly the funniest film I’ve seen all year (still haven’t seen Bridesmaids, but think if I did it would still win.) Aziz Ansari (Parks & Recreation) is a breath of fresh air on screen, he is a natural comedian and has had cameos in Funny People and I Love You, Man; but this time around he’s in the entire film. I think he actually makes the film as funny as it is, the audience was in fits of laughter and it was justified.  Jesse Eisenberg after his critical and commercial success on The Social Network, made this film work, he plays a different character to what he’s played previously which also includes Zombieland and The Squid and the Whale, and I think he did a very good job, he was funny, charming, and very likeable on screen.

McBride was not as funny as he could have been there were glimpses of moments where it was funny, I thought Swardson did a better job and was much funnier specially which the “that’s what she said” line at the end.

The story is new and unique, as it hasn’t been done before. For me, it works. The film has a good flow and keeps the audience engaged as well as having an entertaining script with a lot of funny lines. For those who keep up with news and current affairs, would have read this film being slammed is recent weeks as it is similar to the real life horror of a man having a bomb strapped to him and he died. The story line for 30 minutes is different to the real life event and shouldn’t be interpreted as the same thing.

The chemistry between the actors is amazing to watch on screen, you could tell that they had fun making this film, the characters were hilarious and story was very engaging.

I honestly believe when this comes out that this is going to be a box office success, as well as be a critical success. I think Aziz Ansari is really funny and I’m glad an Indian guy has got a huge break as a leading man on screen, I believe he’s the stand out guy for me in the film and stole the screen every time he was on. He’s one to watch out for the future. Jesse does a superb job and thinks he made a wise choice making this film rather then a drama.

Overall I’d say go watch this film. Seriously, you won’t be disappointed. I’ve read that it comes out in mid September in the UK, which isn’t a long time away but I feel privileged to have watched it so early. The acting is amazing and so is the story.

9/10

muni

A little about me: I'm currently studying Film Production Technology at Birmingham City University, going into my second year. As well as that I'm working on a few Film projects at the moment and hop