Culture Blues

Let’s Review 30 Minutes or Less!

As the Culture Blues Intern, it is my duty to record the post-screening discussions of my editors, so that they're not required to "sell out" and write actual cogent criticism.

Never go for the vault.

So, Jeff and Jeremiah are strapping a bomb vest to me whe--

Jeff Hart: Sorry, Intern. No time for a clever scene-setting intro today. We just saw 30 Minutes or Less and I'm ready to explode. WITH THOUGHTS!

Jeremiah White: This was one of the most pleasant experiences I've had at the movies in a while. At least since Thor kicked off the summer in satisfying fashion. 30 Minutes of Less isn't likely to wow audiences, but it just feels so complete and well-rounded. It's funny throughout and never relies on the sort of crude ugliness on display in The Change-Up. The action elements are well executed and genuinely exciting. Plus, this is a very efficient movie. It comes in at under 90 minutes, it's constantly propelled by its plot and it never comes close to wearing out its welcome.

Jeff: Well, I thought it got off to a shaky start. It took me a little while to warm up to Jesse Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari - they don't really seem like natural friends at first, which they're definitely supposed to. The early scenes of them bonding and then breaking up felt forced to me. But once Facebook gets that bomb strapped to him - watch out!

Jeremiah: While the marketing campaign focuses squarely on Eisenberg and Ansari as unwilling bank robbers, that's not really the bulk of the movie and it’s handled pretty early on. Danny McBride and Nick Swardson get significant screen time as the lowlife dreamers who force our heroes to become felons, as does Michael Pena, a hitman who gets tangled up in the shenanigans. The characters are all in over their heads, but they also present a legitimate threat to each other. Nobody is simply a walking punchline.

Jeff: Swardson and Pena are locked in a fierce competition to steal the movie.

Jeremiah: I’d like to commend McBride as well. I think he can be very funny but his cocky, vulgar performances are usually way too much. He plays a similar character here, but it's seriously toned down, and much funnier for it.

Jeff: Normally, I can't stand McBride. The Kenny Powers character - his only character - has always struck me as a lowest common denominator hillbilly Will Ferrell, where instead of shouting random word jumbles he puts together lengthy free-thought curses about his wiener. He skeeves me out, and while I realize that's part of the humor, I don't enjoy it. He's supposed to annoy the audience, but you're also supposed to root for him not to embarrass himself, like a mulleted Michael Scott. But, it doesn't work. I just want to punch his face. You're right though, he's better than normal here. Although if we're ranking the performances of our five leads, I'm still putting him last. Also, for some reason, he's better when wearing a gorilla mask.

Jeremiah: Okay, okay, you don't like McBride. We get it. Anyway, director Ruben Fleischer’s previous film Zombieland left me similarly delighted when I walked out of the theater in 2009. He strikes a perfect balance here between laughs and a nice little crime tale. On the action comedy scale, 30 Minutes or Less sits somewhere near Beverly Hills Cop, which is great company to be in.

Jeff: Beverly Hills Cop! That is some lofty praise. I don't know if I'd go that far with it, but 30 Minutes or Less is definitely a fun flick, a bro-comedy by way of a frenetic Guy Ritchie caper. Put that way it sounds sort of awful, but it works.

Jeremiah: In many ways, this feels like a movie made to appeal to those of us who grew up watching action movies from the 80s and 90s. Direct references to the best of those films are numerous, but it's even more telling that the characters in the movie seem like they've spent their whole lives daydreaming about being in these situations. 30 Minutes or Less surprisingly ends up being a better tribute to the action movies I love than more obvious attempts like Hot Fuzz and Pineapple Express, perhaps because it doesn't ever feel like that's what they were trying to do.