30 Minutes or Less Directed by: Ruben Fleischer Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride Rating: NR Release Date: August 12, 2011
TRAILER SCORE: 7/10
Thoughts by TSR: The premise of 30 Minutes or Less is, well, it's kinda questionable. I mean, it's basically Speed with a pizza delivery guy instead of Keanu Reeves. If somebody told me what this movie was about, I can't help but think I'd write it off after hearing the plot description alone.
Trailers like 30 Minutes or Less prove that a movie can have a lot more going for it than the plot. Immediately what caught my eye (well, besides director Ruben Fleischer) was the cast. I've been a big Jesse Eisenberg fan since The Squid & the Whale but unfortunately, Eisenberg is never given much of a chance to showcase his comedic skills. But what sold me on the movie was his partner in crime, Aziz Ansari, better known by some as Tom haverford from NBC's "Parks & Recreation." Ansari has the comedic chops that even if Eisenberg was dead weight (which he proves he isn't with this trailer) Ansari could still carry the movie. Together? The two are unstoppable. The back-and-forth the two have at the beginning of the trailer got me hooked.
My only concern? Well, it's... the cast. Eisenberg and Ansari are gold, but Danny McBride, both in this trailer and in any other movie, has yet to make me laugh. I'll give him Eastbound & Down but that's about it. He kinda slows down the roll of the whole trailer as the marketing department probably felt it was a good idea to shove him down our throats, but it just wasn't working for me. Hopefully he's not a huge part of the movie or he's given better material than what's in this trailer, but as of now, McBride might be what pushes this movie from a "must-see" to an "eh, I'll see it eventually."