Film Review: Jesse Eisenberg’s ‘30 Minutes or Less’ is Half Funny, Wholly Disappointing

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CHICAGO – The new half-unfunny comedy “30 Minutes or Less” stands as a destructive come down for newly minted star Jesse Eisenberg following his high-profile role as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher’s “The Social Network”.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.0/5.0
Rating: 2.0/5.0

That 2010 film only won three Oscars and racked up another 88 award wins and 79 nominations. Plus “The Social Network” grossed $224 million at the global box office on a production budget of $40 million. And yes, there’s a reason I’m discussing this past Eisenberg film more prominently so far in this review than his current film.

The disparity between those past award wins and that box-office success as compared to Eisenberg’s current film (he voiced the animated film “Rio” between the two) will be light years apart. No Oscar nominations will be earned for this new comedy from first-time writer Michael Diliberti, basically first-time scribe Matthew Sullivan and, most disappointingly, the director of the brilliant and wildly successful Eisenberg film “Zombieland”: Ruben Fleischer.

StarRead Adam Fendelman’s full review of “30 Minutes or Less”.

“30 Minutes or Less” especially makes you miss Aaron Sorkin’s fast-paced script that Eisenberg masters in his Facebook film. We don’t know Diliberti and Sullivan and that first-time writing proposition usually either means we get a refreshingly pleasant hit or a catastrophic miss. It flops here.

But most people now know Fleischer from “Zombieland” and Eisenberg from “The Social Network” and anyone’s first impression of “30 Minutes or Less” is that we needed much bigger and better from this talented duo.

This is a “go back to the drawing board” film that cries for a rewrite with the elements that make it funny while scrapping the other half that falls flat. Devastatingly mistaking makeshift witticisms for authentic philistine comedy translates into a film that’s unfunny as a used tampon is appetizing.

On a redeemingly upbeat note, stay tuned for the soon-coming HollywoodChicago.com interview with Jesse Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari where – instead of just roasting the film – we delve deep inside their actually fascinating brains.

“30 Minutes or Less” stars Jesse “I’m Very Embarrassed About This One as Compared to My Last Fincher Hit” Eisenberg, Aziz “Dude, Please Pay to See My Film Because I Gotta Make Some Bank” Ansari, Danny “Eh” McBride, Nick “I’m Smart Enough to Play Stupid” Swardson, Fred “You Might Actually Know Who I Am” Ward, Michael “Damnit! I Hate Getting a Pen Stuck in My Face” Peña and a gaggle of other people you’ve never heard of.

These mysterious supporting peeps who feel lucky to have gotten cast include Dilshad Vadsaria, Bianca Kajlich, Sam Johnston, Jack Foley, Elizabeth Wright Shapiro, Brett Gelman, Paul Tierney, Staci Lynn Fletcher and Gary Brichetto from sometimes actually revered director Ruben Fleischer and perhaps-you-shouldn’t-write writers Michael Diliberti and Matthew Sullivan.

The film opened on Aug. 12, 2011 and, thankfully, only clocks in a short running time of 83 minutes so we can quickly go about our lives after we wither away from watching it. “30 Minutes or Less” is rated “R” for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, nudity and some violence, but all that seemingly scandalous stuff still poops out a stillborn flop.

StarContinue for Adam Fendelman’s full “30 Minutes or Less” review.

Jesse Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari in 30 Minutes or Less
Jesse Eisenberg (left) and Aziz Ansari in “30 Minutes or Less”.
Image credit: Wilson Webb, Columbia TriStar Marketing Group

StarContinue for Adam Fendelman’s full “30 Minutes or Less” review.

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