’30 Minutes or Less’ successfully exhibits director’s unique style in mainstream film

I can't say I've ever seen a movie and hoped that future directors rip it off. But with Ruben Fleischer's "30 Minutes or Less," I hope they're at least taking notes. It takes an original, jam-packed story that could easily be milked for more, and fires it off in a mere 83 minutes.

For fans of Fleischer's other movie, "Zombieland," this pace sounds familiar. I wrongly assumed "Zombieland" only worked because it brought impossibly cool style and irreverence to zombie gore. But "30 Minutes or Less" applies the formula to a more straightforward comedy and ends up just as effective and refreshing.

Jesse Eisenberg plays Nick, a pizza delivery guy with unimpressive prospects watching his few friends grow up around him. Danny McBride and Nick Swardson play a middle-aged duo with even less impressive prospects, who kidnap Nick to carry out a bank heist. To do this, they strap a remote-controlled bomb to Nick's chest, release him and trail him to make sure the job is done. The plan is actually much more intricate and, once enacted, doesn't take any of the safe ways out, but there's no sense in giving away its shock-value charm.

McBride has a particular brand of over-the-top, over-confident dumb guy that he's perfected on HBO's "Eastbound and Down." It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but he handles his role with such deadpan surety, that he's hard not to like.

The real show-stealer, though, is Aziz Ansari. He plays Chet, the spastic, fast-talking goofball sidekick of Eisenberg's character, and one of few actors that can make absolutely any line or scene funny merely by being himself. They could have given him some cheap lines and I probably still would have laughed.

It is Ansari's first big movie role, and there are a few moments where it feels he's trying too desperately to force his extravagant personality into his scenes. I think he has a great chance at finding a better balance with this in the future, though, and for a movie that never requires much beyond fast-paced extravagance, it's never a big issue. His reaction to Einsenberg's coming to the school where he works to show him the bomb is the hardest I've laughed at a movie at least since "The Hangover."

Like "Zombieland," "30 Minutes or Less" plays light and fast with topics that normally demand reflection, even in comedy settings. In "Zombieland," this meant casually bashing in zombie skulls. Here, it's moments like an escalating argument between Ansari and Eisenberg where they reveal how they've broken each other's trust throughout their friendship. It's less shocking than zombie guts, to be sure, but it shows that the expectation-breaking rhythm that made "Zombieland" great can be translated to more standard settings as well.

For a movie that spends little time setting up plot or characters, I was surprised that I was never irked by the lack of character development. There's two reasons I can find for this never being an issue. First, the movie understands its borders. It plays out like a short story, delving right into the action and ending when the action is through. It doesn't waste the viewers' time with elements that don't need expanding.

The movie also works because all of the characters (except, maybe, Nick's love interest and Chet's sister) have very distinct personas that don't need a lot of explanation. My problem with another outrageous summer comedy, "Horrible Bosses," was that two of its main characters were basically interchangeable. "30 Minutes or Less" doesn't have any of the average, mostly nice guy characters that can bring laughs but are ultimately unforgettable. Sure, Eisenberg continues with his gawky good guy bit, but he also evinces a lot more confidence here, perhaps because of his "Social Network" success. He finds a surprisingly believable niche in this outrageous setting, beyond being the token awkward teen he sometimes seemed in "Zombieland" and "Adventureland."

What really makes me excited about "30 Minutes or Less" is that it seems perfectly set for multiple viewings. It's got the genuine off-the-wall action of the best buddy films, quotable lines that aren't forced, and a breezy runtime for those that don't like putting a lot of commitment into watching a comedy with friends. A couple love-them-or-hate-them characters may keep this from becoming the classic I think it should be, but that shouldn't keep anyone from missing out.

cameronmount@dailynebraskan.com