No Guarantees

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg,Aziz Ansari,Danny McBride,Nick Swardson,Michael Pena

Rating: *1/2

With Jesse Eisenberg on board,30 Minutes or Less could have been more,much more. All it does is use his superb portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network to crack a feeble joke about Facebook. With an “Indian” — albeit with the name “Chet” — in the role of Eisenberg’s best buddy,30 Minutes or Less could again have been more than about crass clichés. It can’t resist slipping in a joke about shit and “Slumdog”.

This film by Fleischer is,in fact,all about missed chances and jokes that fall just short. The story,about two sets of very different but equally desperate friends,sadly had potential. While one set includes pizza boy Nick (Eisenberg) and newbie teacher Chet (Ansari),the other is made of no-gooders Dwayne (McBride) and Travis (Swardson). The plot comprises the latter strapping a bomb on Nick’s chest to force him to rob a bank so that they can pay off an assassin to kill Dwayne’s father for his money. As Nick and Chet try to figure out the logistics of robbing a bank,from acquiring ski masks and guns to organising a getaway car and working out whether to tell employees when they reach the bank to drop to the ground or hold their hands up — “How will they take out money if they are down on the floor?” Chet asks Nick — the film appears to be perking up.

However,instead of concentrating on Eisenberg and Ansari and making a better film about two man-children caught in an impossible situation,30 Minutes or Less spends half of its time on its two middle-aged,increasingly irritating juveniles.It’s also unsettling how Nick and Chet seem to get away with robbing a bank,during which one person gets shot,and speeding away later,during the course of which several get hurt. There are other casualties too,but these hardly register.

The title 30 Minutes or Less derives from the promised time for pizza delivery at the place where Nick works. A minute later,and the pizza comes for free. Eisenberg in the credits gives this film a whole lot of value. If only all promises came with guarantees.