Ruben Fleischer was pretty much offered the world after “Zombieland” came out. He was given opportunities to choose between several different films, and he eventually chose to direct “30 Minutes Or Less.”
Early word from people close to the film is fairly rabid on this one, and with today’s release of the first red-band trailer for the film, I’m excited about getting a look at it later in the year. The script for the film by Michael Diliberti made the Black List a few years ago, and it looks to have been a real draw for some of the funniest people in film right now.
Jesse Eisenberg stars as a pizza delivery guy who is abducted by two guys (played by Danny McBride and Nick Swardson) who strap a bomb to him and order him to rob a bank. Now, this actually happened to a guy, and the real story was sort of tragic and insane and bizarre, but it does seem like a great jumping-off point for a truly manic comedy, and the trailer does a nice job of setting things up without ruining the entire movie.
In particular, I like the idea of Jesse Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari as friends. You wanna talk about two totally different types of energy playing off of each other… that seems like it sets up some outstanding opportunities, and even in this little glimpse at the movie, they’ve got great natural chemistry.
And on the other side of the equation, you’ve got McBride and Swardson, and we’re at an interesting moment for McBride on the big screen. I’m no fair-weather fan… I think the guy is wildly talented and I’m enjoying the work he’s doing… but I can acknowledge that Hollywood’s taken a number of shots on him at this point, and studios hold movies like “Land Of The Lost” and “Your Highness” against you if they don’t work. So far, the greatest successes he’s had in films have been as part of larger ensembles, like in “Pineapple Express” or “Tropic Thunder,” and maybe that’s just the way it’s going to work. I don’t think anything he’s done in any film so far even comes close to the brilliance of “East Bound And Down,” but I’ll be happy to watch whatever McBride does in the future, so I hope this film connects. I’d hate for Hollywood to give up on him.
You can see the red-band trailer on the official Facebook page for the movie now, and then “30 Minutes Or Less” will be in theaters August 12, 2011.