Tuesday, August 30, 2011

30 minutes..... and I should have walked out.

I must confess that I am a fan of comedies.  I enjoy laughing and I have a thing for the absurd.  It's just how I am.  However, I decided to take my wife to see The Help today, but we arrived a little too late and (to my delight) decided to watch 30 Minutes or Less... Now, I wish we would have just watched The Help.  I don't know much about that movie, and it sounds like a chick flick, but after watching the other I feel like it probably would have been a better choice. 

I'm sure you know the synopsis of the movie, but let's recap.  Jesse Eisenberg is strapped with a bomb and has to rob a bank to avoid being blown up.  He recruits Aziz Ansari to help him do so, while Danny McBride and Nick Swardson follow behind (because they are the one's that strapped him with a bomb).  There are a few twists and turns that make the movie interesting, but it is the blatant use of crude humor that really makes the movie fail (in my eyes that is).  Not to mention the fact that this really happened, and the real guy actually died from the bomb exploding.

I am a fan of Danny McBride and liked what Nick Swardson did on Reno 911 as Terry (or Teh-rr-yyy-iiee), but their act is getting old to me. How many times can Nick Swardson play an awkward guy that tries to fit in, while being homoerotic, and making annoying faces?  Also, how many times can Danny McBride play a over-confident lackey that says something very funny just to explain why its funny until its not funny?

It's actually spelled out this way in the movie.  He is on the phone with a girl, and uses a euphemism to describe what he is talking about.  Now, in the right mood, what he was talking about could be funny, but   he ruins it by explaining what it means in a "that's just a euphemism for this literal, inappropriate thing", which he so often does, and it takes all of the humor away. 

Why can't we enjoy subtle humor?  Even if it is sexual in nature, why do these film-makers and actors feel it is necessary to put EVERYTHING so bluntly?  There is more humor in subtlety and in the scenario than there is when someone explains that a fart joke is funny because its about farts.  It's ridiculous.  I think that these two actors have really hit a time in their career where they need to try something different, and film-makers everywhere need to try to make movies that are less raunchy.  Why is it ok to be so disgusting today?

Michael Peña does a great job with his role as a hitman in the movie.  He is very funny with his delivery, and breaks away from the traditional Latino criminal by adding very humorous characteristics.  He is serious and funny without losing the seriousness (unlike McBride).  Aziz Ansari is pretty funny, but he is himself, which is still pretty funny.  Jesse Eisenberg does a really good job, and was a great choice as the lead character.  If it weren't for these three characters, I would count the movie a complete loss (although the supporting roles did pretty well). 

Anyway, let's just say symbolism and dry humor are a thing of the past with comedies today.  So if you want to go see something that will not stimulate your brain, or something vulgar that will probably offend some,  go see this movie.

P.S. I know this doesn't have anything to do with pharmacy, but I get tired of whining about my profession.

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