Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Written By: Michael Dilberti
Story By: Michael Dilberti & Matthew Sullivan
Cinematography By: Jess Hall
Editor: Alan Baumgarten
Cast: Jessie Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, Dishlad Vadseria, Michael Pena, Fred Ward, Bianca Kajilch
The not so smart Dwayne intends to open a massage parlor with his partner Travis, but he does not have money for the investment. He decides to hire a hit-man to kill his father, The Major, who won a large amount of money in the lottery years ago, but the killer demands US$ 100,000 for the job. Dwayne and Travis kidnap the pizza delivery boy Nick and they dress Nick in a vest with a timer and several bombs. Then Dwayne tells Nick that he has ten hours to rob US$ 100,000 from a bank. Once he does, he would give Nick the code to release the vest. Nick summons his best friend Chet to help him in the heist but the scheme does not work the way Dwayne has plotted.
This is a film for an audience that read men’s magazines like MAXIM and watches SPIKE TV a lot. This film is pure testosterone and comedy. It’s very funny due to the situations. It rely’s more on crude humor. It has hot ladies and all you could look for Action, Nudity and comedy. From the beginning it just goes full speed ahead running over anything in it’s path. Not looking around on the sides worrying about dropping or losing anything. Which ends up leaving a lot of loose plot threads.
I used to believe Aziz Ansari couldn’t act until I realized watching his performances more or less that he has a certain style of delivery sort of like Chris Rock that sounds more or less like presenting then emotional. Most Stand-up comedians have an acting style like this. It’s probably from all those years performing so it’s what they know. Aziz is a very energetic performer who always seems to have the upper hand with a wisecrack. Danny McBride is making a career out of playing Assholes but he does it so naturally and with a certain ease that he is entertaining to watch. Michael Pena is a good dramatic actor but he seems to excel at playing original comedic characters. Like what it seems Vince Vaughn strives to be instead of always playing the same type of character each time Pena plays in a comedy his comedic characters are indistinguishable from the next. Jessie Eisneberg really sells his characters situation. All of them really drive the material and make it winning and essential.
The film ends suddenly after a brisk running time. Sitting there you wish it was longer. Though it probably makes sense to be short and short. If the film was longer it might feel too thin or forced to add something that doesn’t fit. Plus to stretch it out more would expose the thin nature of the story as it already is, Why keep it going once the premise has mainly been resovled. For it to go on you would have to set more things in motion for it to feed off of. As it is it feels lean the film is so enjoyable you wish it was more of a full course meal and not the fast food that it actually is.
It’s a good Follow up to director Ruben Fleisher’s ZOMBIELAND. The film is just as fast and fun yet never challenging for anyone involved nor the audience. In fact if the loose ends were tired up it would lead to a more satisfying experience, But the end still leaves you with questions and it doesn’t seem to loan itself out to sequels. It’s a fun and Flashy film that you never take too seriously with sharp visuals.
GRADE: B
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