Snaking its way through 30 Minutes or Less, the sophomore big screen effort from Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer, is a foreboding sense of dread and darkness that permeates the humor like a stabbing reality check. Whether totally deliberate or simply a by-product of our tainted memory recalling the similarly disturbing real-life event that inspired the story, there’s no question it’s used to maximum effect here.

Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a down and out pizza delivery guy, stuck and directionless. It takes a bomb getting strapped to his chest to finally light a fire under him, so to speak. That fire comes from a couple of lowlifes with more ambition than brains in the forms of Dwayne (Danny McBride) and Travis (Nick Swardson) who kidnap Nick and force him to rob a bank by strapping a bomb-laden vest to him with a timer rigged to go off in just 10 hours. With nowhere else to go, Nick turns to his former best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari). With the clock ticking down and doomsday literally just hours away, Nick and Chet are forced to put their geeky knowledge of heist films to use, and rob a bank.

It’s not an easy task fashioning a successful slacker comedy these days. Look around. The road ditch is littered with the bones of wannabees, has-beens and never-weres. Too many filmmakers today mistake a hard-R rating and shoddy shock value with humor and relevance. But because of the way he also handled his first film, the genuinely hilarious Zombieland, we’re reluctant to say Fleischer just got lucky with 30 Minutes or Less. Balancing the film’s raunchy comedic tone with just the right amount of action and slap-to-the-face reality takes a deft hand. And that’s exactly what he does here.

But more important to making these films work is knowing when enough is enough. The film’s brief 82-minute runtime along with Michael Diliberti’s breezy script that never completely wears out its welcome make for a fun, if not occasionally squirmy, time at the movies. We’re not talking masterful comedy here, but rather get-in, get-out sophomoric musings tinged with darkly sardonic humor. Just what the doctor ordered in a summer season busting at the seams with crude-for-crude’s sake offerings and lycra-tighted super heroes saving the world from the scourge of evil.

Fleischer also scores big points from his actors and the way he handles the story's characters. Eisenberg is still the same put-upon nerd he is in most of his films, but reteaming with his Zombieland director allows Eisenberg to walk a fine line between showing his fear and allowing the comedy to come to fruition. Despite his sometimes-hateful actions and the poor life choices he makes, we become attached to Nick and are actually concerned about his outcome. The same can even be said for McBride’s Dwayne who despite his terrible, intimidating demeanor, is also endearing and quite funny. A concept he failed to grasp in Your Highness. Swardson’s Travis, the beta to Dwayne’s alpha dog, is always funny as the bumbling bomb-making expert and takes on a whole new comedic life every time he dons his monkey mask disguise.

Initially taking over as one of the most polarizing and abrasive characters this side of Jar Jar Binks, Ansari eventually finds his comedy legs and the movie subsequently benefits greatly. His Chet doesn’t have much going on in life, is girlfriend-less, and considers watching movies and playing video games the pinnacle of his achievements… until the opportunity to help Nick rob a bank comes along.

With 30 Minutes or Less, Fleischer doesn’t strike the same witty chords he did with Zombieland. Nor does the film feel as fresh and original, especially considering its subject matter. In fact, the film shouldn’t have worked as well as it does. Mostly a rhythm-less mélange of comedy skits stitched together with the thread of fine performances and a touch of morbid danger, 30 Minutes or Less will be forgotten in far less time, but for the 82 minutes it’s on the screen, it never runs out of comedic steam.

(Released by Columbia Pictures and rated “R” for crude and sexual content,  pervasive language, nudity and some violence.)

Review also posted at www.franksreelreviews.com.