Tower Heist

 

3 Stars

Forty-five minutes or so into "Tower Heist," the question arises: Is this movie with the title of purest generica -- was "Stealing Money" taken? -- truly good, or simply less bad than most of what director Brett Ratner has done previously?

The improbable answer is A.

For what it is -- recessionary wish-fulfillment escapism, with a lot of highly skilled familiar faces in its amply qualified cast -- it's fun.

The humor's not subtle; a lot of it's misogynous and fairly coarse. But the script by Ted Griffin ("Ocean's Eleven") and Jeff Nathanson ("Catch Me If You Can") doesn't make the usual action comedy mistake of piling on the action at the expense of the comedy.

Recently tapped as producer of the Academy Awards telecast, to be hosted by "Tower Heist" co-star Eddie Murphy, Ratner made his pile on the "Rush Hour" franchise and by directing the third (and drecky) "X-Men" film. With "Tower Heist" he takes his cue from the atmosphere and vibe of various, beloved 1970s heist pictures, among them the original "The Taking of Pelham 123." Certainly Ratner's composer, Christophe Becke, has studied that film's David Shire score: The funky bass lines and trumpet blasts here keep announcing big, bad doings in Manhattan.

Played by the Trump Tower just off Columbus Circle across from Central Park, the luxe high-rise of "Tower Heist" is home to a Wall Street tycoon (Alan Alda) whose ethics recall Bernie Madoff's. He's entrusted by building manager Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) to handle the employees' pensions. Poof: Pensions, be gone. Political connections favor the tycoon getting away with his $2 billion crime spree, a portion of which represents the staff's life savings. It's up to Kovacs, with the aid of semi-pro burglar and fellow Queens resident Slide (Murphy), to locate and swipe a missing $20 million hidden somewhere in the tycoon's penthouse, the centerpiece of which is a beautifully maintained classic Ferrari once owned by Steve McQueen.

The promotional imagery for "Tower Heist" does not hide the sequences involving the Ferrari dangling from a cable outside the building, while down below the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade proceeds along Central Park West. Compared with the outsized chaos of the "Rush Hour" sequels, though, Ratner's latest has a pleasing sense of scale. The film actors such as Matthew Broderick (as a sad-sack Wall Street victim), Michael Pena (as a newly hired bellhop), Casey Affleck (whose droll line readings as the concierge are consistently surprising) and Gabourey "Precious" Sidibe (as a safecracking maid).

I wouldn't say that producer and co-star Murphy is slumming here, exactly, but it is too bad the superstar who ruled the world with such savvy commercial entertainments as the first "Beverly Hills Cop" and the first "48 HRS" doesn't get a little more elbow room. Likewise, the splendid Tea Leoni, in the role of an FBI agent, is allowed just enough screen time to remind you she's not getting the screen time she deserves. Murphy's key early byplay with Stiller -- when the building manager explains the heist plan -- ends with a simple, quick, "Let's go get something to eat!" Note: That's not a funny line. But Murphy's delivery is hugely so. The sleek and efficient "Tower Heist" was made for one reason only: It's all about the Benjamins. No doubt producer Murphy will arrange for co-star Murphy to have more to do in "Tower Heist 2."

 

     RSS

 

"Tower Heist" Movie Trailer

 

MPAA rating: PG-13 (for language and sexual content).

Running time: 1:45.

Cast: Ben Stiller (Josh Kovacs); Eddie Murphy (Slide); Casey Affleck (Charlie); Alan Alda (Arthur Shaw); Matthew Broderick (Fitzhugh); Stephen McKinley Henderson (Lester); Judd Hirsch (Simon); Tea Leoni (Claire Denham); Michael Pena (Enrique Dev'Reaux); Gabourey Sidibe (Odessa).

Credits: Directed by Brett Ratner; written by Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson; produced by Brian Grazer, Eddie Murphy and Kim Roth. A Universal Pictures release.

 

more MOVIE REVIEWS ...

Recent Movie Reviews - Films in Theaters

 

Tower Heist

Tower Heist
Michael Phillips

This 1970s-style heist picture focuses on a luxe high-rise on Central Park, home to a corrupt, Madoff-esque tycoon played by Alan Alda. The building manager Josh (Ben Stiller) teams up with semi-pro burglar Slide (Eddie Murphy) to knock off the tycoon's penthouse stash

Tower Heist
Bill Wine

Tower Heist is a comedic caper thriller about a Wall Street swindler and the working stiffs who try to stiff him back. Ben Stiller stars as an apartment building manager in New York City who rounds up the employees at his luxurious, secure Central Park condominium as part of a plot to steal from one of the penthouse residents, a billionaire financier played by Alan Alda

 

Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas
Bill Wine

Wholesome holiday-season family entertainment, right? Well, not exactly. This sequel is very Harold & Kumar, very 3D, and very Christmas. But it's also surprisingly warmhearted and Christmas cheer-y in spite of itself. This third installment brings back John Cho and Kal Penn as the title characters in another slacker/stoner flick

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Michael Phillips

Here, the now 30ish men-boys hunt down a Christmas tree, mix it up with gangsters, briefly turn into animated versions of themselves, consort with virgins and meet Santa. Neil Patrick Harris returns for a Rockettes-style musical number, which has its moments

 

Like Crazy

Like Crazy
Michael Phillips

Love is an endlessly renewable resource, yet the fuel's so seldom used wisely. 'Like Crazy' strives to capture that head-swiveling sensation of falling, and then falling out, and then back in again, as it pertains to the sense-defying, metaphysically boggling realm of time known as 'your 20s.'

The Skin I Live In
Bill Wine

"The Skin I Live In" is a pulpy horror film of sorts, one in a Frankenstein-like science fiction vein, but it's not designed to scare or frighten or amaze as much as to quietly shock and creep out and disturb and make you squirm. All of which it does. Antonia Banderas stars as a brilliant plastic surgeon who has developed a synthetic skin

 

Copyright © 2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc.