Ratner pulls it off with relish and amiable levity, even if a greater sense of BS’ing among the actors would have lifted things higher when big girl Sidibe ( Precious) begins coming on to Murphy after she joins the crew, one hopes for more of this as he’s great in comic-panic mode. As it is, there’s inevitable satisfaction with the result, but it’s glib, more connected to genre expectations than to anything real.īut Heist, shot sharply by Dante Spinotti and goosed by a zippy score from Christophe Beck, does remind that it has been a long time - since the 1970s, really - that this sort of star-laden caper film was in fashion, the Ocean’smovies being notable exceptions. Without becoming utterly serious, if the filmmakers had been able to embody in the climax the sense of outrage and injustice inherent in the film’s premise, they really would have had something. Once the break-in is underway - during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, no less - the enjoyment slips for several reasons: Murphy becomes neutered, the comedy ebbs and the logistics of the heist become too far-fetched and laborious. But he must admit he can’t crack the relevant safe, a job that then goes to another screwed-over Tower worker, the Jamaican Odessa ( Gabourey Sidibe).ĭuring the middle stretch when Murphy rules the roost, the film is in good hands. Sprung from prison to teach the neophytes a thing or two about crime, Slide takes charge, in one funny scene forcing each to shoplift something to prove their own worth. This is the rude, confrontational, wiseass Murphy audiences have nearly forgotten after all the silly kid comedies and heavy-makeup outings of recent years. With Murphy’s full entrance at the 40-minute mark, the film’s energy and amusement level kick up a few notches, at least for a while. Intimately acquainted as he is with the Tower, Josh thinks he knows precisely where the loot is, so after he reconvenes his trusted crew, he feels the need to recruit a real criminal, Slide (Murphy), to help pull off the job. But that’s no fun, so instead attention turns to the FBI agent drunkenly revealing to Josh in a bar that Shaw has $20 million stashed away. Heist threatens to become serious only for a minute, when Lester, despairing he has worked his whole life for nothing, appears ready to throw himself under a subway train. STORY: Universal Backs Off ‘Tower Heist’ Premium VOD Test After he, Enrique and Charlie go to Shaw’s penthouse and Josh takes a golf club to Shaw’s cherry-red Ferrari - parked where a grand piano normally might be - the three musketeers are fired. It falls to Josh to inform the staff that their pensions have been wiped out. Then there’s front-desk clerk Charlie ( Casey Affleck), whose wife is about to give birth, and Lester ( Stephen McKinley Henderson), the beloved veteran doorman who announces he’ll be hanging up his cap in a year’s time.īut his retirement is contingent on his ship coming in Lester, like many others, has given his life savings to the venerable Shaw, who this day is nailed by the Feds, led by Special Agent Claire Denham ( Tea Leoni), and charged with securities fraud. During the course of a few minutes, he’s obliged to hire enthusiastic job applicant Enrique ( Michael Pena) and to try to evict once-successful stockbroker Fitzhugh ( Matthew Broderick), whose condo is in foreclosure. Building GM Josh Kovacs ( Ben Stiller), who enjoys complicity with Shaw based on their shared Astoria working-class roots, runs the facility like a cool ship’s captain, monitoring the innumerable employees, catering to the privileged residents and keeping an eye on comings and goings via a battery of video screens. The melting pot of supporting characters swings into view with the speed of passengers bounding off a carousel. THR COVER STORY: Ben Stiller Reveals What He Thinks of ‘Tower Heist’ Co-Star Eddie Murphy Hosting the Oscars Out of it emerges Arthur Shaw ( Alan Alda), the self-satisfied Tower owner and investment king known for the handsome returns he always delivers to his clientele. The opening shot is a stunner, a view straight down at Ben Franklin’s $100 face gracing the bottom of the swimming pool atop the Tower, Manhattan’s most expensive residential spire (played by Trump Tower Columbus Circle, formerly the Gulf + Western Building).
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