It may be hard to fathom that Brett Ratner, director of the loud and explosion filled “Rush Hour” films and “X-Men: The Last Stand,” could possibly be linked with current world events, but it has happened in his latest action-comedy, “Tower Heist.” That being said, it is certainly mere coincidence that this fast-paced and somewhat entertaining movie could be released during the Occupy Wall Street movement rather than prescience.
Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) is the ultimate building manager at the “Tower,” a generically-named residential skyscraper for the super-rich. He and his staff almost preternaturally anticipate all of the needs of the tenants, be they late night hamburger runs or having dog treats in their pockets on the off chance they bump into a pooch. Josh shows the same dogged dedication to his staff, helping them balance their lives and their work, and they love him for it.
When penthouse occupant and Wall Street big shot Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) gets taken down by a Madoff-like scheme, the social contract holding the Tower’s staff and its richest resident starts to disintegrate. Josh had invested the staff’s retirement funds with Shaw, and along with brother-in-law/concierge Charlie (Casey Affleck) and new-hire elevator man Dev’reaux (Michael Peña), decides to pay a visit to the house-arrested tycoon. Unconvinced of Shaw’s plea of innocence, Josh takes a putter to Shaw’s prized Ferrari (yes, Ratner’s ultimate sign of excess is having a classic sports car in your penthouse loft living room). Josh, Charlie, and Dev’reaux are immediately fired.
Spurred by an offhand remark about peasants storming the castle during a meeting with FBI agent Denham (Téa Leoni), Josh decides to rob Shaw to help get the staff’s retirement funds back. He enlists Charlie, Dev’reaux, bankrupt Tower evictee Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), and Slide (Eddie Murphy), a small-time thief Josh would pass on his walk to work in the mornings, to concoct a scheme to break into the penthouse suite and steal a suspected trove of money hidden from the feds.
Ratner has put together a Queens version (albeit set in Manhattan) of “Ocean’s Eleven,” complete with Casey Affleck. It lacks the panache of the Soderbergh pleaser, but has a rhythm (supplemented by the loud thumping of Christophe Beck’s score) more suited to the urban home it resides in. The film seeks to overpower the gaping and incredulous plot holes with suspense and humor – and it succeeds enough to make the film watchable.
A large part of the entertainment comes from Murphy. Who would have thought that Brett Ratner would be the director to excavate the funny from an actor who had the world in stitches early in his career? Murphy melds Billy Ray Valentine from “Trading Places” with an injection of Chris Tucker to create the genuinely funny Slide. Alda expertly snivels and weasels as the arrogant Shaw, providing a face to all of the Wall Street villains that allegedly take all of the working stiffs’ money (I’ll leave you to your own opinions on that one).
The plot is uneven – the characters and premise are serviceable but the outlandish nature of the events of the actual heist are unbelievable even for Ratner. Fortunately, Murphy generates enough comedy to help the viewer ignore the silliness of the neat little bow the conclusion is wrapped in.
Recent events may spur a few extra people to see this movie. They won’t gain an iota of insight about what’s going on in the world, but they will enjoy a minor renaissance of Eddie Murphy’s comedy career.
DIRECTOR: Brett Ratner SCREENWRITERS: Ted Griffin, Jeff Nathanson; Adam Cooper (story) & Bill Collage (story) and Ted Griffin (story) CAST: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick RUN TIME: 104 minutes MPAA RATING: PG-13
