It has been a very long time since Eddie Murphy was in anything remotely funny. A series of awful films (not including the “Shrek” franchise, at least not all of them) has plagued his career. Leave it to Brett Ratner of “Rush Hour” fame to revive that career in an ensemble comedy about sticking it to the man.
Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) is the general manager for The Tower, the most expensive apartment complex in New York City. The residents of The Tower are incredibly wealthy and Kovacs job is to keep them as happy as possible. He does this by making sure his staff are the best in the business and follow a strict set of rules. The Tower’s richest occupant is Charlie Shaw, a Wall Street executive. All of the employee’s pensions were invested by Shaw at Kovacs request. But Shaw has been running a Ponzi scheme and lost all of his investors and The Tower’s employee’s money. So Kovacs, a few disgruntled employees and his childhood-friend-turned-thief Slide (Eddie Murphy) hatch a plan to rob the secret stash of money they know is in Shaw’s penthouse apartment.
The comedy lies in the cast. Eddie Murphy is hilarious as the veteran thief. Casey Affleck, Michael Pena, Matthew Broderick, and Gabourey Sidibe of “Precious” fame get equal screen time and almost every line was met with laughter. This is a classic example of comedy gold, take a character and make them do something they would never do in their lives. Here we have all these do-good nine to five employees running around a mall stealing things because Slide is trying to train them in the art of thievery.
There is only one professional thief among them and even he isn’t as good as he would like to be. But unlikely allies make likeable heroes.
What “Tower Heist” has in its cast, it loses in the plot. This is one of those movies where absolutely everything has to go right in order for the main characters to succeed. Or the exact right things had to go wrong at the right time. There were many moments when questions that started with, “but wait, how did they…?” popped in my head. Realism isn’t something to be counted on in a Brett Ratner film.
But, by God, the cast is going to pretend it is. Movies that the cast don’t take seriously get ruined. There was only one part in “Tower Heist” where the line between watchable and farce was crossed. Ben Stiller utters the line, “That’s it, I don’t want you talking to me for the rest of the robbery.” The entire audience laughed awkwardly and even Ben Stiller seemed to grimace after saying it. It just wasn’t a line that someone would say in that sort of situation.
The film is a ridiculous affair. But it is an enjoyable one. A crazy plot can always be saved by great actors and smart writing. And who doesn’t love a story where rich Madoff characters get their come-uppance?
3 out of 4 stars
-Christopher O'Connell
