Tower heist reviews9/25/2023 ![]() ![]() Sure, they often throw logic out with one hand but do so while bringing in humor and invention with the other. While this collaboration may not quite match their previous heights, it certainly reflects smart, spirited storytellers who refuse to be lazy (even as they have a blast stretching the bounds of plausibility). The earliest tip to its potential comes near the end of the opening credits: “Screenplay by Ted Griffin & Jeff Nathanson.” Writers of (respectively) Ocean’s Eleven and Catch Me If You Can, this duo has a proven track record of adding intelligence and wit to what could be routine genre pictures. This movie is a lot of fun and, in the era of Occupy Wall Street, ends up being a perfectly-timed, wish-fulfillment caper for the 99%. Thankfully, Tower Heist goes the right way. or maybe the trailer has the best laughs while the rest of it falls flat. Previews for movies like Tower Heist often leave audiences with an understandable “hopeful skepticism.” Ads are funny, the movie is loaded with talent and it seems to have all the right pieces. Rating: PG-13 (for pervasive language and sexual dialogue)Ĭast: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Tea Leoni, Michael Pena, Gabourey Sidibe Murphy, in his first role since 2009, is in full Eddie Murphy mode, with comic riffs and astonished double takes.Theatrical Release Date: November 4, 2011 Fitzhugh (Broderick), who is jobless, broke, has lost his family and being evicted from the building, and characters played by Casey Affleck, Michael Pena, Gabourey Sidibe (her second film since her Oscar nomination) as a Jamaican whose father would crack safes, and - well, Kovacs decides they need someone more familiar with crime and enlists Slide ( Eddie Murphy), a loud-talking dude from the street in his neighborhood. Obviously, this requires stealing the car from the penthouse, where there's no door or elevator that can handle it. They're looking for a wall safe, but then discover Shaw's Ferrari is solid gold: $65 million is hidden in plain sight. Enraged, Kovacs recruits a team to break into the apartment. So dear old Lester and all the others are penniless. The FBI is on the job because Shaw has been running a Ponzi scheme, and among his loot are the pension plan and investments of the tower's employees. It was taken apart piece by piece, he explains to FBI agent Claire Denham ( Tea Leoni), and assembled there. His most prized possession is a bright red 1953 Ferrari, once owned by Steve McQueen. ![]() The penthouse is owned by Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), a financial wheeler-dealer, whose walls display priceless modern art. His team works flawlessly, beginning with the beloved doorman Lester (Stephen Henderson). The story: Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) is the perfectionist building manager at the most luxurious condo skyscraper in New York, which providentially is on Columbus Circle, in the exact footprint of Trump Tower. It's funny in an innocent screwball kind of way. There is also the novelty that here is a comedy that doesn't go heavy on the excremental, the masturbatory and symphonies of four-letter words. It's the kind of story where the executives at a pitch meeting feel they're being bludgeoned over the head with box-office dollars. The movie is broad and clumsy, and the dialogue cannot be described as witty, but a kind of grandeur creeps into the screenplay by Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson. ![]()
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