In the face of it, Tower Heist is the kind of production which usually sends alarm bells ringing. ‘A Brett Ratner Film’ hardly causes a surge of excitement amongst cinema-going folk, and co-lead (and co-producer) Eddie Murphy’s track record of late has been patchy to say the least. Even Ben Stiller has squandered some of that goodwill afforded to him via his fantastic turn in last year’s Greenberg by following it up with a by-the-numbers appearance in yet another tired Meets the Parents sequel. Add to that a machination which is far from original (although there’s a pleasingly topical slant) and a poor and unimaginative marketing campaign, and the signs don’t look good.
A sigh of relief can be breathed however, and while Tower Heist is by no means a classic in this well-trodden genre, its good-natured vibe and lively performances from a diverse and talented cast make it hard to dislike. In many ways, it feels like a fun throwback to those disposable (yet entertaining) ’80s action comedy pictures, the likes of which cropped up regularly on Disney’s Touchstone Pictures label (the inclusion of Murphy only helps to reinforce this).
Josh Kovacs (Stiller) is the manager of an impossibly luxurious New York condominium. A respected, go-to-guy and seemingly on hand to offer advice and help to his loyal members of staff at any given hour, he also has a paternal relationship of sorts with Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), a wealthy Wall Street businessman who resides in the outrageously opulent penthouse suite, which is replete with a roof pool (which has a huge, tiled dollar bill mosaic floor) and a classic motor embedded in the living area.
It’s soon revealed that Shaw may have been little more than dishonest in accruing his capital when the law comes a-knocking and he’s placed under house arrest after being charged with stealing two billion from his investors (yes – as hard as it is to fathom, he’s a fraudulent banker). As is usually the case in these instances, the hardest hit is the proverbial little guys, and this time around it turns out to be Kovacs’ fellow employees whose pensions he entrusted to Shaw in the mistaken belief he would bring a sizable return.
As a means of recompense for his justifiably disgruntled staff, Stiller ropes in brother-in-law Charlie (Casey Affleck – surprisingly sparkly) the hotel’s dopey concierge, a resident who has just been turfed out (Matthew Broderick), a newbie go-getting bellhop (Michael Pena) and a feisty Jamaican housekeeper (Gabourey Sidibe) to help him plot a Robin Hood-esque scheme to steal $20 million which is stashed somewhere in Shaw’s apartment. They soon realise that they need a genuine criminal to help pull off the task so Kovak enlists his neighbour Slide (Eddie Murphy), a petty crook with a volatile temper and probably the last person who should be entrusted with organising the heist.
Murphy’s involvement here is one of the film’s key strengths, and even if he’s treading familiar past ground here, it’s always a welcome sight to see him in something other than (with the glowing exception of Dreamgirls) the slew of kid-friendly, lowest common denominator DVD landfill he’s been coasting along on for over a decade or so now. His character is a funny and unpredictable figure in the film, and it’s fun to watch him interact with the other, altogether unthreatening, team members.
The plodding, sub-Ocean’s 11-style gang he attempts to coach in the art of law-breaking is where many of the film’s laughs are found. There’s no slickly-executed planning or heavily choreographed robbery action here, and Murphy’s ridiculous criminal initiation for the team (which involves them each stealing an item from a shop in the mall they’ve visited to discuss the operation) is endearingly daft and amusing. Stiller holds the film together well (although admittedly, the role isn’t much of a stretch for him) and Alda is suitably slimy and stoically two-faced. Broderick brings a convincingly downtrodden and defeated sense of worth to his character (maybe this was a breeze for him to play, given who his real-life spouse is) and it’s nice to see Precious’ Gabourey Sidibe holding her own with this cast, even if her accent does tend to waver at times.
As to be expected for a film in this genre, there’s plot-holes a-plenty and some pretty absurd narrative contrivances. In fact, the film almost threatens to buckle under the weight of its own ridiculousness and strained logic at times, but the playful cast and Ratner’s well-executed and knowingly flamboyant staging of the action set pieces help see things through.
You may find yourself struggling to remember much of it upon leaving the cinema, but Tower Heist is a reasonably entertaining and undemanding slice of popcorn cinema, which will undoubtedly appeal to those who are looking for an evening of light-hearted escapism at the local multiplex. The We Need to Talk About Kevin crowd may choose to look elsewhere for their cinematic fix, however.
[Rating:3/5]
