(Long Island, N.Y.) Brett Ratner is pretty much regarded amongst Holly directors with terms such as “middle of the road,” “solid,” and “average at best.” Me? I just think he’s okay. Wait…isn’t that the same thing?
Anyway, I’ve never really seen a bad Brett Ratner film, but I’ve never really seen a good one, either (except maybe Rush Hour). That is, until now. Tower Heist is a film that I expected to be terrible (despite the acting talent involved), but has actually turned out to be a fun and funny little crime caper…that is, until the last act, when it just kinda falls apart. That’s a shame, too, because up until that point, Tower Heist had just about won me over. But despite the belly flop of an ending, it’s still worth watching.
What we have here in Tower Heist is a great ensemble cast, all of whom work together flawlessly. I mean, look at this list: Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Téa Leoni, and Eddie Murphy in full 1980’s mode. You remember Eddie in the 80’s right? Back when he was actually funny? Well, he’s finally back…at least, until the allure of another Nutty Professor movie drives him back to the hideous realm of Unfunny Family Film Land yet again.
Here’s the skinny on the plot: clearly inspired by the whole Bernie Madoff Wall Street debacle, Alan Alda plays businessman Arthur Shaw, a millionaire who lives in The Tower, Manhattan’s ritziest hotel. There, he is waited upon hand and foot by the hotel’s manager, Josh (Stiller) and his staff. One day, Shaw is arrested by the FBI for running a Ponzi scheme that bilked his investors out of a fortune. Unfortunately, among the funds that Shaw raided to support his lavish lifestyle where the pensions of the entire staff of The Tower. Their futures basically destroyed, Josh and his staff wonder what to do next.
Hearing of a possible hidden $20 million nest egg that Shaw might have hidden in his apartment, Josh and crew hatch a plan to steal it as compensation for their losses. But in Tower Heist’s stereotypically-minded world, since Josh and his cohorts are all squeaky-clean white people, of course they need to turn to a black man to learn how to steal properly. Enter Slide (Murphy), Josh’s neighbor and former childhood playmate who’s serving time until he’s bailed out to help The Tower staff get their hands on Shaw’s $20 mil. What results is a pretty solid comedic outing, and an ending that, while fairly lame, is nonetheless probably not what you were expecting.
To say that Tower Heist is Brett Ratner’s best film since the original Rush Hour would be…well, it would be saying the truth. It’s consistently hilarious, well-acted, and briskly-paced. Stiller and Murphy have great chemistry on-screen…Stiller is usually almost always amusing, and it’s a breath of fresh air to see Eddie finally drop the kid-friendly act and get back to his raunchy roots.
Matthew Broderick gives a stand-out performance as a neurotic unemployed stock broker who, while not having been ripped off by Alan Alda’s character, is still included in the plot to rip him off for…well, for no real reason that I could see, other than the fact that he was kinda likable, I guess. Two other humorous surprises are Gabourey Sidibe (Hey, it’s Precious!) and Michael Peña, two Tower employees who are also in on the plan to get back at Shaw.
The movie manages to sustain a high level of entertainment almost all the way to the end, but just falls short of the greatness of Rush Hour. How, you ask? Well, everything’s fine until our gang actually manages to break into Shaw’s apartment and find his hidden prize. Honestly, I’m not spoiling anything by telling you that…anyone with half a brain knows this much, even if they’ve never seen the movie. But the form this prize takes is pretty stupid, and our gang’s attempts at removing it from the building are even more stupid. It’s actually a fairly major blow to the film’s pace and humor, as things go WAYYY overboard from that point on, but it doesn’t change the fact that Tower Heist still remains well worth watching…at least, up until that point.
But perhaps I’m being a tad harsh…honestly; the development at the end isn’t really THAT bad. It’s just that, when compared to the solid, entertaining, and somewhat believable first 2/3rds of the movie, the ending sequence just serves to annoy. Still, Tower Heist is well worth your time, and I recommend you check it out.
