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Tower Heist
| Released |
2 November 2011 |
| Director |
Brett Ratner |
Starring
|
Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Stephen Henderson, Judd Hirsch, Tea Leoni, Michael Pena, Gabourey Sidibe |
| Writer(s) |
Ted Griffin, Jaff Nathanson |
| Producer(s) |
Brian Grazer, Eddie Murphy |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
104 minutes |
| Genre |
Comedy, action |
| Rating |
12A |
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A towering bore.
The premise for Tower Heist has been rattling around director Brett Ratner’s brain since 2006; a fact that’s surprising for two reasons. First, by hanging on until now, Ratner has accidentally found himself slap bang in the middle of the zeitgeist. The economic meltdowns of the film undoubtedly feel relevant to this specific moment in time - as a revenge fantasy for the 99% perhaps. Even more surprising is that after having years to mull it over, Ratner couldn’t make Tower Heist any good. It’s a heist movie without much heisting, a comedy without laughs and a dumping ground for stereotypes that would have been out of date back when Eddie Murphy was wearing red leather trousers and hanging out with Rick James.
The film centres on Josh (Ben Stiller), dedicated building manager of The Tower - a luxurious apartment block. His favourite tenant is Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), an affable billionaire. Shaw is so trusted, that he is encouraged to invest money on behalf of the buildings’ staff, including their entire pension fund. When Shaw is suddenly seized for fraud by the FBI, Josh enlists the help of a criminal acquaintance (Eddie Murphy) and some of the buildings staff (including Casey Affleck, Gabourey Sidibe and Matthew Broderick), to break into Shaw’s hidden safe and take back what they lost.
So, it’s a plot that seems timely but the selling point of the film is actually the pairing of Murphy and Stiller. Both are underwhelming. When Stiller isn’t playing an over the top role as in Zoolander or Dodgeball, he fades away into tedium. Murphy meanwhile, has indeed stepped up the quality from his recent comic turns - but it’s not hard to beat Norbit. Still, he is responsible for a few chuckles.
Even on top form though, they couldn’t salvage a film that simply doesn’t work. Too much time is spent on set up and a pointless romance between Stiller and FBI Agent Tea Leoni. The heist itself is dealt with in the space of a few minutes, with most of it wrapped up neatly off screen. A strange tactic...But then wasted potential is the hallmark of Tower Heist. It sports a central cast that includes four Oscar nominees but you’d never guess; Alda is sleepy, Affleck mumbles and Sidibe is a voracious stereotype with one of the worst Jamaican accents I’ve ever heard. All in all, best avoided.
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Linda O’Brien |
