When a group of hard working guys find out they've fallen victim to a wealthy business man's Ponzi scheme, they conspire to rob his high-rise residence.
A fairly self-explanatory title, an all-star cast.it looks like a formulaic vehicle designed from the bottom up by movie studio bean counters. But don't write it off. Although comic geniuses Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy star, this film is not overtly a comedy, though it does have funny moments. Instead, it's more of a Robin-Hood themed crime caper whose main 'actor' is in fact the luxury residential New York building most of the film's characters live and work in. Without giving away too much, investment guru and resident Arthur Shaw has been arrested for defrauding all his clients, including the employees of the building whose pensions he just happened to be managing. There follows the attempts of disgruntled building manager Josh (Stiller), employee Charlie (Casey Affleck) and bankrupt resident Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick) to get the money back. Convinced that Shaw has a stash of loot somewhere in his apartment, our friends enlist the 'expertise' of small-time criminal Slide (Eddie Murphy). The rest is fairly predictable but great fun nonetheless, with some of the more absurd moments involving the insertion of a car into an elevator shaft (yes really).
Plot aside, one of the ways in which Tower Heist really stands out from the crowd is in the morality theme it pursues. Bernard Madoff's infamous ponzi scheme is a heavy influence here, particularly the less well-reported effect it had on ordinary savers. In Tower Heist, building doorman Lester tries to commit suicide after finding out that Shaw has robbed him of his modest pension. This is both realistic and poignant. Happily, unlike the Madoff case, poetic justice is duly served at the film's conclusion in a way that recalls the finale of 1996's classic Trainspotting. Stylistically, the film feels like Ocean's Eleven - slick, involving and well shot but it's the casting that really stands out here. First, babyface Matthew Broderick is brought in as a failed Wall Street tycoon. This might sounds like an oxymoron but all is forgiven when he is seen with Shaw's classic and much-cherished red Ferrari. Surely a reference to a certain 80s teen movie - can you guess which? Anyone? Anyone?
But special honours have to be reserved for Eddie Murphy whose streetwise, filth-laden banter immediately recalls his glory days in Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop. His towering (excuse the pun) presence and unique brand of humour steal every scene he appears in. This only makes the underutilisation of his character during the film all the more difficult to understand. Thankfully none of this is fatal, thanks to Ben Stiller's reliable lead throughout. Of course, this is not Stiller's first foray into the world of playing it straight, having already started out on this route with Greenberg a couple of years earlier. Nor is he a complete fish out of water, with his everyman victimhood style very well suited to the story.
Overall, an eclectic bunch of actors, a fun plot and some not-so-thinly-veiled Wall Street bashing serve to give Tower Heist a very wide appeal. Go see it.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy lead an all-star cast in Tower Heist, a New York comedy caper about ordinary working guys who seek revenge on the Wall Street swindler (Alan Alda) who stole all their money. After the workers at a luxury Central Park condominium discover the penthouse billionaire has stolen their retirement fund, they plot the ultimate revenge: an insane heist to reclaim what he took from them. Directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 1-3), Tower Heist takes comedy to new heights! Actors Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Zachary Levi, Jon Voight, Téa Leoni, Matthew Broderick, Wallace Shawn, Michael Peña, Gabourey Sidibe, Dave Chappelle, Tim Blake Nelson, Alan Alda, Bobby Cannavale & Judd Hirsch Director Brett Ratner Certificate 12 years and over Year 2011 Screen Widescreen 2.40:1 Languages English - DTS-HD Master Audio (5.1) Additional Languages French ; German ; Italian ; Spanish ; English Audio Description Subtitles English for the hearing impaired ; French; Italian; German; Spanish Cantonese; Danish; Dutch; Finnish; Icelandic; Korean; Norwegian; Portuguese; Swedish; Traditional Mandarin Closed Captions Yes Duration 1 hour and 44 minutes (approx)
Brett Ratner directs this New York City-set crime caper starring Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick and Eddie Murphy. The staff at a luxury Central Park apartment complex discover that Wall Street billionaire Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), who lives in the building's penthouse apartment, has embezzled their hard-earned retirement money after being entrusted to oversee their pension scheme. Determined to get their money back, they decide to dispense with the law and take matters into their own hands. Armed with their precise knowledge of the building, they plan a heist to steal back the funds they believe to be hidden in Shaw's super-swanky residence.
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