Tower Heist - (November 4, 2011): PG-13
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Opening Weekend Box Office: #2 with $24,025,190
Domestic Box Office Gross to-date: $30,691,850
Gross Revenue: $40,191,850
Production Budget: $75 million
Director: Brett Ratner
Given everyone’s current frustration with the financial market, now may seem like the perfect time for Tower Heist to be released, but the project actually began development back in 2005, with Eddie Murphy originally pitching the concept with an all-star cast of black comedians, which included Chris Tucker, Dave Chapelle, and Martin Lawrence, robbing Trump Tower. Obviously, once Brett Ratner got his hands on the project, some decided changes were made to the concept echoing the Ocean’s Eleven series, but thankfully, filmmakers still attached a well-known and popular cast, which included Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Ocean’s-alum Casey Affleck, Michael Peña (30 Minutes or Less), and rising star Gabourey Sidibe (Precious). Now, I’m sure there was a time when Eddie Murphy’s inclusion was a positive element, but after the steady stream of mediocre and over-acted entries he has delivered over the past few years, I was just praying that wouldn’t sink another film…hopefully Ben Stiller’s presence would balance things out. From a marketing standpoint, Universal Pictures was certainly banking on Tower Heist being a runaway hit, with promotions saturating television, radio, and print for weeks leading up to the November release. Skeptical to say the least, I wasn’t sure what to make of Tower Heist, but maybe, just maybe, the film could provide an entertaining and energetic start to the Holiday Movie Season.
Tower Heist begins by introducing viewers to the opulent high-rise luxury apartment complex in New York City known as The Tower, which is run by dedicated and amicable building manager Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller). The Tower’s most prestigious resident is the wealthy Wall Street businessman Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), who maintains a strong rapport with the building staff, even going as far to invest all of their pensions with promise of high returns. Unfortunately, Shaw is soon arrested by the FBI and sentenced to house arrest for fraud, accused of running an elaborate Ponzi scheme, meaning that he has effectively stolen money from every staff member of The Tower. Filled with guilt, as the initial investment was his idea, Josh naively maintains hope in Shaw’s innocence, but once it is revealed that Shaw feels no guilt or responsibility for his actions, Josh swears revenge. After building a friendship with Shaw’s arresting agent, Claire Denham (Téa Leoni), it is accidently revealed that Shaw is likely holding $20 million in cash in his apartment as a safety net, so Josh assembles a team to break into the complex that includes his brother-in-law and concierge, Charlie Gibbs (Casey Affleck), former Wall Street investor Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), bellhop Enrique Dev’reaux (Michael Peña), and maid/safe-cracker Odessa Montero (Gabourey Sidibe). When the “crew” realizes their inability to ably perform a crime, Josh enlists the help and guidance of his vagrant neighbor and childhood friend, Slide (Eddie Murphy), and together, these working-class heroes attempt to break into and steal from one of the most secure buildings in the city.
I don’t know what it is about a crime caper that is so entertaining, but Tower Heist is pure fun, as Stiller leads the entire cast in an energetic and decidedly clever adventure that has all the distinct characters blending together in a thoroughly memorable and humorous manner. As the everyman hero, Stiller delivers what may be one of his best roles, because Josh’s instant likability only increases as the narrative progresses; his freak-out confrontation with Shaw is one of the most noble and vindicating scenes in recent memory. Stiller is also helped by a phenomenal supporting cast, as Alan Alda portrays the villain with such toxicity and arrogance that you wish him nothing but physical harm, while Téa Leoni’s sassy and tomboyish authority figure provides the perfect cinematic love interest. In light of all these positive elements, the biggest surprise is Eddie Murphy himself, in that he finally toned down his loudmouth personality long enough for some of his natural humor, which has been missing for years, to finally break through. With such strong characters present, some of the finer points of the story clearly suffering from underdevelopment come to light, but few, if any, of the lapses are overtly damning.
First off, when Danny Ocean and the rest of his crew of professional thieves were planning to rob a casino, their months of preparation made the success of the heist plausible, but a group of building staff-members stealing from an FBI-secured penthouse apartment in a few days time is a little too hard to swallow. Granted, certain elements within the plan’s execution are surprisingly clever, but in its entirety, there are several unanswered questions generated and extreme jumps in logic. In terms of humor, Tower Heist certainly had its funny moments, but I was still expecting more laughs given the comedic pedigrees of the cast…Matthew Broderick and Casey Affleck are shamefully underused. All in all, the differing elements of the film do come together coherently, but there is a certain polish missing from the project that would have made Tower Heist special…there is just no necessity that dictates that this story absolutely had to be told. Don’t get me wrong, Tower Heist isn’t terrible…there just were not enough bad elements to explain why the film wasn’t fantastic.
In terms of box office, given the sheer volume of promotions designed to sell Brett Ratner’s newest project as the next big blockbuster, Tower Heist’s second place opening with $24 million was decidedly disappointing. To be fair, taking down Puss in Boots after the animated titan’s shocking lack of week-to-week drop-off would have been an insurmountable challenge for any kind of non-franchise film. Still, maybe the sub-par opening is a sign that audiences haven’t fully forgotten or forgiven Eddie Murphy’s recent cinematic missteps. With a veritable flurry of new offerings hitting in the next few weeks during the notoriously busy Holiday Movie Season, Tower Heist has likely seen its best numbers already, making recovery of the $75 million a significant challenge, but maybe word of mouth can convince more people that the film is actually much better than expected. It may not be perfect, but Tower Heist is still a surprise that can undoubtedly entertain a wide and diverse audience.
Overall Recommendation: High
