Tower Heist

Tower Heist will be played on TNT, FX and TBS for years to come. It is one of those movies that provides decent background filler. There is a little bit of humor, theft and intrigue. It is watchable but not good. The plot does not need to be followed too closely. Plus, it answers some very interesting questions about expensive cars and elevators.

Roger Ebert sums this film up perfectly:

“This movie would fall to pieces if it didn’t hurdle headlong through its absurdist plot without ever pausing for explanations.”

When I first heard about the cast Brett Ratner was assembling (Rush Hour 1-54) I was stoked and worried. How could a movie with Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Tea Leoni, Matthew Broderick, Michael Pena, Casey Affleck and Alan Alda be bad? The problem is that they are not given room to make their characters real. The only person who gets the good lines is Eddie Murphy. Murphy’s facial expressions are fun and he gets the best quip”I will blow your face off your face!”

Michael Pena who was the best part of Observe and Report and 30 Minutes or Less gets a couple decent moments involving ski caps and Burger King. Broderick looks worried. Affleck isn’t smart, Alda is a prick, Leoni is feisty and Stiller is Stiller.

The movie focuses on a group of New York employees who work in the fictional “The Tower.” Alan Alda swindles all their money and they plan a heist. The heist is incredibly implausible and it features events that defy logic and gravity. However, as Ebert pointed out there is never an explanation for how a car ends up in an elevator. They never attempt to explain how it would work….so, it actually works.  This movie plows ahead and it makes the logic gaps excusable.

Tower Heist is not a good film. However, it tries to be a nice straight forward heist film that doesn’t offend with lowest common denominator jokes. The film may be simple but I don’t think it ever wanted to be complicated.

Sit back. Relax. Don’t think. Put this movie on and do something around the house.