Review: Secondary players keep 'Tower Heist' standing

Josh (Ben Stiller), left, tries to get skeptical Slide (Eddie Murphy) to help him steal a bundle in "Tower Heist."

Tower Heist

Josh Kovaks has managed one of the most luxurious and well-secured residences in New York City for more than a decade. In the swankiest unit ...

Rating: PG-13 for language and sexual content

Length: 104 minutes

Released: November 4, 2011 Nationwide

Cast: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Tea Leoni, Casey Affleck

Director: Brett Ratner

Writer: Ted Griffin, Jeff Nathanson

More info and showtimes »

Josh (Ben Stiller), left, tries to get skeptical Slide (Eddie Murphy) to help him steal a bundle in "Tower Heist."

It's no "Ocean's Eleven," but "Tower Heist" is moderately successful in the lightly comic crime-adventure genre. It earns points by making the villain a Bernie Madoff clone whose arrogance would add fuel to the fire of any "Occupy" participant taking time off from the protest front to watch it.

While "Tower Heist" obviously started life long before the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, it shares some of the same roots and sentiments. The economic struggles of the past three years have been felt across the nation, and Hollywood has taken notice.

Which is not to say that Hollywood has taken action to melt the disparity between its one-percenters and the below-the-title masses (or viewers). Ben Stiller earned a reported $15 million for "Tower Heist," while co-star Eddie Murphy supposedly took home half that amount. Whatcha wanna bet the rest of the cast was paid scale?

That kind of discussion would have no place in a review except that it's the supporting cast that does most of the heavy lifting here. No offense to the talented Stiller and Murphy, but Michael Pena, Matthew Broderick and Gabourey Sidibe are the real stars of "Tower Heist."

Stiller plays Josh, manager of an exclusive Manhattan apartment building called The Tower. Josh knows everything that goes on — the residents' schedules, likes, dislikes, financials, affairs and so on, and he tries to get his staff to pay as much attention to residents' needs as he does. Every working minute should focus on the residents. Employees are told to leave their cell phones at home, and they should never accept a tip.Josh is especially solicitous of the man in the penthouse — financier Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda). Shaw and Josh grew up in the same Queens neighborhood, and Josh respects Shaw's forthrightness and business acumen.

When the FBI shows up to arrest Shaw on charges of financial fraud — he allegedly has stolen bazillions in a Ponzi scheme — Josh can't believe it. But when the sickening fact that Shaw has also squandered Tower employees' pension funds comes to light, Josh shows his contempt for Shaw — and gets himself, concierge Charlie (Casey Affleck) and new elevator operator Dev'Reaux (Pena) fired.

The bulk of the film concerns Josh's scheme to break into Shaw's penthouse and steal Shaw's hidden money to reimburse the employees. He recruits Charlie, Dev'Reaux, ousted Tower tenant Mr. Fitzhugh (Broderick), maid Odessa (Sidibe) and petty-criminal acquaintance Slide (Murphy) in the nutty endeavor.

Some elements of the heist plan are inspired; others are ludicrous. Ditto for the actual execution. The screenplay credited to Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson feels patched together, as though many hands were involved.

The film gets by on the charm of the cast (including Tea Leoni as an FBI agent), some clever lines and a fun though absurd twist. Director Brett Ratner showed a defter genre touch in "After the Sunset," but "Tower Heist" pushes the right buttons at the right time.

© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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