As a filmmaker, Brett Ratner makes the type of fast paced, weightless flicks that audiences tend to love. Defining what the heck those three Rush Hour movies were about now would be a chore, other than to say they were a mish-mash of ethnic stereotypes under the cover of a buddy cop flick. With the exception of his previous heist film, After the Sunset, people generally flock to his movies.They're the sort of diversionary genre flick that is best used as a time filler before the night's dinner reservations. It's when Ratner dares step outside his comfort zone that he falls flat on his face, such as with Red Dragon or the franchise killing X-men: The Last Stand.
Well, the stereotypes haven't stopped with his new film, Tower Heist, and with it's underdog tale of blue collar workers overthrowing the arrogant rich dude, it's sure to land a populist bullseye with audiences. Originally conceived as an all African-American ensemble featuring Eddie Murphy and a number of other popular comedians robbing Donald Trump, the film morphed over the years into what it is now, a Ben Stiller vehicle with a talented but scarcely seen supporting cast. That includes Murphy, by the way.
Josh Kovacs(Stiller) is the serious minded and deferential building manager at a Columbus Circle high rise, the type populated by Wall Street execs and hedge fund managers, with a rent equal to the value of most people's entire homes. Kovacs loves his job and treats the tenants with a bit of adoration. He knows their routines and has their every need met before they can even ask for it. Kovacs expects the same from the rest of the staff, including his nervous brother-in-law, Charlie(Casey Affleck), the retirement age doorman , Lester(Stephen Henderson), and the brainless bellhop, Enrique(Michael Pena). The man Kovacs respects the most is Arthur Shaw(Alan Alda), a Wall Street billionaire who lives on the upper most floor, who arrogantly identifies himself as being just another "Astoria boy" like Kovacs is. All this while his swimming pool is adorned with images of $100 bills and he has Steve McQueen's Ferrari in the showroom. Kovacs trusts Shaw so much that he inexplicably got the mogul to manage the pensions of the entire staff. Bad call, Ripley. Bad call. Shaw does his best Bernie Madoff impersonation and scams them of their lives' savings, convincing Kovacs to put together a crew to seek out some justice.
That means coming up with a totally implausible plan to break into the seemingly impenetrable tower and swipe $20M in loot from the mogul's suite. After a dull, awkward opening this is when the film actually starts to gain it's footing, as Ratner is more at home the more ludicrous the story gets. Eddie Murphy provides a much needed boost of comedy as Slide, petty thief recruited to teach the guys the finer points of breaking and entering. Along with Odessa(Gabourey Sidibe), the horny husband seeking maid, and Mr. Fitzguh(Matthew Broderick) a bankrupt former exec, the plan unfolds in typically hackneyed fashion.
The film spends as much time setting up the heist as the characters pulling it off do, which is none at all. The crime is basically just an excuse for Ratner to indulge every silly heist movie impulse he ever had. This is the type of simpleton caper where everything falls into magical place just to avoid complicating the story even a little. All the guards are easily distracted by a Playboy magazine or by the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade outside. The FBI are equally inept, with the exception of sexy special agent Claire Denham(Tea Leoni), who is at odds with her desire to see Shaw brought down and the needs of her job. In Ratner's story, being a locksmith is the equivalent of being an accomplished safe cracker. Ferraris hang easily thousands of feet in the air from a couple chords of wire, without a single threat of it plummeting down onto the Snoopy float below. The Italian Job this isn't. Heck, it's not even close to Ocean's Eleven. That film at least was continuously funny along with being cool.
If you're going to wrap a film like this so clearly in a "working stiff vs. corporate elite" message, at least provide a reason for us to care. There are absolutely no stakes involved, no fear that the heroes might lose. No recognition of all they've lost thanks to Shaw's dirty dealing. There's a half-hearted attempt to gain some sympathy with one character attempting suicide, but all it serves to be is a downer. A weaker attempt is made by having the Charlie character be an expectant father, but none of it is approached in a way that matters. All that character building stuff is just clutter to a movie like this.
The biggest crime perpetrated in Tower Heist is the waste of such a remarkable array of comedic talent. From top to bottom, a better script could have worked wonders with the likes of Stiller, Murphy, Affleck, all the way to Judd Hirsch in a wasted glorified cameo. Murphy turns out the best, basically playing an extension of the Billy Ray character from Trading Places. Although it makes me wonder how good this could have been if the original concept had remained. Some will cringe at him having to play yet another African-American criminal, the way Jamie Foxx recently did in Horrible Bosses, but what's the point in complaining? This is a Brett Ratner movie. What were you expecting? Stiller just doesn't work as a leader of men, where his neuroses have been ground down to make him more of a believable everyman. It's not his strength, and in his attempt to be real he comes off as dull. Tea Leoni's career has been marked her brilliant comedic timing displayed in films far beneath her. Count Tower Heist as another one. At least it's shot well, thanks to plenty of wide aerial shots of Manhattan in all it's grandeur.
Expecting the worst, Tower Heist isn't quite as bad as expected. Nor is it as good as it could be. The script, credited to five writers, is consistent only in how flat it is. There's no energy. No life. It's like somebody stole from the creatively rich, and handed Tower Heist over to the creatively bankrupt.
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