Today’s quick review: Tower Heist. Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller), the manager of a luxury apartment building in the heart of New York, discovers that the pensions of his entire staff have been stolen when his boss, Wall Street tycoon Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), is arrested for fraud. To get their money back, the employees of the Tower hatch a plan to steal $20 million in cash from Shaw’s penthouse apartment.
Tower Heist is a crime comedy with a decent premise and a good cast. Ben Stiller stars as Josh Kovacs, a capable and loyal employee driven to theft by his boss’s unscrupulous actions. Eddie Murphy plays opposite him as Slide, Josh’s criminal neighbor and reluctant partner on the job. Matthew Broderick, Michael Pena, and Casey Affleck are all in on the heist as well, an unlikely crew of concierges, elevator operators, and bankers.
Tower Heist is a soft comedy with few overt jokes. Instead, the movie opts for a steady stream of low-grade humor stemming from the incompetence of Josh’s untrained band of thieves. The movie succeeds in keeping a light, moderately amusing tone throughout, but lacks any standout jokes to make the film memorable. Entire scenes feel like they were cut where the movie clearly sets up for a joke, then moves onto the next scene as though nothing happened.
Tower Heist also misuses its cast in a few key ways. Eddie Murphy brings his usual loudmouthed attitude, but his character is not likable enough to make it work. The result is an abrasive character with only moderate comedic value, rather than the comedic powerhouse Eddie Murphy has been in the past. For his part, Ben Stiller plays a likable if somewhat bland Josh Kovacs, a decent protagonist but the straight man in many of the movie’s jokes.
Watch Tower Heist when you are in the mood for a light diversion in the heist comedy genre. Though the movie lacks any real punch or attitude of its own, its decent script, good cast, and moderate charm make it a viable choice for casual or background viewing. For crime comedies of higher caliber, check out Ocean’s Eleven for tight plotting and star power or Snatch for sparkling writing and madcap antics.
6.2 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for watchable comedy and decent production values without much character to call its own.