Tower Heist (2011)

When a group of hard working guys find out they've fallen victim to a wealthy business man's Ponzi scheme, they conspire to rob his high-rise residence.

Director:

Brett Ratner

Writers:

Adam Cooper (story), Bill Collage (story),

Stars:

Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Stiller	...	Josh Kovaks
Eddie Murphy	...	Slide
Casey Affleck	...	Charlie
Alan Alda	...	Arthur Shaw
Matthew Broderick	...	Mr. Fitzhugh
Stephen Henderson	...	Lester (as Stephen McKinley Henderson)
Judd Hirsch	...	Mr. Simon
Téa Leoni	...	Special Agent Claire Denham
Michael Peña	...	Enrique Dev’Reaux
Gabourey Sidibe	...	Odessa
Nina Arianda	...	Miss Iovenko
Marcia Jean Kurtz	...	Rose
Juan Carlos Hernández	...	Manuel
Harry O'Reilly	...	Special Agent Danszk
Peter Van Wagner	...	Marty Klein, Esq.

Storyline

Josh Kovacs is the manager of a residential apartment in New York. He is close to all the tenants, especially Arthur Shaw, a financier. One day Shaw is arrested by the FBI for fraud. Josh thinks it's a misunderstanding that can be resolved. But later he learns that the employees' pension fund which he asked Shaw to handle is gone. When one of the employees tries to kill himself, Josh's views of Shaw change. He goes to see him and loses his temper. He loses his job. The FBI agent in charge of Shaw tells him that Shaw might walk and recovering the pension fund is unlikely. She tells him that it's been rumored that Shaw has $20 million lying around if he needs it in a hurry. Josh thinks he knows where it is. So with two other employees who also lost their jobs and an evicted tenant, they set out to get into Shaw's penthouse to get the money. But they realize they need the assistance of someone who knows how to steal. So Josh asks a guy he knows is a thief named Slide to help them.

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Plot Keywords:

fbi | high rise | fbi agent | ponzi scheme | apartment | 

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Taglines:

Ordinary guys. An extraordinary robbery.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Universal [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Trump Heist

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$24,025,190 (USA) (4 November 2011)

Gross:

$78,009,155 (USA) (27 January 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Relativity Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While Tower Heist is credited to screenwriters Ted Griffin (Ocean's Eleven), Jeff Nathanson (Brett Ratner's Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3) and writing partners Adam Cooper and Bill Collage (Accepted), the script also was revised by Russell Gewirtz (Inside Man), Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story), Leslie Dixon (Limitless) and Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale).

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Goofs

When referencing The Lion King, Lester says "Mustafa" when the character's name is "Mufasa." However, the mispronunciation could have been deliberate as Lester was referencing a drunken moment Josh has had in the past, and directly quoting him during his (Josh's) drunken state.

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Quotes

Josh Kovacs: He's been arrested a bunch of times. He pays no income taxes. He's got 2 Doberman Pinschers. So let's show him some respect, OK?

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits lists Judge Ramos as played by "Robert Downey Sr. (a prince)"

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Connections

References Toy Story (1995)

User Reviews

" If you must steal something, do it in broad daylight "

Brett Rather directs this hilarious story of Josh Kovaks (Ben Stiller) an uptown high rise apartment, manager who's principal tenant is Arthur Shaw, an unscrupulous multi-millionaire (Alan Alda). Greedy, callous and artificially sympathetic the rich guy attempts to flee the country, but is thwarted by the U.S. government which arrests him for securities fraud and tax-evasion. Although the F.B.I. is holding him, they are unable to recover his hidden fortune, which is closer than anyone imagines. When Kovac's discovers his hotel employees are also victims of Shaw's schemes, he assembles an amateur group of would-be thieves with the task of stealing from the rich and giving back to the poor, not realizing the difficulty of designing an elaborate robbery. With top actors like Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck and Matthew Broderick the film becomes a comedic romp through uptown New York during the annual Macy's Day Parade. A good film, but one wonders if this movie isn't just another version of 'Ocean's Eleven.' All in all, it's still a fun time at the theater. ****