Tower Heist (2011)

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

Director:

Brett Ratner

Writers:

Adam Cooper (story), Bill Collage (story)

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck

3 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 Dansk
Peter Van Wagner	...	Marty Klein Esq.

Storyline

Josh Kovaks is the manager of a high-rise condominium in New York. He is close to all the tenants, especially financier Arthur Shaw. 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, and his job. The FBI agent in charge 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 fired employees 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 an old acquaintance named Slide who he knows is a thief to help them.

---

Plot Keywords:

apartment | manager | fraud | fbi | heist | 

---

Taglines:

Ordinary guys. An extraordinary robbery.

---

Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Universal [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Chinese

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

The 1912 chess game Shaw (Alan Alda) references while talking to Kovacs (Ben Stiller) is a real game. However, rather than playing it out, Levitsky resigned after Marshall moved his queen, realizing checkmate was inevitable. The "Marshall Swindle" term did not derive solely from that game, as it was a well known tactic of Frank Marshall's to often play a game in a lazy or relaxed style that ceded his opponent the advantage. Just when he appeared to be in a totally lost position, he would summon up a marvelous tactical flight of fancy to smash his unaware opponent. Some of his defeated and frustrated opponents, believing that they had a moral right to the victory after having established decisive advantage, felt that Marshall had cheated them out of their just desserts often complained that they had been "swindled". A well known "Marshall Swindle" occurred in a game between Marshall and Georg Marco in 1904.

---

Goofs

The 1912 chess game Shaw references while talking to Kovacs is a real game, although rather than playing it out as he claims, Levitsky resigned after Marshall moved his Queen, realizing checkmate was inevitable. Additionally, the term "Marshall Swindle" did not originate solely from that game, but rather from Frank Marshall's well known tactic of giving his opponent a seemingly decisive advantage, only to storm back out of nowhere to "swindle" them out of the victory. Another well known "Marshall Swindle" occurred in 1904.

---

Quotes

[from trailer]
Odessa Montero: First thing you gotta do, you gotta find the entry point. You gotta use your fingers, and you find the entry point.
[Slide looks at Odessa]
Odessa Montero: You married?
Slide: No, I ain't married. What's up?

---

Connections

Featured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.31 (2012)

---

Soundtracks

Christmas Medley
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

A rarity, a Hollywood comedy that is actually funny

Josh Kovaks (Ben Stiller) is the perfect employee. Managing a high end apartment skyscraper in New York, his team look after and cater for all the foibles of their rich charges.

Living in the penthouse suite with a rooftop swimming pool emblazoned with a Dollar Bill mosaic is Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), a wealthy financier with Steve McQueen's Ferrari in his living room.

How did it get up there, they took it apart and moved it piece by piece, subtle this is not.

Josh plays online chess with Arthur, likes him and entrusts the employees pension fund to him to "double their money", unbeknown to his work colleagues.

With a story ripped from recent headlines, Shaw is soon in trouble with the FBI, notably pretty detective (Tea Leoni). Subsequently, the employees are left searching for their lost pension funds turning the movie into a "let's get even" escapade.

Josh is largely loyal but when rattled he can and does takes matters into his own hands, vintage car aficionados should look away.

Following subsequent events, we are left with a larcenous but incompetent gang of six. Likable and nominally in charge Josh, Charlie (Casey Affleck) who is not much good at anything but has a pregnant wife and extreme motivation. New boy Enrique (Michael Pena) who is not the brightest bulb, Slick (Eddie Murphy) supposed criminal mastermind but none of the above. Odessa, a chambermaid with a bizarre Jamaican accent and a handy sideline in safe-cracking (Gabourey Siibe) and lastly, Mr Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), depressed, straitlaced, crumpled ex-banker and ex-apartment owner.

We are all set for a decent farce with elements of drama, however the movie is set for fun and mostly delivers.

This a rare Hollywood comedy that is actually funny. Whether the group are planning their heist using Lego, getting distracted with Female Sexuality issues or breaking off mid heist to walk a residents pet dog.

Overall of course it's all very silly and preposterous but it is good to see Eddie Murphy funny again, his sequence with Odessa, as she teaches him the in's and out's of safe-cracking is well done. Stiller largely plays the straight-man, allowing the others to bounce their comedic lines off him. Matthew Broderick is perhaps the standout, managing to make Mr Fitzhugh both sad and funny at the same time, Broderick's comedic timing used to great effect.

It is good to see Judd Hirsch on the big screen, getting a few good scenes as the overall building boss. Alan Alda also lifts the film with his considerable talents bought to bear on the smarmy Mr Shaw.

Like any comedy caper, the tone needs to be right and the project is very much a light soufflé but Director Brett Ratner manages to pull off the various elements, to make this a fun night in.

Summary

That rare event, a Hollywood comedy that manages to both entertain and provide a light sprinkling of social commentary.

The film is largely designed to be a crowd pleaser and largely fulfils that role admirably http://julesmoviereviews.blogspot.co.nz/