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 McKinley Henderson	...	Lester
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.

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Plot Keywords:

manager | fbi | high rise | heist | ponzi scheme | 

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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 [France]

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 USA:

$24,025,190, 6 November 2011, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$78,046,570

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$152,930,623

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 parade sequence was shot over the course of two weekends around Central Park West which was shut down for the film.

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Goofs

When Josh and Slide are riding in the Nova, Josh tells Slide that the Chevy Nova didn't sell in Spanish-speaking countries because "Nova" means "doesn't go"; many know this "story" it is, in fact, an urban myth.

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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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Connections

Featured in The Big Picture: November 2011 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Basketball Pep Band
Written by Sarah Scarlata
Performed by Sarah Scarlata Drum Line
Courtesy of 5 Alarm Music

User Reviews

Average, but not necessarily bad

Tower Heist is Ben Stiller's latest comedy where he plays the building manager of a New York high rise tower block. He regrettably invests him and his staff's pension money with a smooth-talking crook who lives in the top floor penthouse. Naturally, the crook wastes their money and they're left without a cent.

Therefore, Ben and a few other disgruntled employees, enlist the help of small time crook Eddie Murphy to break into the penthouse and steal back their money.

It's a decent enough premise and, again, all the cast to a decent enough job. There you have it - it's a decent film. Not quite funny enough to be a comedy through and through. Not quite dramatic enough to be a straight drama. It even throws in a bit of a high speed car chase into the mix to add an element of 'action' into the genre.

It's a bit of a mixed bag. If you go into it without any expectations, you should find it an okay watch.

Not great, but not bad either. Fans of Stiller and Murphy should find extra things to enjoy about it.