Tower Heist is an entertaining movie with an all-star cast. Taking place primarily in a posh Manhattan condo, the story focuses on Josh Kovaks (Ben Stiller) who is the condo manager and great at his job. He knows everything about all the residents. That said, he is not a snoop. He just prides himself on knowing what the residents want and need, and takes appropriate steps to provide them with whatever it is – whether it be taking a dog for a walk or alerting a philandering resident that his wife is back in town earlier than expected and on her way home.
The Story
Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) resides in the penthouse and as the story unfolds he is put under house arrest after being charged with stealing two billion dollars from his investors. This Wall Street swindler is pretty slick, but the law finally caught up with him. Unfortunately, Josh had put all his trust – and the pensions of the building’s staff – in Shaw and now they have nothing.
So, according to the old adage, they don’t just get mad, they plot to get even. Josh gets together his concierge brother-in-law Cole (Casey Affleck), the new elevator operator Rick (Michael Pena), his petty-crook friend Slide (Eddie Murphy), a down-on-his-luck former resident of the building and former financial advisor Chase Fitzhue (Matthew Broderick), and Odessa Montero (Gabourey Sidibe), a feisty maid from Jamaica. They devise a plan to break into Shaw’s penthouse and into his hidden safe, which supposedly holds a couple million dollars. With this money they intend on reimbursing the swindled employees.
They create an elaborate and ingenious plan to get their money back, under the nose of the FBI who is holding Shaw under house arrest. But when they open the safe, they are in for a surprise and have to hatch a new plan.
Review
This is a fun and entertaining movie, made even more so by the talented cast. And the characters themselves are enjoyable. They each have their own humor about them which, when combined, make this a delightful film.
True, the story has been done in the past and it is for the most part predictable, but what makes this a worthwhile film to see is the cast. If they don’t get some laugh-out-loud moments from audiences, nothing will.
Besides the already mentioned actors, the film also includes Judd Hirsch and Tea Leoni.
Okay, honesty time. I was not expecting anything great when I saw this film, but while I was watching, I - along with the rest of the audience - had some hearty laughs and left the theater with a smile. It is a fun movie.
- Tower Heist
- Studio: Universal
- Rated: PG-13 for language and sexual content
