'Tower Heist'

'Tower Heist' (PG-13) (2 STARS)

Writers: Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson
Director: Brett Ratner
Starring: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Alan Alda, Casey Affleck, Tea Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, Judd Hirsch, Michael Pena

Heist movies are the type of movies where you can hire an all star cast of Hollywood heavyweight actors. Eddie Murphy would be a perfect choice to join a big cast for a heist movie. Eddie Murphy has been wasted most of his career from the early 90's save for "The Nutty Professor" movies. There was a certain period of time when Eddie made a bunch of horrible family/kid's movies. For comedy Eddie hasn't been given a screenplay that matches his rapid fire wit since the 80's leaving off with "Coming To America". "Tower Heist" will not get the job done for it is a complete waste of it's great cast and Eddie.

"Tower Heist" is a movie that is in the same spirit as the recent George Clooney "Oceans Eleven" movies. It has a big heist at the center of it's plot, an all star cast of comedic talents and it even has Casey Affleck. The Ocean movies were clever even though it got weaker as the sequels rolled out. The original had a witty script and a heist that seemed plausible and was fun. "Tower Heist" has a plot that at first seems plausible and it starts out as a nice, light comedy.

The movie deals with a high rise apartment building modeled after The Trump Tower and with it's many employees. It is headed by the manager played by Ben Stiller and there are a few other workers played by Michael Pena and Csaey Affleck. A Wall Street tycoon resides in the high rise and he is played by Alan Alda. The tycoon, modeled after Bernie Madoff, has swindled money, through pensions, from it's employees. The manager recruits some of the employees and another resident who was evicted played by Matthew Broderick. He organizes them to steal a fortune from the tycoon who has a fortune that is locked in a safe. They are not career criminals so they find a street criminal played by Murphy to help them.

In the beginning the film works thanks to Stiller and the nice laid back evilness of Alda's tycoon. Alda is great here as is Stiller, Broderick and Murphy but only because they are always good. The problem is they are funny in small doses due to the weak screenplay. There are some funny bits but with Stiller and Murphy I expected fireworks. There are really no inspired, laugh out loud funny moments. It is especially troubling because I have been waiting for years for a very funny Eddie Murphy comedy. Stiller has made a couple of them so why can't someone write a great comedy for Murphy? It is great to see that Eddie is back to being the old Eddie with his rapid fire dialogue delivery and attitude. The problem is the movie only gives Murphy too few scattered moments to be very funny.

This just becomes a serviceable comedy that goes right through you without giving you any moments you will remember hours after you see it. The biggest crime this movie makes is in giving us one of the dumbest and dullest heists I have seen in this kind of movie. It is very implausible and there is no logical way that they could execute the things they do here. The heist involves a very stupid use of a Ferrari and the "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". I know that in a movie like this you are supposed to suspend disbelief and just go with it. That would be great if this was a funny movie which it isn't. The plot doesn't even make sense in a fictional, movie way.

So "Tower Heist" has an okay first half followed by a very dumb second half with an unfunny heist to end it. I am just frustrated in Hollywood's use of Eddie Murphy and why this movie didn't live up to his talent. He has been the best I have seen him in ages in this movie but all his scenes don't live up to his energy. The movie also wastes it's large cast and ruins a fine change of pace villain role for Alda. I also found Matthew Broderick also annoying and unfunny. Come on, you have Axel Foley and Ferris Bueller here! "Tower Heist" brings too few laughs and no sense of surprise or intelligence. All you have is priceless Eddie Murphy moments that we needed more of.

P.S. For better heist movies check out the 1960 version and Steven Soderbergh's version of "Oceans Eleven" and the original "Taking of Pelham 1 2 3". For the really funny Eddie Murphy go back to "48 Hours", "Coming To
America" and "Bowfinger".