Puddle Thirteen
Josh Kovaks (Ben Stiller) is the building manager of a luxury apartment block known as The Tower where wealthy businessman Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) inhabits the Penthouse suite. Alongside Josh is Charlie (Casey Affleck), the concierge who is dating Josh's sister, Lester (Stephen Henderson), the doorman, Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe), a Jamaican maid on a visa and Enrique (Michael Peña), a new elevator operator. When Arthur Shaw is placed under house arrest suspected of a Ponzi scam Josh knows that he and his work colleagues are in trouble as he had placed their pensions in Arthur's now dirty hands. With the aid of Slide (Eddie Murphy) a petty criminal and Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick) a former resident who having lost his job was evicted from The Tower they set about breaking in to the Penthouse to steal money they believe he had hidden there.
You may wonder why I called this review "Puddle Thirteen" but that is because it reminded me of "Ocean Thirteen" right down to the plot line where Lester feeling depressed at losing his money tries to take his own life. But "Tower Heist" of course features comedians lead by Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy and so we have more humour although to start with "Tower Heist" doesn't feel like an out and out comedy or at least the sort of comedy which features Stiller and Murphy.
The thing is that "Tower Heist" is okay, it has a good cast which alongside Stiller and Murphy it also has Judd Hirsch, Téa Leoni, Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda all of which as well as those I didn't mention playing entertaining characters. What happens is also entertaining as we have some accident prone attempts to pull off a robbery and also a spectacular scene involving a sports car dangling from a crane. But whilst all of it is fun, well most of it, it just doesn't get you really laughing, just smiling at all the low key humour.
Yet as I write that "Tower Heist" is just okay I honestly don't know how it could have been better as everyone plays their parts well, the action is fun and so is the comedy. If any of the actors tried to be funnier or the jokes dafter it would have wrecked the balance which it has and that is one of the movies plus points, it is surprisingly well balanced.
What this all boils down to is that "Tower Heist" is an enjoyable distraction with a good cast, some nice humour and some surprisingly impressive action but it isn't spectacular. Basically it is the sort of movie you watch once and enjoy but feel no burning desire to either buy or watch again unless you are channel hopping whilst trying to sleep.
