Tower Heist

Brett Ratner is well known for throwing some of the brashest parties in Hollywood and has a reputation as a bit of a golden child despite his film portfolio not containing anything that memorable. He's lost a bit of sheen over the last few months though, firstly with his use of the word "fag" and now a mixed reaction to his latest film Tower Heist. The film follows Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller), the building manager of a plush New York luxury apartment complex who's employees lose their pensions in a Ponzi scheme of businessman (and apartment resident) Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda). Kovacs and a number of the employees of the hotel decide to rob Shaw's apartment in order to get some of their money back, additionally enlisting the help of ex-con Slide (Eddie Murphy). The first thing to say here is that this is a seriously dumb film, but it just about gives enough fun for you to go with the flow. If you think it sounds a bit like Ocean's Eleven you'll be right as a few years ago it was scripted as being an African American style take on that film. Though it hasn't gone through development hell since then you can see that the film has had various different scripters as the tone of the film is never really settled and struggles to find consistent laughs. One person who was involved in the original draft was Murphy and he is the star of the film here, stealing every scene he is in and hitting levels not seen since his 1980's heyday. It's bizarre then when he is shoved to the sidelines at the halfway point of the film. The same fate befalls the lesser spotted Tea Leoni, looking sexy as a cop on the protagonists tail her conflicted character could have been the most interesting on show, but she also disappears for lengthy sections of the film. Not the best decisions by Ratner that, but I suppose when someone is paid $15M to star (Stiller, in this case) they're going to be in front of the camera more often than not. At least when the heist does occur you can say its original and for Friday night entertainment this should breeze in and out of your brain before you can question the somewhat dodgy premise of a load of white blokes not being able to break into a building until they are helped by a black ex-con.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
A mess of parts, but enough here to see you right after a busy week of work. Rating: 6/10.