![]() Again, compare the fate suffered by Shaw to the one that befalls the wicked Duke brothers in "Trading Places."Īnyway, "Tower Heist" opens with Shaw swimming in a pool, complete with the design of a huge $100 bill, on the rooftop of his penthouse suite in the Tower, a luxury New York condo complex where Josh Kovacs (Stiller) works as the building manager. While loss of fortune and jail time are all well and good, I'm betting Madoff's victims wouldn't have minded seeing him boil in oil for a few hours. We want him to pay the price for his despicable actions, but he doesn't really suffer the way he should suffer. Here, Alda gets to play the Madoff character, Arthur Shaw, and he does play the part with the prerequisite unctuousness. "Tower Heist" does have topicality in its favor thanks to Ponzi scheme scumbag, Bernie Madoff. Well, the latter could be played for laughs as it was in the infinitely superior "Trading Places." May I suggest renting that film instead of seeing this dud? How humorous is a film where a character tries to commit suicide? How humorous is a film where a character loses his job, his apartment, his wife and his children? How humorous is a film where a character goes to jail? How humorous is a film where working stiffs lose all their money to a crooked Wall Street billionaire? ![]() For the record, Nathanson penned two of the three "Rush Hour" films. Few jokes work case in point, a scene that's actually used in the trailer where the characters crack wise about lesbians. Almost.Īs for the script, two screenwriters, Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson, take credit, or blame, for "Tower Heist." Let's just say you'll find more humor in a eulogy than in this screenplay. Yet "Tower Heist" is so comically flat that it almost made me yearn for the comedic stylings of Chris Tucker. ![]() Here, the director is Brett Ratner, whose claim to fame rests with the "Rush Hour" films where the alleged humor comes from fish-out-of-water premises. How can a film with a cast this good be so bad? All you have to do is round up the usual suspects: the director and the screenwriter. Its victims include Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Michael Pena, Alan Alda, Tea Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe and Judd Hirsch. The film commits its most heinous offense by wasting a talented cast. Segue to the arrest and the trial where the jury will find the movie guilty by reason of inanity. It's called 'Tower Heist,' a film so unfunny that moviegoers will feel like they've been robbed of their time and money."Ĭue sirens. "Hello, officer, I'd like to report a crime against humanity. ![]()
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