Would you rather have amiable schlock or failed art? Naturally, the next name from my lips is Brett Ratner. Tower Heist director Brett Ratner is often the scapegoat for “what’s wrong with Hollywood”. Looking over his portfolio, I’m not sure that’s warranted. Ratner has directed all the Rush Hour films, X-Men: The Last Stand, Red Dragon, After the Sunset. I didn’t hate any of these films; in fact I’d even recommend a few, but I’ll tell you this – the impression that remains is undetectable. His work leaves me like a shark abandoning its young. Tower Heist is no different.
Tower Heist is of the standard movie caper genre – a team of misfits sets out to rob $20 M from a guy who deserves it under less-than-ideal conditions. The guy who deserves it is Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), a Bernie Madoff figure, confined under FBI house arrest to the penthouse of a building where he bilked all the employees. When building manager Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) takes his frustrations out on Shaw’s prize possession, three employees are fired. Ah, a statement movie about the times we live in, right? No. Tower Heist isn’t quite savvy enough to be artful. The target is right, which is why you’ll enjoy it, but the dismissed employees find work almost immediately which undermines the everyman feel. Charlie (Casey Affleck) even gets his old job back and then gets promoted. Yeah, that’s the economy I know.
There is a place for Tower Heist. Imagine it’s Saturday afternoon and you have an evening party to attend. You put on the USA network to entertain you while you prepare. There’s Tower Heist, mildly amusing, affable and forgettable. It served its purpose – you might enjoy it, but you could turn it off at any moment and not feel like you missed a single thing. You won’t remember it; you won’t discuss it at your party. And thus I return to Brett Ratner. No, he didn’t attempt art here, but Brett’s other “didn’t”s are very important: he didn’t let Ben Stiller or Judd Hirsch overact; he didn’t let Eddie Murphy play a good guy; he didn’t let Téa Leoni underwhelm; and he didn’t pretend Matthew Broderick should be the center of anything. Add it up and Ratner didn’t create art, but he also didn’t make a film you’ll hate.
The purpose for this director is clear. Brett Ratner provides a way station for mediocre pilgrims on their road to personal oblivion. Ben Stiller? Eddie Murphy? Matthew Broderick? Alan Alda? We remember these people. We’ll see Tower Heist and forget it immediately; but we saw just enough good in Stiller, Broderick, Alda, Leoni and especially Eddie Murphy that we just may smile the next time their names come up, if ever again. I would love to see Brett continue to provide his service for all the people we once loved and kinda forgot about – maybe next he can work with Mike Myers or Meg Ryan or Mel Gibson or something. The list is endless.
Rated PG-13, 104 Minutes
D: Brett Ratner
W: Ted Griffin, Jeff Nathanson, Adam Cooper & Bill Collage
Genre: Bungled caper
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: The bored
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Savants
Were your reflections on Precious’ performance left in the cutting room floor? Surely her accent alone was worth a sentence or two.
Gabourey Sidibe didn’t seem to fit into any theme in the film or the review. I enjoyed Precious so much that I thought I’d leave her alone for now, but she’s on notice.