Without watching the trailer or knowing the plot it is obvious a film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy is targeting a specific audience. However, what’s interesting is about 15 years ago you would probably assume a film starring either Stiller or Murphy would be targeting an entirely different audience.
Now, after watching the first minute of the trailer you don’t immediately get the impression you’re watching the film you expected. Then, around the 1:10 mark you get exactly what you expected.
Tower Heist centers on the workers at a luxury Central Park condominium who discover the penthouse billionaire has stolen their retirement, and as a result they plot to steal $20 million from that same billionaire. Along with Stiller and Murphy the film co-stars Alan Alda, Gabourey ‘Gabby’ Sidibe, Michael Pena, Tea Leoni, Matthew Broderick and Casey Affleck and is set to be released on November 4 from Universal.
Brett Ratner’s last directorial output was Rush Hour 3. Ben Stiller was last seen in Little Fockers and, outside of the Shrek franchise, Eddie Murphy has brought us Imagine That, Meet Dave and Norbit over the previous three years. What are the chances this film is any good? Watch the trailer below and tell me what you think.
Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy lead an all-star cast in Tower Heist, a comedy caper about working stiffs who seek revenge on the Wall Street swindler who stiffed them. After the workers at a luxury Central Park condominium discover the penthouse billionaire has stolen their retirement, they plot the ultimate revenge: a heist to reclaim what he took from them. Queens native Josh Kovacs (Stiller) has managed one of the most luxurious and well-secured residences in New York City for more than a decade. Under his watchful eye, nothing goes undetected. In the swankiest unit atop Josh’s building, Wall Street titan Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) is under house arrest after being caught stealing two billion from his investors. The hardest hit among those he defrauded? The tower staffers whose pensions he was entrusted to manage. With only days before Arthur gets away with the perfect crime, Josh’s crew turns to petty crook Slide (Murphy) to plan the nearly impossible… to steal what they are sure is hidden in Arthur’s guarded condo. Though amateurs, these rookie thieves know the building better than anyone. Turns out they’ve been casing the place for years, they just didn’t know it.
