Although starring Ben Stiller, the idea behind TOWER HEIST originated within Eddie Murphy a while back. How far back? I can’t really tell as ALL my sources and research pulls up is how it was set to be an all Black cast with much of the common urbanized swag most, if not all, Black cast comedies usually carry. As we move along the years, lots was changed, Eddie Murphy remained true to the project, and now we have what’s to be an interesting watch over the weekend which not only includes the genius of Eddie Murphy (About time!), but a whole host of Hollywood meat who lend their presence to ensure one of the most enjoyable comedies this year. 

With a director whom I’m not too fond of (Brett Ratner), I really didn’t expect TOWER HEIST to be any more of a stomach virus than that X-MEN film he directed or those overrated RUSH HOUR films which everyone seems to be suckling on, and quite frankly Chris Tucker’s FAST & FURIOUS a-la Vin Diesel. To be honest, I’m going on record and saying I think I rather an over-the-top and brainless action film from Michael Bay or mish-mash of a brain maze courtesy of M. Knight Shyamalan. 

But, I have to say Ratner did a pretty good job with this one. I can’t lay ALL of the kudos on him, but one can tell he did what he had to do to supervise a pretty well-crafted script and allow the art of dialog, interaction, improv and layered story-telling do the job. 

TOWER HEIST follows 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 past him. In the most flashy 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.