MOVIE REVIEW - Tower Hiest

I've felt it. I've seen, it and I've said it. "Seen one Ben Stiller movie and you've seen them all." And for the most part that is right. But I have to admit, Tower Heist is not typical Ben Stiller at all.

Has someone finally gotten through to that thick, and exceedingly rich skull of his, that his typical bumbling, stammering, tasteless self act has grown tired and worn out? Seems so. In Tower Heist, Stiller has reinvented himself, and has made a movie that's not perfect by any means, but way better than you might have thought.

TH is ripped right out of the headlines. It's a comedy that is clearly inspired by Wall Street rip-off artist Bernie Madoff. Stiller is Josh. He is the building manager of this gigantic apartment tower in New York City. The star resident is Mr. Shaw (Alan Alda). Shaw is a Wall Street tycoon who rips off everyone's money in the building along with thousands of other people in a swindling scheme. So, after the FBI arrests Shaw, Josh and his band of merry men decide to get their money back one way or another from Shaw.

It's an action comedy that also stars Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, and a nice supporting cast overall. Some of this really works and some really does not. There are moments that are funny, and over all this movie has a nice feel to it. Stiller has grown up. At least for a little while. He doesn't go all "Ben Stiller" on us with that old routine. Josh is a real guy, and they actually develop a nice character here. This is such an improvement, it is so much more watchable. Kudos.

Murphy tough, is still the same guy he always is. There is nothing new about Eddie Murphy all these years later, but he's in a supporting role, and we can look past it. Broderick is horribly miscast as in his role as a Wall Street banker that has lost it all. But serious kudos to Tea Leoni. She plays FBI agent Claire, who is in charge of the case, and is the movies other nice surprise. She should have been doing comedy all along. She has made some horrific role choices before in some really terrible movies, but not here. In a scene where she has way to much to drink with Josh, Leoni completely steals the show, and give us the biggest laughs of the movie by far. She is absolutely hilarious in that scene.

Yeah, there are a few holes in this story, and not all of this is told well, but TH is over all pretty good. It's a fun 90 minutes or so without being offensive, crude, or selling out to a ton of typical contemporary comedy stunts. It is more grown up and moves along nicely. Good to see some growth too in some or our stars.

Tower Heist. This is nothing except a fun time.