![]() ![]() Kovacs has to reveal to the staff of the building that their entire pension fund had been invested with Shaw, and it leaves many of them devastated. When Arthur Shaw is busted by the feds in an operation spearheaded by Special Agent Claire Denham (Tea Leoni), it becomes quickly obvious that his entire reputation has been built on fraud, and the money that was invested with him is gone. Alan Alda is perfect casting for Shaw, and he milks every moment he’s got in the film. An investment wizard, he’s the penthouse resident, complete with a private pool on the roof accessible only by private elevator, and he’s the sort of guy who is constantly referencing his humble beginnings just so everyone knows just how much he deserves all these nice things he’s earned for himself. And in a building full of people who are used to being treated like royalty, Arthur Shaw is the king of them all. It’s an exclusive and amazing residence for the very wealthy, and the staff pampers them exactly as much as they expect to be pampered, with Kovacs always there to make sure everything runs smoothly. As it is, the film feels like a half-and-half affair, and just watching these two different films wrestle it out is interesting.īen Stiller is the center of gravity here, playing Josh Kovacs, the building manager for what is obviously Trump Tower in New York, but which they carefully only call “the Tower” in the movie. It is a little more angry than funny, though, which surprised me, and having seen that, I wish they’d gone further. It’s got a good sense of energy, and it has its fair share of laughs. If so, there’s certainly much to like about “Tower Heist.” It is an amiable, well-made movie that knocks down some easy targets. To have the film hit theaters as the Occupy movement really picked up in momentum is one of those accidents of timing that no one could have ever planned, and I’m curious to see if people want to mix their simmering resentment with their popcorn entertainment. The script is credited to Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson, with a story credit going to Adam Cooper & Bill Collage and Griffin, and it’s one of those projects that went through a lot of development before finally making it in front of the camera. Right now, as we watch the Occupy movement spread across the country, it is apparent that people feel a disconnect in our society, and setting a heist movie against the backdrop of the recent economic collapse with a Bernie Madoff-style con artist as the bad guy is a really smart move. ![]() It helps, of course, if you give your heroes a great target to rip off, and “Tower Heist” is in an interesting position in that regard. ![]() In either case, the pleasure is largely based on either fulfilling or confounding expectations over the course of the movie. You either (A) set up an elaborate plan and then delight the audience by paying off on that plan or (B) set up an elaborate plan and then delight the audience by showing them every little step of things going wrong. In a great heist movie, you need to make a choice early on and then do one of two things. I can’t emphasize enough just how beautifully built that movie is, and it’s kind of a model for how you need to approach a heist if you really want to pay things off for an audience. If you want to see an example of the very best that the genre can produce, check out the 1966 film “Gambit,” which just got added to Netflix Instant. The heist movie is a very particular type of cinematic pleasure. ![]()
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