Tower Heist (02/21/2012)

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content.

Starring Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Gabourey Sidibe, Casey Affleck, Michael Pena, Tea Leoni and Alan Alda

Directed by Brett Ratner

TODD’S WORD: The only real heist was the $10.50 I lost seeing this movie.

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.

JONATHAN’S WORD: I wasn’t as down on this film as you were. I think the difference might be that I didn’t go into this movie with very high expectations. The director, Ratner, is hit and miss, Eddie Murphy isn’t funny anymore, and Ben Stiller has the range of a BB gun.
Imagine my surprise.

TODD’S WORD: My biggest surprise was that you even wanted to see it. I kept hearing how great this movie was, how funny it was and how Eddie Murphy was “back.” Wrong, wrong and wrong. This movie was a joke.

JONATHAN’S WORD: It wasn’t that bad. One thing for sure, the cast was no joke: Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Judd Hirsch, Tea Leoni, Michael Pena… and Stiller and Murphy were actually good in this film. Whodathunkit!

TODD’S WORD: I’ll meet you half way…Stiller was good.

JONATHAN’S WORD: Ha… that shows our difference in opinion right there. He was decent… but of all those named above… he was probably the last on my list.

The film really developed their characters, good and bad. Alda is marvelous, taking the audience on twists and turns. Broderick is hilarious. And Murphy might have found his element as the petty thief.

TODD’S WORD: Now let’s be fair, you love heist films and you like Eddie Murphy right?

JONATHAN’S WORD: I like good heist films, starting with Stanley Kubrick’s black and white classic The Killing, all the way up to Soderburg’s Ocean films. But no, I stopped enjoying Eddie Murphy sometime shortly after Coming to America. What about you… dare I ask?

TODD’S WORD: Heist films can be fun, but I haven’t laughed at an Eddie Murphy movie since The Nutty Professor …in 1996!!! And he didn’t make me laugh in this one.

JONATHAN’S WORD: I’m done talking now. I can’t believe you enjoyed The Nutty Professor. This movie review is over.

TODD’S WORD: HERCULES!! HERCULES!! HERCULES!!
OK, OK, on that note, I’ll end by saying I wish I could get my money back…I say “Skip It.”

JONATHAN’S WORD: And I say, if you liked The Nutty Professor, then take Todd’s advice. But if you have actual taste… then this is worth the “Rental.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
While no sex or nudity is shown, it is talked about quite a bit. There is also a fair amount of profanity including the A-word, the S-word and the B-word. The N-word is also used twice.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?
A: The theme of this film is based on the all too familiar stories that have filled our newspapers. The ridiculously rich CEO scams the life savings of his employees leaving them desperate, angry and penniless. One of the reasons this movie was so popular (contrary to Jonathan’s opinion) was because the group of disgruntled workers ban together to “get even.”

Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
A: When we are wronged or hurt, our natural response is to want to get even, to hurt them like they hurt us. But God has a very different idea on revenge.

Read Romans 12:19
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.
Instead of getting revenge, God wants us to forgive them.

Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
A: Start by identifying those who have wronged you. What did they do?

Read Colossians 3:12-14
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Is your life filled with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience?
What do you think it means to “make allowance for each other’s faults”?

We know Jesus wants us to forgive those who hurt us…so what does that look like?