Forty-five minutes or so into ‘Tower Heist’ the question arises: Is this movie with the title of purest generica — was ‘Stealing Money’ taken? — truly good, or simply less bad than most of what director Brett Ratner has done previously? Played by the Trump Tower just off Columbus Circle across from Central Park, the luxe high-rise of ‘Tower Heist’ is home to a Wall Street tycoon (Alan Alda) whose ethics recall Bernie Madoff’s. He’s entrusted by building manager Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) to handle the employees’ pensions. Poof: Pensions, be gone. Political connections favor the tycoon getting away with his $2 billion crime spree, a portion of which represents the staff’s life savings. It is up to Kovacs, with the aid of semi-pro burglar and fellow Queens resident Slide (Murphy), to locate and swipe a missing $20 million hidden somewhere in the tycoon’s penthouse, the centerpiece of which is a beautifully maintained classic Ferrari once owned by Steve McQueen. The promotional imagery for ‘Tower Heist’ does not hide the sequences involving the Ferrari dangling from a cable outside the building, while down below the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade proceeds along Central Park West. Compared with the outsized chaos of the ‘Rush Hour’ sequels, though, Ratner’s latest has a pleasing sense of scale. The film actors such as Matthew Broderick (as a sad-sack Wall Street victim), Michael Pena (as a newly hired bellhop), Casey Affleck (whose droll line readings as the concierge are consistently surprising) and Gabourey ‘Precious’ Sidibe (as a safecracking maid).
