Tower Heist

Ben Stiller stars as Josh - the hardworking manager at an uber-luxury condo complex in Manhattan. He'll never become a millionaire, but Josh is the best manager you could ever dream of, and he admires the building's richest, most notable resident, Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda). He's the kingpin of investing, and so prolific Josh convinces Arthur to manage the staff's pension funds.

Unfortunately, Arthur is a ponzi schemer in the mold of Bernie Madoff, and all of the money he "invested" went to covering the scam and is lost forever (it would have been hilarious if Kevin Bacon could have been worked in and got revenge on the Madoff-like character, but I digress). When he is placed under house arrest in his swanky penthouse and they start to realize the thief might have stored away many millions, Josh and other employees bilked in the scheme decide they are going to break in and get some justice by taking the money for themselves.

Does Arthur have millions hidden in the penthouse?

Can these honest, working class folks find a way to steal it without getting caught or letting their consciences get the best of them?

In a world where all of us have worked for some CEO who walked away with millions, while our friends or ourselves got laid off because of that leader's "genius" and "amazing business acumen", Tower Heist strikes a chord deeper than the stack of Lindsay Lohan's legal bills. Much of that is because of the great cast and some of the best directing I have ever seen from Brett "I mock him mercilessly, but he delivers in Tower Heist" Ratner.

Tower Heist gets the audience worked up and cheering for our robbers because of Alda. I can't express in words how amazingly, chillingly evil he makes Shaw. The way Alda combines charm, aloofness, cold calculating selfishness and senses of entitlement and being better than everyone else makes Shaw the perfect villain for the movie and for our times. Without him, Tower Heist wouldn't be as compelling or make us angry, even though we know it is just a movie.

Stiller and Murphy aren't too bad either. Stiller has the perfect amount of restraint and earnestness to fit perfectly as the straight man in this comedy. He doesn't need to be goofy and overwrought, like we sadly remember in Meet the Fockers or Night at the Museum, so Stiller allows Josh to become the heart and soul of the movie. He is everyman as he works hard at an underappreciated job trying to do the right thing because that's what you should do.

Then, Murphy is back to being funny, without worrying about offending your kids because your children should not be at this PG-13 rated movie. As the theft consultant Josh brings in to help plan the heist and train the gang in how to do it, Murphy is acting at a level reminiscent of his Beverly Hills Cop and Saturday Night Live days. He brings the energy and commitment to make the character everything you want it to be.

And, I still can't believe I am saying this, Ratner does his best directing job yet in Tower Heist. It's never too silly. It's never too crazy and over-the-top with the action. Most of all, you never lose interest with a great pace and plenty of twists and turns to keep you engrossed in the plot.

It might not be a detailed heist movie, and Tower Heist might not be perfect (logic is not always followed in the last act), but it is perfectly funny.

Tower Heist is rated PG-13 for language and sexual content.