Thanksgiving Thieves: Looking Back at "Tower Heist"

By Michael Lyons

Tower Heist is a Thanksgiving movie.  That wasn't a typo.

As its title and its cast suggest, this is, first and foremost, a comedy/action/heist movie, but its setting makes it perfect viewing for this time of year.  It's been ten years since Tower Heist debuted and, if in the past decade, it's passed you by, the movie's 10th anniversary, and the Thanksgiving holiday, make it the perfect time to include it as part of your holiday movie rotation.

Set in New York City, Tower Heist is an ensemble film. Still, it centers on Josh Kovak (Ben Stiller doing a nice job as the everyman in the middle of the ensuing chaos) of the Tower, a luxury, high-rise apartment building.  One of the famous tenants is Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda in a nice slimeball turn), a Wall Street billionaire.

In the opening segments of the film, we meet the other employees and residents at The Tower.  Among them: Josh's brother-in-law Charlie (Casey Afleck), the concierge, Enrique (Michael Pena), the elevator operator, Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe), a maid in the building, Josh's boss, M. Simon (Judd Hirsch), Lester (Stephen McKinley Henderson) the doorman and Mr. Fitzhugh (Mathew Broderick), a Wall Street investor who is bankrupt and facing eviction. 

All the characters learn that Shaw has embezzled $2 billion and is placed under house arrest at The Tower by FBI Agent Claire Denhan (Téa Leoni).  What's worse, part of the money was the pensions of The Tower employees, which is now lost.

Enlisting the help of "Slide" (a very funny Eddie Murphy), a loud-mouth crook who lives in his Queens neighborhood, Josh pulls together an incredibly mismatched team of his fellow employees and the dejected Fitzhugh to steal their money back from Shaw's apartment.

So, what in the world does all of this have to do with Thanksgiving?  Well, the inept thieves make a plan to pull the heist on Thanksgiving Day, while the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade provides a distraction, passing right in front of The Tower.

Their "code phrase" is: "We go on Snoopy," meaning they initiate their plan as the Snoopy balloon in the parade passes.  

There are some wonderful scenes and recreations of the famed Macy's Parade in Tower Heist, as well as some lovely shots of autumn in New York.  The scenes of how they pull off the heist high above the streets, with the parade playing out down below, are some of the film's best and most exciting They're not the most realistic, but they are a tremendous amount of fun.

All of Tower Heist is fun, which is what it seems to set out to be.  The enjoyment comes from watching the disparate actors (and characters) bounce off each other.  Broderick's calm, dry persona, next to Murphy's brash tone, next to Pena's street smart, next to Stiller's exasperation, make for some hilarious scenes.  In particular, Murphy's scene as "Slide" teaching the others to pick a lock is filled with quick humor and one of the film's funniest sequences.

All of this is pulled together deftly by director Brett Ratner, who balances the various characters and shifting action well.  If there's any disappointment, the ending of Tower Heist seems somewhat abrupt (check out the deleted/alternate endings, where available, they're a little more satisfying). Still, it doesn't take away from all of the entertainment that's come before.

Tower Heist plays out like an enjoyable amalgam of movies from another time: the all-star studio films of the '60s and '70s blended with the action comedies that were a staple of the '80s.

And, it's a Thanksgiving movie.  So, if you're looking for something entertaining to watch for the holiday, just remember: "We go on Snoopy."

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!