There was a point while watching Tower Heist (2011) that made me think of Ocean’s Eleven (2001).  The former of these is directed by Brett Ratner and produced by Brian Grazer.  When I saw these names during the opening credits, my mind when to the latter.  I thought they were the ones who kicked off the modern run of the Ocean’s series, in case you forgot the original was made in 1960.  Turns out Ocean’s Eleven was directed by Steven Soderbergh and produced by Jerry Weintraub.  Perhaps it is the presence of Casey Affleck in both that kept me making comparisons?  There are a lot of similarities, though the Ocean’s films are a bit more clever.  Some complain that they are too clever, but I am not one of them.  As for Tower Heist, unlike its cinematic cousin, the motives behind the eponymous theft are nobler rather than pure self-gain.  Anyway, if you are familiar with the two, please feel free to argue in the comments below.

We start Tower Heist with two chess enthusiasts trading moves online as they prepare for their day.  They are Josh Kovaks (Ben Stiller) and Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda).  The fact that they share a love of the game, and that they occupy the same building at times, is about all they have in common, though Arthur likes to remind Josh that they come from the same New York City neighborhood.  Josh is the manager for the prestigious Central Park high-rise apartment building known as The Tower, and Arthur is its most wealthy resident, occupying the penthouse.  Josh is successful in his own way, knowing most of the details of residents like Arthur, and of his staff.  He genuinely cares about them all, and is quick to notice something amiss one morning on his way into work.  Before he can sufficiently lock down the premises, a van is making off with Arthur.  Such is Josh’s dedication that he gives chase on foot before he is clotheslined by Special Agent Claire Denham (Téa Leoni) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  Her officers are able to stop the getaway.  However, it is Arthur that is trying to escape, not necessarily his faux kidnappers.  The so-called high powered Wall Street man is charged with embezzling billions of dollars.  What makes matters worse is all the employees of The Tower had their pensions invested with him, doing so with Josh’s authorization.  Arthur protests his innocence, but it looks like all their money is irretrievably gone.  The person who takes this the hardest is long-time doorman Lester (Stephen McKinley Henderson).  He had been planning to retire in the near future, but without money on which to live, this prospect becomes hopeless.  With that sense of loss, he attempts to throw himself in front of a subway train before somebody pulls him back.  It is Josh that visits Lester in the hospital.  Lester reveals that he had personally gone to Arthur with the entirety of his savings.  With this information, Josh decides visit Arthur, who is under house arrest in his plush surroundings, to confront the wealthy man.  Arthur gives away how little he cares about Lester when the resident does not ask whether the employee is still alive.  In anger, Josh smashes the glass on Arthur’s prized antique Ferrari, once owned by Steve McQueen.  Unsurprisingly, Josh is fired for this outburst, and escorted off the premises.  His next move is to turn over to Special Agent Denham all the information he has on Arthur, but it turns out the FBI already knows all the information Josh could give them.  Instead, Special Agent Denham and Josh proceed to have a few drinks at the bar where they meet.  In a bit of a drunken stupor, she lets it slip that not only are they not going to get any recompense, but that Arthur will probably never go to jail.  Instead, it might be easier if somebody just stole the money.  While he is no thief, he does know every inch of The Tower, and much of Arthur’s floor specifically.  This knowledge leads him to believe that Arthur has $20 million in a safe hidden in the walls of his penthouse.  Josh, though, will not be attempting to steal it on his own.  He recruits the recently hired, and fired, Enrique Dev’reaux (Michael Peña), who has a basic knowledge of electronics and is all too eager to rip off a rich guy; the newly evicted from The Tower Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), who used to work on Wall Street and is looking to recover some of his lost fortune; and Josh’s brother-in-law Charlie Gibbs (Casey Affleck), who used to be The Tower’s concierge, but was fired at the same time as Josh.  What they lack is criminal expertise, so Josh turns to an old acquaintance and neighbor, Darnell “Slide” Davis (Eddie Murphy).  Josh bails Slide out of jail, but Slide is suspicious of what Josh is proposing until the $20 million they plan to steal is mentioned.  Thus, Slide teaches these otherwise straightlaced four some tricks of the trade from the other side of the law.  The first potential problem arises when Charlie, who is concerned about providing for his pregnant wife, decides to go back to work at The Tower, taking Josh’s former position.  Charlie also threatens to have Josh and the others arrested if he sees them on property.  Josh decides to press forward anyway.  He contrives to get Arthur out of his apartment by falsifying a Thanksgiving Day court appearance.  Unfortunately, Slide decides to go ahead without the rest, thinking he can beat them to the safe.  Everyone arrives at the same time, but Slide is the one with the gun.  It takes the safecracker, Odessa Montero (Gabourey Sidibe), another employee of The Tower, to get the drop on Slide and settle things down.  As it turns out, though, the safe is empty.  In the argument that breaks out, a gun is fired, the bullet of which hits the Ferrari.  This is when they learn that the automobile is made of solid gold.  The new plan is to get the car out of the building.  While searching, Josh also finds a ledger containing all Arthur’s shady dealing.  This is the key in keeping his comrades out of jail, though he is sentenced to two years.  Thus, we end with him headed to prison, but the others chopping up the car and sending it to all of The Towers’ employees.

While Tower Heist is about theft, it is a noble thing that Josh does at the conclusion of this story.  There is no getting around the fact that he and the others had committed the crime.  However, the bigger crime is Arthur’s, and Josh knows he is the one the FBI really wants.  His ploy with the ledger almost works for him, too, but he makes sure that he is the only one who does time behind bars.  Despite all this, as a Catholic I cannot condone stealing as a way of redressing wrongs.  To be clear, what Arthur does is monstrous.  Any one of us, if presented with a situation like this in real life, would want to do something in order to give him a comeuppance.  Romans 12:19-21 says, “Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’  Rather, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink;’ for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.  Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.”  What this is saying is that you will do far more to someone who has wronged you by doing good to them instead of evil.  If they repent of their act, then you have done the Lord’s work and helped save a soul.  If they remain unrepentant, then there is a final punishment for them.  The ultimate price is something I feel gets overlooked far too often, even among Christians.  As mentioned a moment ago, I am sure there would be plenty of Christians who would want to behave as Josh.  To his credit, he does try to maintain his composure and professionalism.  It is seeing Lester in the hospital that, perhaps understandably, sends him down a criminal path.  You do more for yourself in the long run, though, by practicing restraint.  God knows what you are going through, and is there for you.

Tower Heist is a solid movie, if not spectacular.  It gets a little silly when you see five people trying to maneuver a car around the inside of an apartment building.  What makes it a little more interesting is the cast, including Stiller in a role that is less slap-sticky than his usual fare.  That can be appreciated, if nothing else.