Arthur Shaw is so laid back about his ruthlessness and godly sense of entitlement that it's hard not to root against him. Nobody in the cast is wasted.Īlan Alda plays a great villain who is all elitist menace hid behind a friendly grandpa facade and squinted eyes. Broderick is clearly the odd man in the bunch, but even he still solicits a good amount of laughs. She's wonderfully funny, and demonstrates a new side of the young Oscar-nominated performer. While the veteran comedians keep themselves relatively restrained, it's Sidibe who gets to let loose and play things over-the-top as a Jamaican maid/safe-cracker who's brought in on the heist. However, this eclectic group has great chemistry and keep things light and humorous with sharp banter and funny character interactions. (There are also some fun nods and homages to other films - for instance, see if you can spot the twisted Ferris Bueller reference.) Ratner also has a penchant for odd-couple casting (for example, Rush Hour stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker), and on paper, a cast that consists of Stiller, Murphy, Alda, Leoni, Casey Affleck, Michael Peña, Precious star Gabourey Sidibe and Matthew Broderick (of all people) would seem pretty strange. Ratner keeps the film moving at a nice steady pace, and scene to scene, the movie tends to keep the viewer engaged and smiling. And when Arthur Shaw sets his sights on revenge, Kovacs learns that the only thing more dangerous than a desperate man, is a powerful one. But as with any heist, there are twists and turns and betrayals to settle before anybody can walk away alive, free, and with the money in hand. Enter "Slide" (Murphy), a two-bit con man and thief who agrees to help the ragtag group of disgruntled wage slaves once he learns how much money is at stake. However, Kovacs and his friends are not crooks, so they seek out the tutelage of a real crook to get the job done. When he's informed by brass-balled FBI agent Claire Denham (Téa Leoni) that there is little chance of recovering the lost pensions, Kovacs decides he must make amends by stealing the millions that Shaw supposedly has stashed in his penthouse. The situation is especially sticky since Kovacs trusted Shaw to invest the pensions of the entire Tower staff - an investment which ultimately goes bust, along with all of Shaw's dealings. Kovacs has been a loyal and dedicated serviceman for years, so he takes it pretty hard when Shaw is busted in an FBI sting for trying to flee from some impending felony fraud charges. ![]() Ben Stiller plays Josh Kovacs, manager of "The Tower," one of Manhattan's most luxurious apartment complexes (think Trump tower), and home to billionaire finance guru Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda).
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