Line #25 Film/TowerHeist


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7	''Tower Heist'' is a 2011 action comedy directed by Creator/BrettRatner, starring Creator/BenStiller and Creator/EddieMurphy. Stiller plays Josh Kovaks, the building manager of a high-rise owned by Arthur Shaw (Creator/AlanAlda), a Wall Street fat cat who ends up being placed under house arrest for a Ponzi scheme involving pretty much every employee in the building. Because they can't legally get their money back, Kovaks decides to enlist Slide (Murphy), a convict who grew up with him, to help him and his co-workers in breaking into Shaw's penthouse in order to recoup what was taken from them.
8	----
9	!!This film provides examples of:
10	* AlliterativeName: '''D'''arnell '''D'''avis (Slide). After being fired from The Tower, Enrique gets a job at a place called "'''S'''hake '''S'''hack".
11	* AmbiguousSituation: Is Slide's surname really "Davis" or is it a fake name created to trick Mr. Simon?
12	* AmbiguousSyntax: Josh's apology to Shaw is worded rather ominously, with him hoping to make things right and pay him back for what he done.
13	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: "If you care about Lester, then how come you haven't asked whether he's alive or dead?" Although this doesn't wound Shaw, so much as cause him to drop the act and present his {{Smug Snake}} card and [[CardCarryingVillain pass it forward]].
14	* ArtisticLicenseLaw: [[spoiler: Josh and friends barter a lenient sentence is exchange for the ledger containing evidence of Shaw's fraudulent dealings. In RealLife, since the proof was stolen from Shaw, it would not be admissible in a court of law under the Fourth Amendment]].
15	* ActorAllusion:
16	** Josh telling Slide about a Chevy Nova, a car that Creator/EddieMurphy [[Film/BeverlyHillsCop has driven before]].
17	** Creator/CaseyAffleck has [[Film/OceansEleven experience in pulling capers]].
18	** Once again, Creator/MatthewBroderick [[Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff has trouble with a red Ferrari]].
19	* BadassBoast: "[[EvilLawyerJoke Sharks are born swimming.]]" This is said by [[spoiler:Josh's acting attorney]], who just effectively [[spoiler:blackmailed the FBI into letting Josh's group off the hook ''three days after passing her bar exam'']].
20	* BadBoss: Zigzagged and downplayed with Mr. Simon. He does fire Josh for smashing up Shaw's Ferrari, which is somewhat understandable since Josh's revenge ''was'' illegal, but he also goes about firing Charlie and Enrique just for being there. On the other hand, he does give Charlie his job back when he asks for it and ensures Lester will be back at work once he gets out of the hospital, proving he's not ''totally'' unreasonable.
21	* BenevolentBoss: Josh Kovaks truly cares about the workers in the Tower. Ultimately, it is this level of empathy that drives him to plot the heist
22	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Josh is a gracious employer who cares about his subordinates, as well as a charismatic individual who gets along with the residents. However, when he discovers that Shaw swindled his employees out of money, he takes a golf club to Shaw's Ferrari. Subsequently, he plots a heist to reimburse his employees.
23	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Shaw does a very good job of coming across as a CoolOldGuy who's NiceToTheWaiter for the first part of the film before being exposed as a ruthless {{Jerkass}} and con man.
24	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Shaw is sent to prison for life after his scams are fully revealed, yet Josh is sent to jail as well for the robbery. However, the FBI manages to reduce his term to two years and let Slide, Lester, Odessa, Enrique, Fitz and Charlie go free in exchange. They manage to recover Shaw's Ferrari (which they hid in his pool), and divide the solid-gold car parts among the older members of the Tower's staff.]]
25	* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Slide is afraid the trope will be invoked.
26	* {{Blackmail}}: When Josh returns to the Tower to collect data for his plan, he blackmails Manuel into letting him in by threatening to tell Mr. Simon about something involving Manuel and a woman who lives in apartment 2813.
27	** [[spoiler: Miss Iovenko tops that by leveraging Arthur Shaw's ledger with all his illicit dealings in exchange for her clients' freedom.]]
28	* BrokenPedestal: Josh's respect for Shaw quickly collapses when he learns he took Lester's money knowing that he wouldn't invest it.
29	* ButForMeItWasTuesday: When Josh and Claire get drunk together, she says she ended up with a fireman. When Josh asks when it happened, she said it was Tuesday.
30	* ButtMonkey: Everyone of the workers of the Tower to a degree, but the award goes to Mr. Fitzhugh. For having the most potential to succeed in life out of the entire group he tends to get the short end of everything [[spoiler:until the end]].
31	* TheCameo:
32	** Creator/KateUpton as Mr. Hightower's Mistress.
33	** Heavy D as Courthouse Guard
34	** Creator/ZeljkoIvanek as FBI Director Mazin
35	* TheCaper
36	* CasualDangerDialogue: While lowering Shaw's car out of the penthouse window...
37	--> '''Josh:''' You know what? I don't want you speaking to me for the rest of the robbery!
38	* CelebrityParadox: At one point in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a character balloon of [[Franchise/{{Shrek}} Shrek]] can be seen. Slide is played by Eddie Murphy, who voices Donkey in the ''Shrek'' films.
39	* ChekhovsGun:
40	** Arthur Shaw's Ferrari.
41	** The pool cover.
42	** [[spoiler:Lester's attempted suicide.]]
43	** Mr. Fitzhugh's apartment renovation.
44	** Shaw's monologue about using unexpected sacrifices to win in chess.
45	* ChekhovsGunman: Miss Iovenko, the Tower employee studying for her bar exam, [[spoiler: who uses her abilities to act as Josh's attorney.]]
46	* ChessMotifs: The Marshall Swindle.
47	* CitizenshipMarriage: Odessa is desperately wanting a husband so she won't be deported back to Jamaica.
48	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Exaggerated with the conversation about lesbians during Josh's heist plan.
49	* CoolOldGuy: Lester, the aging doorman, is a charming individual who gets along with the employees and residents. [[spoiler: Lester gets a shining moment when he steals a truck to divert attention from the heist.]]
50	* CrashIntoHello: Josh and Claire meet when she clotheslines him to the ground because he's interfering with an FBI sting against Shaw.
51	* DavidVersusGoliath: Invoked when [[spoiler:Miss Iovenko states her intention to essentially blackmail the FBI- and by extension the United States Government- in order to get a favourable outcome for the rest of the Tower employees on her ''third day'' as an officially-qualified lawyer]].
52	* DeadpanSnarker: Charlie.
53	* DeconstructiveParody: Of heist movies. Only one member of the crew is a criminal, and a petty one at that. The big heist gets messed up before it even starts.
54	-->'''Mr. Fitzhugh''': You brought a stolen car to a robbery?
55	* DisproportionateRetribution: A chain of retribution, so to speak. Lester tries to commit suicide, Josh destroys Shaw's Ferrari. This in turn causes Shaw to demand that Josh apologize and secretly has plans to sue him, which in turn causes Josh to plan the titular heist.
56	* DistractedByTheSexy: At a crucial moment, [[spoiler:Manuel]] distracts the security team by showing them a copy of French ''Playboy'' featuring one of the tenants.
57	* DoNotCallMePaul: Slide's exact words are: "Call me Darnell one more time, I will beat you to death."
58	* DrivenToSuicide: Lester tries to kill himself by walking in front of a moving subway train, but is pulled out of the way at the last second, leaving him injured but alive. [[spoiler:Upon getting caught driving a stolen truck to distract the agents, he falsely claims it's another suicide attempt]].
59	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Shaw is displayed to be a nice guy, right until Mr. Fitzhugh tells Josh, Charlie and Devereux that Shaw would've known he was in financial trouble roughly a year ago, ''before'' he "invested" Lester's savings for him.
60	* ExecutiveExcess: Shaw enjoyed such luxuries as a penthouse apartment and brie cheese in his burgers. This becomes PlayedForDrama, when it was revealed he knowingly splurged the Tower employees' pensions on luxuries even when he knew his con was ending to maintain appearances.
61	* ExplainExplainOhCrap: Charlie is recounting the wild goose chase that ensued after [[spoiler:Enrique sent a text from his wife's stolen phone saying that her water broke. He trails off, then asks, "Have you seen Josh?"]]
62	* ExpositionCut: Josh's morning routine introduces the main characters and their roles in the Tower.
63	* {{Expy}}: The Tower is a stand-in to the Trump International Hotel and Tower, where the movie was filmed at.[[note]]The movie was originally intended to focus on disgruntled Trump Organization employees robbing the developer.[[/note]]
64	* ExtremeDoormat: Deconstructed. Claire accuses Josh of avoiding confrontation, yet he explains he's only that way because he has no need to be otherwise. Then he hears about Lester...
65	* FaceHeelTurn: Played with, per se. While planning for the heist, Charlie [[spoiler:is hired to become the Tower's new manager]]. He promises to foil Josh's plans should he push through with the heist. Also, during the heist, Slide decides to go straight for the vault [[spoiler:due to the skills he picked up from Odessa. Both of them manage to go through with the original group though]].
66	* AFatherToHisMen: Josh towards his staff at the Tower, given his reaction to Shaw cheating them.
67	* FauxAffablyEvil: Arthur Shaw seems like a nice guy at first, but as the movie goes on it shows that his kindness is all an act. Special mention should go to him "agreeing" to drop the charges against Josh for attacking his car in exchange for an apology, before taunting him about his dismissal and making a comment about doormen only shortly after Lester's dismissal, before revealing later he plans to sue him the first chance he gets, then telling Claire he plans to go after her badge for arresting him, right while offering to take her out for dinner.
68	* FiveFingerDiscount: Slide asks Josh, Charlie, Enrique, and Fitzhugh to shoplift $50 worth of goods from the mall in order to prove that they are capable of pulling off a $20 million heist.
69	* FriendlyEnemy: While Claire must arrest Josh for his stealing, he has no beef with him and even enjoys him smashing up Shaw's Ferrari. [[spoiler: She even manages to get Josh a lenient sentence]].
70	* TheGhost: Fitzhugh's wife and kids never appear onscreen.
71	* GuiltByAssociationGag: When Josh smashes the windows of Arthur Shaw's car, Mr. Simon not only fires him for that but he also fires Charlie and Enrique, who were with Josh at the time. Mr. Simon doesn't care about the fact they didn't do anything (to be fair, Enrique did cheer Josh on).
72	* GutPunch: Lester's suicide attempt over Shaw bilking him out of his retirement money reveal how utterly soulless Shaw is, especially when he shows zero remorse over his greed.
73	* HollywoodDensity: [[spoiler:A car made of pure gold]] being relatively easily moved and pushed by the cast, and most JustForFun/{{egregious}} example, the weight of the boxes containing [[spoiler:the spare parts]] at the end seem to change as they are transferred from hand to hand.
74	* InsistentTerminology: When Claire took part of the footage of Josh hitting Shaw's car, it wasn't larceny, she "misplaced 3 minutes of footage".
75	* InterserviceRivalry: The policeman who isn't letting several FBI agents escort a man under house arrest back to his home. It would not have been much for him to go out and quickly allow six people to cross the parade route between balloons, but the plot demands it.
76	* IronicEcho:
77	** "I'm sorry sir, but we don't accept tips at The Tower."
78	** "Checkmate." Bonus points for having the second quote come immediately after the first.
79	* {{Irony}}: Charlie compares Josh to ''Myth/RobinHood'' but doesn't know who Friar Tuck is.
80	* {{Jerkass}}:
81	** Shaw turns out to be a pompous, arrogant figure who thinks he can get away with anything.
82	** Slide is fairly abrasive, though he's at least somewhat likable.
83	* JustLikeRobinHood: Josh doesn't even care about getting back the money that was stolen from him. His goal is to make sure everyone else who got scammed gets compensated, even at the risk of going to prison himself. Lampshaded as Charlie compares Josh to Robin Hood.
84	* KarmicThief: The thieves target a dishonest Wall Street banker.
85	* LaserGuidedKarma: Mr. Simon for unjustly firing Charlie and Enrique when Josh only acted out of order and he eventually ended up imprisoned in a closet by Slide when the latter deviates from the heist. Granted, he gave Josh’s old job to Charlie, showing that he must’ve wanted to make up for unjustly firing him, but since he did not offer Enrique any compensation, this trope is semi-justified.
86	* LoopholeAbuse: Averted. [[spoiler:Shaw still has to go to jail for the hidden safe he didn't report, regardless if it is empty.]]
87	* MetaphorIsMyMiddleName: When Claire uses the word "badass" to describe what Josh did to Shaw's car, Josh says "badass" is his middle name. Having checked his records, Clair says it's "Marvin".
88	* MisplacedNamesPoster: As you can see above, the names don't match up, and adding to that there are six names and seven people.
89	* TheMole: [[spoiler:Lester, Manuel, and several other members of the staff are shown to be aware of the heist as it goes on]].
90	* MoodWhiplash: Often, after a serious scene, the scene (thanks to context) will cut to things like the inside of a Toys R Us where a ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' (G3, no less!) ferris wheel cart can be seen, or the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' theme song.
91	* MotorMouth: Slide. It's Creator/EddieMurphy, so it's pretty much a given.
92	* NeverTrustATrailer: The trailers and promotional material lead Claire Denham, Tea Leoni's character, to be a member of the heist crew. She is an FBI Agent assigned to keep watch of Shaw and serves as Josh's (Ben Stiller) love interest. The trailer also makes it look like Odessa will make a FaceHeelTurn. In the movie, she was just disappointed that the guard was allergic to chocolate. Plus, it makes Stiller and Murphy look like co-leads, when Slide is actually a supporting role.
93	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Shaw, with his decades-long Ponzi scheme and extravagant lifestyle, refers to Bernie Madoff.
94	** The movie originated as a story of former Trump Tower employees pulling a heist to get revenge on Donald Trump. Scenes were even filmed at Trump Tower itself.
95	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: It happens to Josh twice.
96	** After he learns of Lester’s attempted suicide, he decides to avenge Lester by vandalizing Shawn’s Ferrari with a golf club. This leads to him being fired by Mr. Simon.
97	** Then Josh’s plans the heist to rob Shaw’s penthouse. [[spoiler:While it does provide the FBI with the evidence they need to put Shaw away for life, and the team uses the gold from Shaw’s Ferrari to help Lester and the other employees of The Tower to cover their losses, Josh being the mastermind behind the robbery has to spend two years in prison. Josh doesn’t mind though, as he knows his sentence isn’t as long as Shaw’s and he satisfied he made Shaw pay for what he’s done.]]
98	* NoNameGiven: Mr. Fitzhugh's first name is never revealed.
99	* NoodleIncident: Charlie references how he drove Music/PaulMcCartney from the Tower because [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage he thought "wanker" was a compliment]].
100	* NoPeripheralVision: ''Thousands'' of people in the parade fail to notice a bright red Ferrari being dangled off the side of a building. They are ''really'' concentrating on that parade.
101	* ObliviousJanitorCut: A maid wearing headphones while vacuuming an apartment fails to notice the Ferrari being lowered outside the window behind her.
102	* OffTheRails: After all the build-up and planning, the gang ends up sending the heist flying off the rails in the first two minutes.
103	* OhCrap: [[spoiler: Shaw is reduced to begging when Josh reveals that they found his ledger of all his criminal accounts and are going to present it to the authorities.]]
104	* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Josh has to bring up his childhood asthma before Slide remembers him as the kid at daycare who had fits that got labeled as seizures. Afterwards, Slide isn't afraid to make fun of Josh for being "seizure boy".
105	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Slide's real name (Darnell) is only mentioned once in the entire film. During the brief time he interacts with Mr. Simon, the latter calls him "Mr. Davis".
106	* PayEvilUntoEvil: After Josh learns of how Lester attempted to commit suicide, due to Shaw taking all of Lester's life savings, he decides to use a golf club to vandalize Shaw's prized car in the penthouse in retaliation for Lester. Although, this leads to him getting fired along with Charlie and Enrique.
107	* ThePreciousPreciousCar: Oh, quite precious, as we discover [[spoiler:it's made of gold and, according to Mr. Fitzhugh, it's worth between 40 and 50 million dollars]].
108	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: FBI Director Mazin is committed to putting Shaw away and is willing to make a fair deal with the heroes to get that, but at the same time won't let their theft go ''completely'' unpunished.
109	* RuleOfThree:
110	** Mrs. Hightower returns from her trip to Cairo three days earlier than expected.
111	** Not believing Josh's excuse for Charlie to be absent, Mr. Simon tells Josh Charlie has three minutes to show up for work.
112	** Enrique Dev'reaux worked at Burger King for the last three years before being hired to work at The Tower.
113	** Mr. Fitzhugh says he'd live in his car but it's been repossessed three months ago.
114	** Lester's work experience includes 3 years at the Pierre.
115	** Three people confront Shaw about taking Lester's savings: Josh, Charlie and Enrique.
116	** Claire Denham tells Josh that Shaw took 20 millions from his accounts three months ago and that Josh broke three federal laws when he damaged Shaw's car.
117	** Claire "misplaced 3 minutes of footage" of Charlie vandalizing Shaw's car.
118	** When Ms. Iovenko introduces herself as [[spoiler:Josh's lawyer, she says she passed the bar exam three days ago.]]
119	* SassyBlackWoman: Odessa. Bonus points for being Jamaican...
120	* SecretTestOfCharacter: During Josh's confrontation with Shaw in the latter's penthouse, Josh makes a small one of these by informing Shaw of Lester's suicide attempt and asking whether or not Shaw really cares about Lester. Despite Shaw's concern upon learning of the ordeal and his insistence that Lester has been an important part of his life for years, Shaw fails this because he never bothered to ask whether Lester is alive or dead.
121	* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: [[spoiler:Upon learning Josh and his crew found the ledger, Shaw tries to bribe them but they remind him they "don't accept tips at The Tower".]]
122	* ShapedLikeItself:
123	** Don't make Slide mad or he'll "blow your face clean off your face."
124	** The tower named, well, The Tower.
125	* SirSwearsALot: Slide regularly includes expletives in his vocabulary.
126	* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Josh and Shaw. They play one another online at the beginning of the film, and apparently they've been doing so for a while.
127	* SmugSnake: When Arthur Shaw is confronted over the missing funds he misappropriated, he reveals himself to be a pompous, arrogant snob who thinks he can get away with anything. [[spoiler: He maintains his arrogance until Josh reveals his intentions to use Shaw's own ledger as evidence against him, reducing him to begging.]]
128	* SoulBrotha: Slide is an affectionate parody of stock hoodlums of African descent. In a slight variation, Slide is a burglar as opposed to a street mugger, and is unfamiliar with the art of safe-cracking.
129	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Josh smashing Shaw's Ferrari, while well-deserved, gets him fired by Mr. Simon and threatened with a lawsuit by Shaw himself. No matter how righteous your vengeance is, you can still be punished for acting like a vigilante.
130	* SurveillanceStationSlacker: Manuel reads magazines instead of watching the security cameras.
131	* TakingYouWithMe: At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Josh ensures Shaw's downfall alongside his own by handing the FBI the latter's ledger containing enough evidence to lock Shaw away for the rest of his life, accepting a reduced sentence for himself and enabling the rest of the heist team to walk free.]]
132	* ThanksgivingDayStory: The eponymous heist takes place during UsefulNotes/MacysThanksgivingDayParade.
133	* UncommonTime: Much of Christophe Beck's score is in 7/8.
134	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Mrs. Cronan doesn't care that she just saw a car inside a building's corridor.
135	* UnwantedAssistance: After Josh gets his friends fired.
136	* UnwantedRescue: Josh helps stop several men who are spiriting Shaw away in their car, only to find out it was an attempt to flee justice and not a kidnapping.
137	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Before news of his crimes come out, Shaw seems like a nice guy, having friendly chats with lowly members of staff and playing regular chess games with Josh. He then abuses their trust to get them to give him their money.
138	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Last we saw of Mr. Simon, he was still locked in the closet.
139	* WhiteBreadAndBlackBrotha: In order to get revenge on Shaw for defrauding him and his employees, Josh tracks down Slide, his black childhood friend who's since become a petty thief and carjacker, to plan the heist.
140	* XanatosSpeedChess: [[spoiler:Josh establishes himself as a master of thinking on his feet, shown when the crew discovers the safe empty, only to discover the gold Ferrari, with Josh altering the plan accordingly by hiding the car in the elevator shaft, later the pool. Josh also ensures that Shaw doesn't remain unscathed in the aftermath of the heist, accepting a shorter jail sentence in exchange for the ledger containing evidence of Shaw's fraudulent activities, ultimately putting Shaw away for life.]]

Context Film / TowerHeist