Fridae

In Tower Heist, a bunch of concierge staff at the Trump Plaza in New York City pull off a heist burglary of its penthouse resident to the cool sum of $20 million. Back when the film was stuck in development limbo, the intended victim was to have been Mr Donald Trump and the crew would have been a couple of black comedians headed by Eddie Murphy. I'm sure if it were made in this form, Tower Heist would have made for a pleasing enough undercard title with some minority appeal.

As it turned out, real life intervened and made this film better. Bernie Madoff happened and what Paul Krugman calls the Second Great Depression started, and this month has unfolded into the Occupy Wall Street movement. Perhaps anticipating the tide of ressentiment, Tower Heist has been retooled and re-imagined as a comic revenge fantasy where a bunch of multiracial concierge staff wake up one morning to learn their pensions have long been stolen from a Bernie Madoff type (played with relish here by Alan Alda) and plot to steal their pensions back from the white-collar criminal.

Brett Ratner directs Tower Heist as a mix of madcap crime caper and an Ocean's Eleven with sharp social commentary, veering between slapstick, visual gags, and gallows humour. The surprise is how the script and direction bring out a rousing performance from its cast – a bunch of comedians whom we remember for their genuinely funny films in the 80s.

In particular, Eddie Murphy and Matthew Broaderick shine in their respective roles as a conman and professional thief engaged to make the crazy heist plan work, and a morose investment analyst who has reached the end of his rope. It’s difficult to imagine Stiller playing a straight role in a comedy, but much of the laughs here depend on his character taking everything earnestly and seriously while the supporting cast wreck mayhem.

While long delayed in development, it turns out Tower Heist has arrived not a moment too late for the party.