Tower Heist is a 2011 American heist comedy film directed by Brett Ratner, written by Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson, based on a story by Bill Collage, Adam Cooper and Griffin and starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy with Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Judd Hirsch, Téa Leoni, Michael Peña, and Gabourey Sidibe in supporting roles.

Filming took place entirely in New York City on a budget of $75 million (after tax rebates), with several buildings provided by Donald Trump used to represent the eponymous tower.

[4][5][12][13][14] Josh Kovaks is the building manager of The Tower, an upscale apartment complex in New York City that has Wall Street billionaire Arthur Shaw as its penthouse tenant.

They supplement their inexperience by enlisting Josh's childhood friend Slide, a petty criminal, and the tower's maid Odessa, who has locksmith experience.

The idea for Tower Heist began development as early as 2005, when Eddie Murphy pitched a concept to producer Brian Grazer and Brett Ratner concerning an all-star cast of black comedians including Chris Tucker, Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Tracy Morgan, and Martin Lawrence, as a group of disgruntled employees who plan to rob Donald Trump and Trump International Hotel and Tower.

Plus, who could have known that, in this period of time, the global financial markets would teeter on the verge of collapse and the villain in our story would pale in comparison to some very real ones on Wall Street?

"[21] Rewrites of the script gradually moved away from the ensemble of comedians and began to focus on two central characters, at which point Murphy left the project.

The modified script reminded Ratner of the Ocean's Eleven remake, a project he had developed but for which he was unavailable due to his commitment to directing Rush Hour 2.

Griffin "brought the real motivation and the heart to the concept", moving away from the premise of performing an ensemble heist on a rich Donald Trump type,[26][18] and focusing instead on a group of blue-collar employees who take on a corrupt, thieving Bernard Madoff like businessman who has embezzled their pensions.

[18] Nathanson then came aboard the project and performed the final rewrites to Griffin's screenplay in October 2010,[5][19][18] adding "the obstacles, complexities and specificities of the characters".

[8] To help develop the script, the filmmakers and writers spoke with the resident managers of several high-profile New York hotels to learn of their experiences interacting with their clientele.

This research gave Griffin the idea for Shaw's possessing a vehicle in his apartment, which Grazer and Ratner eventually decided would be a rare 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso which once belonged to Steve McQueen.

For Shaw's penthouse, Zea took inspiration from a top-floor apartment in the Trump International Hotel and Tower at Central Park West in Columbus Circle.

[31] Zea populated the apartment with an assortment of art pieces to represent Shaw's status, based on specific artists and works that Ratner suggested.

Zea decided to use modern-classic reproduction designs by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Cy Twombly, and Andy Warhol.

[35] For Shaw's Ferrari, it was decided that purchasing an actual model – of which only 350 exist and would cost at least $1 million – would be too expensive and the vehicle would be unsuitable for filming purposes.

After running camera tests on several authentic Ferrari colors, it was decided to paint the replicas bright red in order to create a lasting impression instead of using the actual metallic brown muted-coloring of McQueen's vehicle.

On October 5, 2011, Universal Pictures announced that Tower Heist would be made available for home viewing via parent company Comcast's video on demand system three weeks after its theatrical debut at the rental cost of $59.99.

[41] The following day, Cinemark Theatres – the third largest cinema chain in the United States[42] – threatened to not show the film at all if Universal proceeded with the test.

[4] Pre-release audience tracking in the United States indicated that the film had strong awareness among males of all ages, followed by older women.

The site's critics consensus reads: "Tower Heist is a true Brett Ratner joint: little brains to this caper, but it's fun fluff, exciting to watch, and showcases a welcome return to form for Eddie Murphy.

[49][50] Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph called the film "a tolerably enjoyable Brett Ratner movie", labeling it "brash, forgettable fun".

[8] Empire's Nick de Semlyen awarded the film three out of five stars, calling it "fun if uneven stuff from Ratner", with a "fairly dull" opening act.

[10] The Village Voice's Nick Pinkerton said that the film "deserves credit as a clean, well-turned job, fleet and funny and inconsequential", and appreciated the cast, praising Leoni as the "best thing going", and Murphy's "inspired" contributions.

Pinkerton was critical of the script, describing it as "amateur as its crooks: the audience isn't even fully aware of who's in on the job when it kicks off, while other threads are left dangling.

[63] Time Out New York's David Fear gave it 2 out of 5 stars, saying "one nail-biting moment and some much-missed Murphy mouthiness won't keep you from feeling like you're the one being ripped off.

Lane lamented that "the notion of a theft from the thieves – from those who are lapped in lofty, screw you wealth – is a tempting one right now, but Tower Heist passes the buck.

"[65] Variety's Peter Debruge was also critical, saying the film "goes wonky on the way to the bank, due to its lackluster pacing and shortage of the qualities that typically earn stars Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy their paychecks – namely, laughs."

Debruge felt that the opening 40 minutes were "a dull blue-collar drama populated entirely by stereotypes", and while the film "picks up some much-needed momentum" with the actual heist, the "resolution feels rushed".