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Tower heist movie full9/11/2023 ![]() I want you to recognize that.” Two decades later, Murphy finds himself riding the caboose, furnished by the creators of Tower Heist. Eddie Murphy called out the movie industry’s racism at the 1988 Academy Awards during his presentation of the Best Picture award: “I’m going to give this award, but black people will not ride the caboose of society and we will not bring up the rear anymore. StarringEddie MurphyBen StillerMatthew BroderickCasey AffleckTa LeoniGabourey SidibeMichael PenaAlan Alda. Whatever the reason(s), it is embarassing for Hollywood and its “critics” to continue to be so ignorant. After a group of working stiffs realize they’ve been hoodwinked by their Wall Streeter boss in a Ponzi scheme, they conspire to rob his penthouse. There are many ways to interpret this - that Hollywood and movie critics (and many in society) are more comfortable with black actors playing damaging, stereotypical roles involving criminality, violence, and deviance (remember back in 2002 when Denzel Washington finally won the Oscar for playing a crooked cop?) that male actors are failures if they appear in family-friendly movies, regardless of how economically successful these movies may be that to be considered successful, male actors have to appear in movies geared towards male audiences. To summarize, Eddie Murphy making oodles of money as a successful director, producer, writer, and actor in films featuring him as a doctor, a veterinarian, a dedicated father, and the voice of a beloved donkey in the second highest-grossing animated film of all time is considered some sort of failure, but playing a jive-talking thief is redemptive. Huh? Jon Niccum writes, in Tower Heist, “Murphy shows flashes of the aggressive, non-family-friendly persona that made him a superstar following ’48 Hours.’” Aggressive? Non-family friendly? Murphy has appeared in a steady stream of successful movies in the past decade, including Dreamgirls for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.Ĭloser examination of media critics’ analysis reveals a nostalgia for Eddie Murphy’s role as a felon in 48 hours. ![]() What does it mean when playing a stereotypical black criminal is deemed “redemption” for a black actor whose movies have grossed nearly $7 billion worldwide? And where, exactly, did Eddie Murphy go? The Shrek series grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide, while his Nutty Professor and Doctor Dolittle franshises grossed $428 million and $470 million, respectively. Perhaps more disturbing is the way in which film critics are talking about this movie as a comback for Eddie Murphy (“ Eddie Murphy’s Road to Reddemption,” “ Tower Heist: Murphy is Back on Top,” “‘ Tower’ Heist Features Eddie Murphy Back in ‘Classic ’80s Form“). These are the kinds of roles they both do best… ” (Now reverse the names in this quote to see how racialized and racially offensive it is.) As LA Times film critic Betsy Sharkey writes, “Murphy and Stiller are a good pair, with Murphy once again mainlining his ghetto-comedy crazy and Stiller suited up for another straight-man gig. Hyperbolic racial stereotypes are still sooooo amusing to some people. It’s been nearly thirty years since Murphy played nearly the same character in his breakout role in 48 hours, and the fact that he is still cast as a jive-talking criminal speaks to how little has changed when it comes to portrayals of black Americans in popular culture. Stiller plays a high-end condo manager in Manhattan who bails out a local criminal (Murphy) to steal a stash of cash that one of the wealthy condo residents swindled from the condo staff. But they realize they need the assistance of someone who knows how to steal, so Josh asks an old acquaintance named Slide who he knows is a thief to help them.Tower Heist (2011), the new movie starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, is the latest installment in blatantly racist movie-making. Josh thinks he knows where it is, so with two other fired employees and an evicted tenant, they set out to get into Shaw's penthouse to get the money. She tells him that it's been rumored that Shaw has $20 million lying around if he needs it in a hurry. The FBI agent in charge tells him that Shaw might walk, and recovering the pension fund is unlikely. He goes to see him and loses his temper, and his job. When one of the employees tries to kill himself, Josh's views of Shaw change. Josh thinks it's a misunderstanding that can be resolved, but later he learns that the employees' pension fund - which he asked Shaw to handle - is gone. One day Shaw is arrested by the FBI for fraud. He is close to all the tenants, especially financier Arthur Shaw. Josh Kovaks is the manager of a high-rise condominium in New York. Search Tower Heist (2011) - full transcript
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