Tower Heights

Everyone always ask why are Black comedians no longer funny after they become famous?
Let’s look at Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, & Eddie Murphy. They all are very similar yet when they went Hollywood they lost their funny. The reason for this is because they have lost their connection with the Street, the Hood, the Ghetto, whatever you want to call it. All of their comedic sketches and characters came from the street and when these comedians became rich they became detached from what made them funny in the first place.
With Tower Heist Eddie Murphy tries to recreate the magic that he had 20 years ago and it seems forced. It’s like a fighter trying to make a comeback and his timing is off.
It was a huge mistake for Murphy to play the criminal in this movie. The hit making idea would have been to have Ben Stiller play the criminal and for Eddie to try and stretch himself and be funny as the building manager. Director Brett Ratner has done this type of casting before with Money Talks and the Rush Hour franchise with Chris Tucker playing the criminal. I mean Chris Tucker playing Eddie Murphy, so now that Ratner had Eddie Murphy I guess he didn’t want to take any chances.
Don’t get me wrong, Tower Heist is an ok movie but it would have been a monster hit if the roles were reversed.

Verdict:
Go see Tower Heights if you must, then watch Eddie Murphy in the first Beverly Hills Cop movie (which HBO has been playing endlessly due to his upcoming Oscar hosting gig) and you will see one of the greatest comic actors ever. The move is not dated and it’s amazing to watch his performance because it’s natural not forced, and he is the coolest person in the movie. Reason why: He was still connected to The Streets.