Review: Tower Heist Is a Better Movie Than Brett Ratner Is a Person (Because He’s a Jerk)

My proper review for Tower Heist is here, and I recommend reading that one, because I don’t have the time right now to really get into it here.

Anyway, by all indications director Brett Ratner’s not a very good guy. He decided/had to quit directing this year’s Oscars after a week in which he declared “rehearsing’s for fags.” He meant it in the jokey way, and in all honesty I think he caught more shit for that than he deserved, but if nothing else come on, guy, you work in Hollywood and should know better.

Oh, and it probably didn’t help that this came within days of Ratner saying he “banged” Olivia Munn, but he didn’t recognize her in a later meeting because she “wasn’t Asian back then.” I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be a criticism of Munn deliberately changing and misrepresenting her image (she changed her name, too) to gain Hollywood success, and not, as it appears to be, a bizarre comment about the shape-shifting abilities of the Far East. He may even be telling the truth. But the way he said it is just poorly phrased, making him look like a douche at the very least, and quite possibly a misogynist and a racist.

These are the reasons people don’t like Brett Ratner. I mean, besides his movies. He comes off like a thoughtless prick, an arrogant fratboy, and his films aren’t nearly good enough to make people overlook the foolish things he says and does. Which I’m going to say is a little unfair–I’m not sure these comments mean all that much besides Ratner isn’t self-aware enough to realize he’s a public figure who can’t blurt to the national media the same things he’d say to his friends, who’d understand it’s a joke or at least ask him what the hell he means about that Asian thing.

Meanwhile, Tower Heist is fairly fun, a typical Ratner film in that it doesn’t have any particular style to it but is fairly funny and competent in a slick action-movie way. But it doesn’t matter, because Brett Ratner can’t keep his fool mouth shut. Maybe that’s how it should be. Whiffs of bigotry from public entertainers shouldn’t be brushed off like you would for your friends. At the same time, how much does it matter? What does it say that we’re more entertained by celebrities making asses of themselves than the art and entertainment that made them famous in the first place? Don’t we have better things to be doing with our time, energy, and attention? Like making fun of Kim Kardashian?

I’ve spent too much time on this already, I think. Time to get started on the next review.