Temporary Gangsters - Blu-ray

Film: Brett Ratner, director of the successful Rush Hour films, has once again assembled a mismatched team for his latest action comedy. Unlike his three buddy-cop comedies, however, he put less emphasis on the action and greater focus on humor and story in Temporary Gangsters. And that's exactly what makes this somewhat special heist movie a cinematic delight of the particularly entertaining variety.

For over a decade, Josh Kovaks (Ben Stiller), who comes from humble beginnings, has been making sure that the tenants of the most luxurious and secure apartment complex in New York City want for nothing. Not only does he cater to their every need, he also makes sure his team always behaves appropriately towards the Tower's wealthy residents. That's not always easy with employees like the nervous concierge Charlie (Casey Affleck), the robust maid Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe) or the cheeky bellboy Dev'Reaux (Michael Pena). But Josh has everything under control, everything runs perfectly - until it turns out that Wall Street titan Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), who lives in the Tower's breathtaking penthouse, has been placed under house arrest by the FBI after relieving his investors of several million dollars. And since Josh entrusted Shaw, of all people, with his employees' retirement funds, the entire staff is now left with nothing. And it seems Shaw may even get away with his machinations.

But the newly fired Josh isn't going to put up with that. With the help of some former employees, bankrupt ex-tenant and Wall Street pro Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick) and small-time crook Slide (Eddie Murphy), Josh plans the very big coup: he knows that Shaw has hidden several million in his apartment. And he now wants to steal them. Given the fact that the apartment is guarded by the FBI and secured with state-of-the-art security systems, not really an easy undertaking - especially since Josh then also falls for the FBI agent Claire (Téa Leoni) of all people.

The temp gangsters don't look the part at first glance, but they give the Ocean's trilogy team a run for their money. The planning and execution of the big heist is tremendously entertaining and has a great fun factor. Admittedly, there shouldn't be much emphasis on realism, because especially in the last third there is a plot element that would be so simply impossible in reality. But this is, after all, primarily about entertainment, and that is definitely provided to the viewer.

What's nice is that Ben Stiller, on the one hand, delivers a slightly more restrained performance than he did in the Nights at the Museum or the Focker films, Eddie Murphy, on the other hand, gets a chance to revert back towards his old soldier of fortune and Beverly Hills Cop form. Without make up effects or talking animals, Murphy is just still damn funny today. While he's also somewhat reined in here by the US age rating alone, it's definitely heading in the right direction.

The other actors in the accomplished ensemble are also convincing. Alan Alda makes the perfect villain, Precious star Gabourey Sidibe is simply wonderful as the punchy maid, and Casey Affleck gives a sympathetically edgy performance as the father-to-be. Matthew Broderick is a bit underwhelming as the fallen Wall Street genius, but since his role is set up as a gray mouse, it's actually quite fitting. The interplay between the characters accounts for much of the film's wit and charm, aided by the fact that Ratner takes enough time, especially at the beginning, to establish the characters and let the story unfold.

This does mean that the action takes a little while to pick up speed. The first third runs at a rather leisurely pace with not quite a lot of gag density. But the glimpse the film offers here behind the scenes of the luxury condominium and the way the characters are built up is very nicely realized and therefore can't be called boring at any second.

Also well done is the portrayal of the rather unusual relationship that develops between Josh and FBI agent Claire, wonderfully played by Téa Leoni. Ratner largely avoids sugarcoating, so that even in the moments that might be commonly described as romantic, the film comes across as very funny, but just as warm-hearted. All these successful aspects add up to a surprisingly great cinematic experience. Sure, the script won't win any awards and the actors won't be shortlisted at the Oscars either. But viewers can't really care about that. For those who like American comedies of the not-so-silly kind, want to be entertained by a wonderful ensemble and want to see a really funny story with some successful action elements, will be really well served by Temporary Gangsters. Therefore: great fun and therefore absolutely recommendable!!!

Picture + Sound: The technical realization of the Blu-Ray is great. The picture is very clean and has extremely high detail sharpness, a coherent color scheme and well-tuned black levels. The sound can't quite keep up, but has plenty of movement on each channel with some very good surround effects, well used ambient noise and the soundtrack. Very Good!

Extras: When it comes to the bonus material, the Blu-ray can clearly come up trumps compared to the meagerly equipped DVD. Things kick off here with a chirpy audio commentary by director Brett Ratner, screenwriters Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson, and editor Mark Helfrich. The four men chat in a relaxed atmosphere about the making of the film, Eddie Murphy's original idea to cast the film only with successful black US comedians like Chris Rock, and the choice of location. A somewhat superficial commentary at times, but totally entertaining.

Continues with two alternative endings, the first of which, a brief scene between Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, is rather inconsequential, while the second would have provided a much more rounded conclusion than the one ultimately chosen for the film. There are also just under six minutes of cut and alternate scenes, as well as an amusing gag reel (about 5 mins).

Then there is a look behind the scenes in the very nice, commercial-free video diary by Brett Ratner (approx. 22 min.), as well as a multi-part making of (approx. 48 min.), which has a clear promo character at times, but still has a lot of interesting information to offer about the filming and the sets. Very good!

Conclusion: Temporary gangsters is not a masterpiece, but an entertaining gangster comedy is the well-cast film certainly. On the Blu-Ray comes the amusing events in first-class technical implementation and also has a lot of worth seeing bonus material to offer. And for this there is then also a deserved: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp