Cedar Rapids (R)
Mike:
Mike: Tonight we are reviewing Cedar Rapids starring Ed Helms as a small town insurance agent who goes to the big city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the first time.
What did I think about the film?
I think it’s the funniest movie I have seen this year. Granted its only March, but I laughed all the way through this movie. Cedar Rapids is less than 90 minutes long, but it seems to be the right length. Not too long, not too short, just right.
Ed Helms plays Tim Lippe, an insurance agent from Brown Valley, Wisconsin who has never left his small town and never even been on an airplane. Lippe goes to Cedar Rapids to attend an insurance convention, where his presentation could mean the life or death of his insurance agency. Once there Lippe is both befriended and corrupted by three fellow agents played by John C Reilly, Isiah Whitlock Jr, and Anne Heche.
Helms, who is normally a great supporting cast member on projects from The Office to The Hangover takes the lead this time. Helms plays the same innocent character that he has played many times in the past, but he does it well. Let’s face it the guy is funny. I thought his interplay with Reilly was terrific and certainly better than the duo of Will Ferrell and John C Reilly in the movies like Stepbrothers.I shudder every time I mention that film. I don’t recognize Whitlock, but he has some great moments as a fellow straight laced agent, who can meet a challenge when it counts. I haven’t been a big Anne Heche fan since Six Days and Seven Nights back in 1998, but she has changed my mind here.
I also want to mention the rest of a great cast of supporting actors. You will be surprised to see Sigourney Weaver as Macy Vanderhei. She is Tim Lippe’s girlfriend, who also happens to have been his school teacher. You will recognize a number of actors peppered through the movie, even though you may not know their names: Kurtwood Smith (That Seventies Show), Stephen Root (Office Space), Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) and Thomas Lennon (Reno 911).
I will warn you that this movie is rated R, so if you are offended by crude language and situations, this might not be for you. On the other hand if you are a fan of The Hangover and Kevin Smith movies, this is probably a movie for you. Reilly’s Dean Zeigler has quite the potty mouth, but also some of the funniest lines.
I haven’t seen any of director Miguel Arteta’s other films, but I have seen a lot of his TV work. He has worked on some of my favorite shows including The Office, Six Feet Under and Freaks and Geeks. After this it looks like I may have to check out some of his other stuff, like Youth in Revolt, The Good Girl and Chuck and Buck. It looks like this is writer Phil Johnston’s first feature film, but I would say he is off to a good start.
How do I rate this?
I give Cedar Rapids a 4 out of 5 overall and 4 out of 5 for comedy. I have never been to Iowa before, but it looks like it’s a pretty funny place.
