John’s Review: ‘Cedar Rapids’ is a Funny, Genuine Comedy

GRADE: B+

Cedar Rapids (Directed by Miguel Artela and written by Phil Johnson) tells the heartfelt story of Tim Lippe (Ed Helms), an insurance salesman from small-town Brown Valley, Wisconsin as he journeys to the bustling metropolis of Cedar Rapids, Iowa to attend an important regional insurance convention. You’d think a sweet and simple premise like that would feature a PG rating, but you’d be mistaken: Cedar Rapids features some very raunchy R-rated humor, but executed in a smart, clever way that makes you care about the characters and will often have you splitting your sides.

Lippe is a rare character that is both pure and naïve. Naïve might be the greatest understatement of his character. Tim has never left his small town life, been on a plane, stayed in a hotel, or had a drink at the bar. On the surface, he’s a 34-year-old man child that fashions a cheap haircut coupled with disastrous turtlenecks and eclectic sweaters. His personality looms a dark cloud of 40-year old virgin. But Tim is no stranger to sexual escapades; he is in a self-described “pre-engaged” affair with his childhood crush and cougar of a 7th grade teacher, Millie Vanderhei (Sigourney Weaver).

Following the mysterious death of Brown Star Insurance’s star agent, Tim’s innocent world is set on fire when he is called on by his boss Bill Krogstad (Stephen Root) to present at the annual ASMI insurance convention to defend the firm’s two diamond awards. The introverted and self-preserved shell he has built around his life is soon cracked wide open as he’s thrown into a wild weekend of chaotic events but finds refuge with group of insurance industry veterans that change his life forever.

Introducing his convention roommates Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and the loud mouthed Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly). Ron is a straight shooter and hard working insurance agent whose guilty pleasures include antiquing and doing a “pretty convincing Omar from the HBO program the Wire”. Don’t let his straight-laced demeanor fool you, he’ll get “straight up gangster” on you if the situation calls for it. Dean is perpetual ASMI party animal whose single goal during convention weekend is to get drunk and find some pussy. (John C. Reilly isn’t type caste is he? Nonetheless, Reilly is hilarious as always.) Add to the list Joan Ostrowski-Fox (Anne Heche), the guy’s girl in the group. She’s also from a small town but doesn’t want to be and uses the ASMI convention as a vehicle to escape her real life. A love interest for Tim? Possibly.

The film is a very earnest and genuine comedy. Cedar Rapids portrays the heartland of America without poking fun at stereotypical “Midwestern” ideals. Humor not only comes from the protagonist’s benign sense of the world and his inexperience, but also from each character’s fear. The bond between Helms, Reilly, Heche, and Whitlock’s characters is undeniably heartfelt and introduces humor in what some would consider a very monotonous industry. The film is indeed a comedy, but it’s about good-natured individuals placed in tough life situations. It’s hard not to fall in love with each character in the film for different reasons. This isn’t to say Johnson did not employ comedic catalysts like smoking crack with prostitutes or prolonged awkward naked hugs in the locker room between Ed Helms and Kurtwood Smith (plays the ASMI convention President) to get some cheap laughs. There is no doubt certain ‘rawness’ to the film typically seen with other Alexander Payne (a native from Omaha, Nebraska) films; who was brought on to produce the film.

Cedar Rapids was an official selection at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The film is being distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures and can now be seen nationwide in select theaters.

What should you do? Go see this film. It’s a refreshing piece of comedic cinema that didn’t take $50+ million dollars to produce and market. John C. Reilly and Ed Helms are hilarious and Anne Heche may have delivered her best performance yet. Wait I’ve forgotten Isiah Whitlock Jr. I’ll admit, I’ve never seen him in anything before but he delivered some of the greatest lines in the film! Coming out party?