Cedar Rapids (2011)

One of my all time favorites.

best movie i've ever seen.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Tim Lippe (Ed Helms) is an insurance agent for a small company in a far from large city in Wisconsin. He's really never ventured anywhere, staying near his home most of his life. On the side, he is having a fling with a former teacher, newly divorced (Sigourney Weaver). Yes, she's a bit older than him, but still hot and Tim thinks there is a future between them. In the policy biz, he leaves the spotlight for a fellow agent (Thomas Lennon) who has won prizes from a big, annual hoopla in Cedar Rapids Iowa, two years running. Oh, fate is not kind! The prize winner dies suddenly and the big boss asks Tim to go to CR and declares he MUST come back with the top award money. At once, Tim hates leaving his comfort zone and his lady love. Arriving in CR, he meets a nice agent who will be his roommate (Isaiah Whitlock Jr.) So far, so good. Tim even makes eyes with a beautiful lady saleswoman in the fitness room (Anne Heche). But, all heck breaks lose when a loudmouth agent named Dean (John C. Reilly) shows up and announces that he is rooming with Tim! With all of these talented insurance sellers in the same place and a harsh judge (Kurtwood Smith), will Tim have any chance to win the competition? And, will Tim succumb to the temptations of the "big city"? Also, are there some secrets to be uncovered, especially about past prize winners? This delightful indie is a quirky, entertaining movie. The cast is terrific and very talented, giving memorable turns, although Heche is hard to recognize with a auburn hairdo. The script and direction, too, are lively and intelligent. No, the setting, mostly inside a large hotel, is not exactly eye candy but the costumes are quite fine. My advice is to move rapidly, all indie fans and others, too, to the DVD outlets and snag Cedar Rapids before too many minutes pass you by.

The poster for Cedar Rapids made me expect a hijinks-away-from-home movie with plenty of physical, gross-out and fish-out-of-water humor. There's certainly some of that - especially the last one - but the pleasant surprise is that it's not the focus of the movie. The humor, actually, is surprisingly dry and sardonic, and for the most part dark satire takes precedence over physical gags, which are there just enough to keep it funny. This works thanks to an excellent, sharp script and great characters - Ed Helms is aided by solid performances from John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr. (The Wire), Stephen Root (NewsRadio) and Kurtwood Smith (That 70's Show). A very solid comedy, not particularly memorable but very much worth a watch.

Oh, yes it is! Or so, we're lead to believe, as the film pushes the beige (Brown Valley, Iowa) aspects at us of the very inwardly looking staff who work at the Brown Star insurance company (all six of them).Including boring and naive Ed Helms as Tim Lippe (pron. Lippy) who is sent to the big bad world of Cedar Falls to attend a conference, after one of the executives dies during a sexual act. He's sort of engaged to Sigourney Weaver and whom he constantly consults about everything he isn't sure of - which is almost everything.It's very obvious where this film is going and whilst many were no doubt expecting a riotously bawdy 'Hangover' style comedy, Cedar Rapids isn't and never pretends that it will be. It's gentler, with Helms remaining nerdily sweet throughout, even when he succumbs to alcohol (Cream Sherry!), antics in a pool and sex with Anne Heche. And, oh, drugs, too.The flesh on these bones are the supporting cast, notably John C Reilly as an obnoxious and flashy irritant, who swears a lot and thinks only of sex. I found his vulgarity a bit wearying but it was better than in some 'gross-out' films and one can believe that such people do exist.I saw it on Sky Movies - I wouldn't have been so pleased if I'd paid to see it in the cinema or bought the DVD, but as it was, it was quite good, especially if expectations are lowered a bit and if characterization is more important than hilarity and bawdiness. You might like it also if you happen to work in insurance yourself!

With all of the Hollywood movies either being a superhero movie, sequels, or remake/fairytale ripoffs it is finally good to see a new original script. This movie is hilarious. Great characters and cast chemistry. Ed Helms steps onto the big screen from the Office and does not miss a beat. I see him getting bigger in the coming years. John C. Reilly however absolutely steals the show playing the scumbag salesman with a good heart. Movie is a little dark at times and was somewhat disappointed in the ending but overall a solid original comedy with great acting. It is good to watch a comedy that does not feature the Apatow dick and fart jokes that last for 2 and half hours or a Will Ferrell movie that is mindless humor.