Cedar Rapids
This is one of those movies you don’t really see coming. You see the trailers, and you chuckle. You see the cast, and it’s interesting. But going into the movie, you don’t really expect it to win you over like it does. “Cedar Rapids” is one of those movies, as well as the best type of comedy: surprising, sweet, and very funny. It’s going to be very hard to beat when it comes to laughs laced with mirth and merriment.
Ed Helms is my early favorite for Best Actor – Comedy at next year’s Golden Globes as Tim Lippe, a small-town insurance salesman stuck in a small-town mindset; he has ideas of love, life, and integrity that are largely outdated in modern society, though one has to admire him for holding onto them. He’s a successful insurance agent, whose clients trust him, and he is in love (and sleeping) with the teacher (Sigourney Weaver) he had a crush on in school. His boss (Stephen Root) sends him to the annual ASMI insurance conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa after the company’s number one agent (Thomas Lennon) dies in an unseemly manner. Tim is charged with winning the company’s fourth consecutive Two Diamonds award, which is given out to the company that shows the most commitment to ASMI’s conservative values. Even on his first-ever plane trip, things seem to be going straight-arrow Tim’s way, but when his rooming arrangements lead to sharing a room with loudmouthed agent Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly), the task ahead of him becomes increasingly difficult.
There’s a lot that I’d rather leave out in describing the film’s plot; Phil Johnston’s script is full of left turns and comic surprises that the written word would not do justice to. Watching the film, it would have been very easy to see modern comedy hitmakers Judd Apatow (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”) and Adam McKay (“The Other Guys”) come in with their usual suspects and turn this into a smash. But to do so would have also made a lesser film, and part of the film’s success is how director Miguel Arteta (“The Good Girl,” “Youth in Revolt”) takes less an interest in outrageous set pieces and an Apatow level of vulgarity and focuses instead on character and– dare I say it? –emotion. There are plenty of low-comedy moments, a lot of it provided by Reilly’s wild man, Zeigler, but this is a film not willing to go just anywhere for a joke; it may imply “anywhere” but always in the context of character and plot development. While I’ll admit an affinity for many of Apatow and McKay’s films, it’s nice to see a comedy that does not depend on vulgarity to be successful.
How refreshing is it to find a comedy that doesn’t see the need to cast Seth Rogan, Paul Rudd, Danny McBride, Will Ferrell, or Steve Carell? Make no mistake: I typically love all of those actors, but it’s great to see new(ish) blood on-screen every once in a while. Sure, Helms was in the box-office smash, “The Hangover,” in a similar role of straight man in over his head, but the “Office” and “Daily Show” vet is at the center of the action now, and he turns in a performance that I hope lands him more lead roles in the future. And yes, John C. Reilly has found new life in his career moving from character actor (“Days of Thunder,” “Chicago,” “Gangs of New York”) to comic buffoon (“Step Brothers,” “Talladega Nights”), but here he’s given a character with more than just comedic anarchy to play, and he knocks it out of the park. And how about Anne Heche, who is a smart and sassy pleasure as Joan Ostrowski-Fox, an agent who uses Cedar Rapids to get away from her life as a wife and mother? And where did Isiah Whitlock come from as Ronald Wilkes, Tim’s roommate and mentor (of sorts) as he tries to navigate the chaos? Not to mention: Three cheers for “Arrested Development’s” Alia Shawkat (as sweet local hooker, Bree), fellow “Daily Show” alum, Rob Corddry (who has a few scenes at a local party and really makes the most of them), and “Glee” supporting ace, Mike O’Malley (as a rival agent and damn fine tap-dancer), who all come in for stealth laughs and add texture to this witty and winning comedy. Still, at the center of it all is Helms, who has genuine chemistry with director Arteta (who also got superb work from “Good Girl” Jennifer Aniston and “Revolt” youth Michael Cera) and all the makings of the next comedy superstar. I can’t wait to see what he has for us next…after “Hangover 2” of course.
