MOVIE OF THE WEEK #1 (3/4/11): CEDAR RAPIDS
Credit: Zade Rosenthal. © 2011 Fox Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Tim Lippe (Ed Helms), Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly), Sigourney Weaver, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, Alia Shawkat, Mike O'Malley, Rob Corddry and Seth Morris
WRITER: Phil Johnston
DIRECTOR: Miguel Arteta
WEB SITE: CedarRapidsMovie.com
THE PLOT: Cedar Rapids stars Ed Helms as Tim Lippe, a nice but relatively naïve insurance agent sent by his boss (Stephen Root) sends him to the Iowa metropolis to represent the company at an insurance convention in the film's titular town in Iowa. Of course, the trip is a pretty big deal for Tim considering he's never stayed in a hotel before, let alone left his hometown. The trip also means he'll be leaving behind his girlfriend Macy (Sigourney Weaver), who also just happens to be one of his former teachers ... As in grade school teachers.
Arriving on the scene, Tim is told to stick with the affable Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.), a convention veteran who will show him the ropes so convention head Orin Helgesson (Kurtwood Smith) will once again award his company the coveted "Two Diamonds" award. But once he runs into working girl Bree (Alia Shawkat) and the free-spirited pair of Dean "Deanzie" Ziegler (John C. Reilly) and Joan (Anne Heche), the safe little bubble Tim lives in is about to burst in a big, big way.
What ensues is a journey into chaos that can only happen in Cedar Rapids.
THE TAKE: Cedar Rapids, taken as a whole, is a fine little frivolous romp of a movie. Reilly is terrific as Deanzie, giving what could have been a blowhard-for-the-sake-of-needing-a-blowhard-in-this-movie-role much more depth than usually found in similar characters and, essentially, is the heart of the film. Likewise, Whitlock, Jr. and Heche are great in their supporting roles, truly adding to the film's enjoyability in every scene they are in. The jokes are snappy, the acting is pretty exceptional for a comedic film and the pacing rarely feels labored under director Miguel Arteta's control.
In fact, if there's one thing that is slightly off about Cedar Rapids, it would be one character: Tim Lippe - a.k.a. the on screen persona of its lead actor Ed Helms.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am by no means here trying to slam Helms' performance in the film. Not at all. In fact, I would say his performance is fine for the role and he plays it well. The problem is the role itself. Call it the curse of Zach Galifianakis. If you liked The Hangover, you probably went to theaters last year with high hopes for films like Dinner for Schmucks and the recently-released on home video Due Date. Well, if The Hangover proved one thing, it's that outrageously naïve/stupid, well-meaning characters can be funny ... In small doses.
However, when you have a character that is (nearly) too stupid to survive on their own and can't realize the folly of their logic until a series of ridiculous events has forced them to, it's hard to really appreciate the character. And Tim Lippe is just the latest character that falls into the "too stupid for his own good but (supposedly) great for comedy" category.
In other words, when the lead character is the least interesting one in the movie, it's not that great of a character in the first place - at least not without more growth over the course of the film. And while Tim does grow up a bit, you're going to have more fun with Tim's friends than you are with Tim - at least in terms of watching Cedar Rapids.
PARTING SHOT: An ensemble piece where the supporting players actually carry the picture, Cedar Rapids is a fun little place to visit - at least when it comes to this film.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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