Cedar Rapids (2011)

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

...I did recall seeing this movie back in the day, & loved it,but not only did I forget it rather quickly, I couldn't recall the protagonist's last name( helms!the guy who was the villain in that comedy w/ Jeremy Pivens!--can't even recall that movie title either?)..THe reason I'm writing this review, is I visited a strip club last night & was struck by the appearance of a lap dancer who immediately struck me as having a dead-on resemblance to the woman in the movie, but I could not recall her name in my mind, & I kept telling the dancer she reminded me of a comedy movie I saw 3 years ago,but I knew it wasn't Anna faris,jenny mcCarthy,but I do recall she looked a little like Tea Leoni, & was either married to Ellen degeneres, or somebody,& I recall the actress was usually an underrated dramatic actress, but occasionally made some comedy attempts(wonderful CEDAR RAPIDS).And then she remarked that she was often mistaken for Rebecca DeMornay.But I knew the Cedar Falls actress wasn't her. SO I Binged "cedar rapids the movie" , went to IMDb.com,& now I can proudly say, it is the incredibly underrated actress, ANNE HECHE!! If she was a little more endowed, she would have been a dead ringer for that lap dancer....Funny it took a visit to a strip club to remind me of a long forgotten comedy gem.

Tim Lippe (Helms) has been living in über-sleepy Brown Valley and still "pre-engaged", while selling insurance to protect other people's dreams. But now he's headed to a "major" metropolis - Cedar Rapids, Iowa - where he must try to save his company at a do-or-die insurance convention…..The movie goes for the cheap and easy laugh but don't delivers. There are some funny scenes in this movie. Overall it's just mediocre, to over the top and not funny at all. There were several parts in the movie that really didn't need to either be in the movie, or made sense.Ed Helms falls in this film violently by the basket. Like the rest of the cast. The only one that remains is Anne Heche. But she can't keep this film out of trash on her own.The movie could have been hilarious, but it certainly wasn't.

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.

"Cedar Rapids" is a moderately entertaining film about an uptight insurance salesman (Ed Helms) who attends his first conference and learns unpleasant truths about the industry and the people he's come to idealize. If there aren't a lot of really stand-out comedic bits to make the film memorable, there are plenty of things about the film that make it consistently enjoyable. Ed Helms is one of those things, giving an appealing performance in a bit of a stock role. John C. Reilly is another of those things, as a loutish buffoon who becomes one of the film's chief and most likable protagonists. And another is Anne Heche, cute and winning as a pseudo-love interest for Helms' character. I'm not sure the film is developed very well -- the journey Helms' character goes on happens too quickly and conflicts are a bit too patly resolved -- but it's not the kind of film that will stand up to too much scrutiny. Enjoy it for what it is, a fairly pleasing comedy for adults.Grade: B