Cedar Rapids

I had no reason not to watch this film. Based on cast alone, I am surprised it took me this long. It is a movie that was not highly promoted like Hangover II, Horrible Bosses, or The Change Up was/have been. To be honest I had no idea the real premise between the jokes of Cedar Rapids. I do love Ed Helms, and to me John C. Reilly may be one of the funniest men in Hollywood right now. This is the story of small town boy goes off to the big city. Tim Lippe (Helms) has never been out of his tiny town ever. He sells insurance and to say he is naive is an understatement. When he is sent to the annual convention for Insurance salesmen in Cedar Rapids, he is a bit nervous. His first plane ride, first hotel room, first rental car. It is culture shock for him, and he is advised to stay away from one person in particular. Dean Ziegler (Reilly), and wouldn't you guess it, he happens to be his roommate. Reilly absolutely steals every scene he is in. Tim gets to meet new people, but the real treat is what he is able to give back to these people in terms of perspective. He may be small time, but he has a big heart, and that seems to be contagious. I will say that it was not the funniest movie ever, but the overall humor factor is really high. Even in scenes that weren't suppose to be hilarious were pretty hilarious. What Tim signed up for was not we he got at all. A weekend of deception, debauchery, drugs, and booze. It really is a good script, and rating it R saved it's life. If it had not been R, it would have been boring. There's just something funny about dirty language that does not work if substituted with phrases like "Gosh darn", "flippin", or "crab nuggets". The overall message is a good one, but we do enjoy watching Tim go from a never seen anything small town jimbo, to having done and seen things in a single weekend that most people don't do their entire lives. Additionally, there were more actors that just add to the appeal. Anne Heche as the hot lady of the convention, to Sigourney Weaver as the love interest of Tim from back home. Stephen Root is Tim's boss, and Isiah Whitlock Jr, who I have never seen before, had great comedic timing which adds to the film. He is the third roommate if you are wondering. I could have said "black guy", but that just seems like a dumb way to tell people who he was.

NBM rates Cedar Rapids - Awesome and John C. Reilly Phenomenal