Cedar Rapids

Oooohh, look everybody, I saw a new release! That's right, we went to the movies last night. The movie we saw was Cedar Rapids. The poster doesn't sell this movie very well. In fact, I kind of hate that poster.

Cedar Rapids is a new comedy directed by Miguel Arteta (Chuck and Buck, The Good Girl). It's also produced by Alexander Payne (Sideways, Election, About Schmidt). It actually feels kind of like a combination of the two.

The movie stars Ed Helms as Tim Lippe, a naive insurance agent, sent from the small town home he's never left to the big city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a big convention. Over the convention, he learns a bit about not only the bigger world, but also that his small town home is not as comfortable and innocent as he's managed to remain.

And it's a lot of fun. Ed Helms is perfect in this role. He's been my favorite part of The Office since he joined the cast. He makes me want to cry every week as hopeless romantic Andy Bernard. He brings that same quality to Cedar Rapids. He has this open face and sincerity and enthusiasm that makes you want to hug him when he just can't catch a break.

Also in the cast is John C. Reilly. If you've read my Cyrus review, you all know how much I love him. He's mostly just doing his thing in this movie, which is hilarious, of course. He's not playing the dummy he plays in Adam Mackay movies, which is fine. John C. Reilly has a vast range of different dummies in his head to choose from.

The rest of the cast is strong, too. Anne Heche, Isaiah Whitlock Jr., Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, a Rob Corrdry cameo. They all seemed to be having a great time together. Tom Lennon (Lt. Dangle from Reno 911) got a laugh from the audience as soon as he appeared just because they recognized him, which I thought was pretty cool. He should get bigger roles, he's always hilarious. Alia Shawkat (Maeby from Arrested Development) is really good as a prostitute Tim befriends.

A quality I appreciate about Cedar Rapids is something it shares with the films of Alexander Payne: a brilliantly observational portrayal of mid-western, middle class mundanity. Those hilariously painful moments like the wedding in About Schmidt, or the tacky, tourist-y winery in Sideways. This movie is loaded with that kind of stuff; the difference being Ed Helms is reacting to it like it's the most amazing thing he's ever seen.

I dug this movie a lot. I hope we didn't get the best comedy of the year this early. I'm giving it an A, so there.