Cedar Rapids

Starring: Ed Helms, Anne Heche, & John C. Reilly

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

I really hate all these dry office comedies that are common place today. Films like Office Space and shows like The Office and Community, make me wonder if the people who watch this stuff are truly brain dead to what real comedy is anymore. I assumed that Cedar Rapids would be another of these films, but there is a difference, Ed Helms. Even before he was in films like the Hangover, I thought this guy was hilarious, and I am a great admirer of his work, so I gave this film a shot. Helms plays Tim Lippy, an insurance agent who went right from High School to being an insurance agent. He has never been anywhere, never done anything, and is completely oblivious to the world outside his office. That all changes when Tim is sent to represent his firm at a Midwest insurance conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Alone and exposed for the first time in his life, Tim has a hard time just fitting in an letting loose, so he does what every insurance agent does, and turns to drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes. Cedar Rapids is the second film from Miguel Arteta, whose first film, Youth In Revolt, also surprised me. Neither of these films are the type of comedy I enjoy, but somehow Arteta has the magic touch. Cedar Rapids had me laughing to the point of tears, something that almost never happens, and for once, I saw how these ordinary, everyday situations could be funny. As for the star, Ed Helms, he was just amazing, his extreme anxiety and taking every emotion to it's absolute extreme just gets me every time. Cedar Rapids isn't your typical comedy and even after seeing the preview, I was convinced that it would be terrible, but the combination of Miguel Arteta and Ed Helms make this film a must see comedy classic.