Cedar Rapids review: Fish-out-of-water comedy that’s worth catching
Last updated at 12:37 AM on 29th April 2011
Verdict: A comedy that entertains
The past few years have thrown up many fish-out-of-water comedies: some good (Chalet Girl), some mediocre (West Is West), some downright awful (Leap Year and The Proposal).
Cedar Rapids is the most memorable yet, and one of the better comedies of the year so far — a curious but not unappealing blend of something Frank Capra might have directed to celebrate the decency of the common man and a much raunchier comedy, such as The Hangover or The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Not many movies manage to be filthy but sweet. This one brings it off.
Star: Ed Helms carries the film with his mix of innocence and a tiny something darker
Tim Lippe (Ed Helms, the dentist in The Hangover) is a straight-arrow insurance agent who plays everything by the book.
He’s dedicated to helping others, especially in emergencies. That’s why he went into insurance.
He’s touchingly innocent, but also alarmingly naive.
He’s never flown in an aeroplane or stayed in a hotel. In fact, he is never left the safety of his home town in Wisconsin.
His boss recognises Tim as a good, reliable worker, telling him that as soon as he met him: ‘I said, “Here’s a kid who’s gonna go places” — and then somehow you just didn’t.’
Tim is not quite a 40-year-old virgin, for he is conducting a secret affair with his former schoolteacher (Sigourney Weaver), who is noticeably less keen on him than he is on her.
But nothing has prepared him for the carnal temptations and high living of that byword for debauchery — Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
When the company’s hot-shot salesman dies of auto-erotic asphyxiation, Tim is sent to Cedar Rapids to represent his company at an annual insurance convention.
Here, he runs into worldlier veterans of the event (John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Isiah Whitlock Jr), who set about educating him in the ways of the world.
The fun lies in watching Tim venture fearfully out of his comfort zone.
There’s plenty of quirky humour as our hero saunters through raunchy or downright hazardous situations without appreciating what he is up against. He’s both a lamb trotting towards inevitable slaughter and a worm who may eventually turn.
There were times when I wished Cedar Rapids was more uproariously funny.
Too many of the huge comic set pieces make you chuckle inwardly rather than laugh out loud.
But the acting saves it from mediocrity. Reilly’s boozy, boorish salesman could easily have been obnoxious, but the actor’s skill makes clear the vulnerability within.
Heche’s man-eater turns out to be a wife and mom on the prowl — not unlike Vera Farmiga’s character in Up In The Air. But she takes cover before things get too serious.
Too many comedies this year have been cheap and nasty.
This one has more than a few laughs and a good heart.
It’s not a must-see but, if you see it, you will not be sorry you did.
More source:
Cedar Rapids review: Fish-out-of-water comedy that's worth ...Reel Fanatic: March 2011
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Adjustment Bureau & Unknown - Rotten ...
June | 2011 | The Video Guy - seattlepi.com
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Submited at Friday, April 29th, 2011 at 12:00 am on Uncategorized by robert
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