Synopsis
A naïve small-town Midwesterner (Helms) is sent to represent his company at a regional insurance convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where his mind is blown by the “big city” and he finds himself in the midst of the most unexpected shenanigans.
If there was a movie role that was made specifically for Ed Helms it would have to be that of Brownstar Insurance’s straight-shooter, Tim Lippe. Helms is constantly given roles where he plays the ‘nice’ guy or the guy who hasn’t experienced the world yet; generally he nails them. Helms did that with his role in The Hangover and he does that now with Cedar Rapids. His lily white character going into an insurance convention after the nasty death of his sexually deviant coworker sets him up perfectly for good times in which he has never experienced. For example, you understand both Lippe and the convention all at once when he runs into a hooker outside of his hotel when he arrives to the convention. Played by Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development), the prostitute gingerly asks Lippe for a smoke and he provides her with a piece of candy. Her request for a smoke was geared towards a sexual act, which just magnifies Lippe’s ignorance. At the same time her mere presence represents what world Lippe is about to enter. Once you open that door for Helms’ character then the comedic possibilities are pretty endless, and that is where Cedar Rapids excels.
By bringing in the right cast to surround Helms, the comedy is pure fun. Miguel Arteta’s ability to bring in Academy Award winning John C. Reilly as Dean Ziegler, the bizarro version of Ed Helms’ Tim Lippe, was a wise decision. Reilly has played an idiot-loser role before in movies like Talladega Nights and Step Brothers, so he is familiar with funny (plus he’s great on Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show) and the type of character that Dean Ziegler is. He plays off of Helms and Helms plays off of him, and they do it so well. Helping out with the mischief is also the lovely Anne Heche as Joan Ostrowski-Fox, a promiscuous, lonely insurance woman who tries to get Lippe out of his shell (and his pants). Not to be forgotten is the silent performance from Isiah Whitlock Jr., who just nails the role of Ronald Wilkes. I want to mention Whitlock’s performance specifically because he does a great job of holding his character together and at the last moment of the film you get to see the comedy breathe out of him. He did an absolute great job with his performance and most reviewers will probably not give him the nod for his presence onscreen; simply put, I loved what he did here.
Actors aside, Miguel Arteta and writer Phil Johnston put together a very lighthearted comedy that didn’t attempt to be more than it needed to be. The formula was certainly predictable, but the execution was still very well done. The entire premise that the convention was Lippe’s ‘coming out into life’ party has been done before. The key to it all was how they were going to execute the same rollercoaster ride to make it seem different for the audience. If you’re going to have a good guy go into a rowdy situation that most conventions end up being (pleasure before business) then you have to present it in a unique manner. They did this through various elements, including adding in a very lovely Sigourney Weaver to play Lippe’s lover and ex-teacher, Macy. Her character kept Helms’ character on track, which was extremely important for the film. She was like the chain on the first hill of a rollercoaster that helps to pull the carts up to the top of the hill before letting them go. To say she was important for the progression of his character, which had to be Arteta and Johnston’s intention, would be an understatement. While she only had maybe a total of 10-minutes onscreen time, she was the person who checked in and helped to push him forward. With that said, however, the problem that Arteta and Johnston seemed to have was how to make that transition at the top of the hill. The only problem I found in this film is that particular moment when everything has led up to Lippe’s transition from straight-shooter to ‘knowing how things work’; it was just a harsh disconnection. Seeing what Arteta and Johnston built within their main character, the structure of how innocent he was and seeing the rough disconnection and confusion that occurs from Macy and the others at a particular point in the film is just too much. Lippe’s recovery is fine, but not believable.
At the end of the day, without giving too many details away, Cedar Rapids is a very fun ride. All involved did a great job, though there are some road bumps along the way.
Shifting gears, what about the Blu-ray portion of this film? Well, it’s good, but not great. The tone of the film, which is a yellow tint for the most part (harking back to the 70s with heavy browns and yellows) translates to HD fine — when you’re in a well-lit area. When the gears shift a bit and we see nighttime scenes we get a lot of noise and artifacts; it seems to be a problem with the color band. Most movies have this issue on DVD, where you can visually see the progression of color during darker moments, and this one does the same. For example, towards the end of the film Lippe ends up at a party (I will not go into detail because I don’t want to ruin it) and the outside moments don’t look quite as good as when he enters the party inside the house. You can see a lot of noise from the lighting around the home and it damages the HD experience just a little. Again, it doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. As for the audio, it’s good.
The features are pretty interesting, as they fit the bill for this movie perfectly. The gag reel is hilarious and stuff like Top Notch Commercial (which is what it sounds like) and Convention Connection help to reinforce what the movie is trying to do. Overall, I was really happy with the features, even with the FMC featurette. Here’s what you should expect from the Blu-ray:
● Convention Connection
○ Tim Lippe
○ Ronald Wilkes
○ Joan Ostrowski
○ Bill Krogstad
○ Orin Helgesson
○ Bree
● Gag Reel
● Deleted Scenes
● Mike O’Malley — Urban Clogger
● Wedding Belles — Crashing a Lesbian Wedding
● Top Notch Commercial
● Tweaking in the USA
● Fox Movie Channel Presents: Direct Effect Miguel Arteta
● BD LIVE
○ Exclusive: Ed Helms Mad Chopper Skills
● Digital Copy