Viewed in
2011
Formats
DVD
Premise
Ed Helms stars as a small-town insurance agent who finds himself over his head at a "big time" conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Liked
The charming characters, interesting story.
Thoughts
This was better than I expected.
What won me over was the characters and the cast's performances. They definitely felt like people I would want to hang out with in real life. Helms pulled off the lead role very well, especially the clueless small-town dorkiness. John C. Reilly made a great wild child, and Anne Heche was an incredibly MILF-y redhead. I haven't seen The Wire yet, but fans would probably get a kick out of cast member Isiah Whitlock Jr quoting it throughout. Stephen Root, Sigourney Weaver and Kurtwood Smith put in some fun performances in smaller roles. Lastly, Rob Corddry's cameo slayed me.
Going in, I anticipated this to be The Hangover for insurance agents. Turns out it was quite different. Helms' character's arc was well-executed, and the interesting twists in the third act were a pleasant surprise. The story had some heart and brains and the characters behaved logically (for the most part).
While Helms' character had a strong arc, his path was a bit extreme. His early dorky behavior was at times annoying and broad, which made his second-half transformation hard to believe. I was also bugged by the change in tone by the film halfway through.
I recommend Cedar Rapids for the really likable characters and some smart writing.
What I would change
Get rid of the drug house scene. It was really funny and took Helms' character even deeper in the hole, but it just seemed way out there compared to the rest of the film.
