Movie Review: Cedar Rapids

I hate to admit this… but I just spent the last few weeks thinking that Ed Helms and Jason Sudeikis were the same person. It was baffling to me how Helms could be in every studio comedy that came out last year… then I realized that Sudeikis is a living breathing person. I'm still not sure who I like better (probably Sudeikis because of his performance in Horrible Bosses)… but I did enjoy Ed Helms in Cedar Rapids.

In the film he plays the straight man, Tim Lippe.  Not much of a stretch for Helms.  But lets make one thing clear – this is John C. Reilly's movie.  He steals every scene as the Dean-sy – Dean Ziegler.  He talks too much, he drinks too much and he is pretty awesome.  I have been down on Reilly in comedy roles recently, but even though he is playing a character here it all feels real.

The plot is sort of pointless here and they have this wrap up at the end that takes all of five minutes, but that's not what this is about.  It is about a guy with zero real world experience stepping out of his comfort zone.  And it is ridiculous… in one scene he goes off to a party with a prostitute and starts smoking crystal meth and doing coke.  But you're not rolling your eyes, at least I wasn't.  It was done with a deft hand.

Anne Heche is good.  Isiah Witlock Jr, from The Wire and 25th Hour, is awesome as a fellow insurance salesman who bonds with Helms and Reilly.  He can say the word 'shit' better than anyone alive.  Seriously.  It is a lot of fun seeing him in a comedy.

All-in-all this is a fun little movie… and at just under 85 minutes it is definitely worth your time.

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