Shane is a Movie Features Writer for Collider. He developed a strong passion for film and writing at an early age, and went on to study Writing, Communication, and Political Science at Siena College. Then, he started his still-active personal blog, Not A Real Person Yet, which focuses on movies and culture.
Film fans often lament the lack of new comedy movies on the release calendar nowadays. The straightforward, character-driven, and reliably funny 90-minute comedy sort of seems like a thing of the past.
This makes movies like Miguel Arteta's somewhat-forgotten film, Cedar Rapids, feel like a refreshing return to a bygone era when viewed today, even though it was released less than 15 years ago. The 2011 film stars Ed Helms in his first true leading role on the big screen. Despite receiving generally positive reviews upon its release — it currently has an 86% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes — Cedar Rapids earned less than $8 million at the worldwide box office. This lack of popularity is unfortunate, as Cedar Rapids deserves a legacy similar to some of the more beloved films of its era. Like many of the movies from that time, Arteta's film derives its success from a screenplay that gets the most out of a simple story, and doesn’t sacrifice character development or emotion for humor. 'Cedar Rapids' Follows an Ordinary Man on an Extraordinary Journey Close Cedar Rapids centers on Tim Lippe , an innocent and unworldly 34-year-old insurance salesman who has never stepped foot outside the fictional small town of Brown Valley, Wisconsin. Having lost both of his parents when he was young, the closest people in Tim's adult life are his coworkers and his former seventh grade teacher, Macy , who he is in a romantic relationship with. After one of Tim's coworkers dies in embarrassing fashion, he is hand-selected by his boss, Bill , to attend an annual insurance convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Before Tim even arrives at the convention, it is made clear to the audience just how unfamiliar he is with anything other than his quiet life in his small town. He naively doesn't understand why his friend who works at the local airport needs him to go through the security process. Then, once he gets on the flight, he is taken aback by what he perceives to be the"luxuries" of plane travel. Once he makes it to the hotel where the convention is being hosted, he finds himself in a new world — though it's really only new to him. He quickly becomes acquainted with some of the convention regulars, including Ronald , as sensible a man as you'll ever find, Dean , an immature but ultimately kindhearted party animal, and Joan , a fun-loving woman with a sadness inside of her who uses the convention as a yearly excuse to inject some fun into her otherwise increasingly numb existence. Related The 10 Most Underrated Comedy Movies of the 2010s, Ranked These were some great comedies but went overlooked by critics or the public. Posts A story set inside an insurance convention at a middle-of-the-road hotel in Cedar Rapids doesn't exactly scream"humorous hijinks await," but that's part of Arteta's film's charm. It is about the journey that Helms' character goes on, and the twists and turns that expose him to parts of the world he's never known. In many ways, Cedar Rapids is a coming-of-age movie, despite its main character being in his mid-30s. As we watch Tim learn to maneuver through the new realities of life he's introduced to, the film reveals the big, ever-present heart at its center. 'Cedar Rapids' Succeeds by Empathizing With Its Characters Screenwriter Phil Johnston's smart and sincere script, that fully develops its characters, really is the key to Cedar Rapid's success. Although the film draws much of its humor from its characters, it never feels mocking. Johnston and Arteta clearly empathize with — and respect — the key figures in their story. Filled with laughs throughout, the main characters are rarely the butt of the jokes. This is an admirable achievement, as a lesser film probably would have used characters like Tim and Dean as punching bags, over-focusing on their quirks for easy laughs. What Arteta and Johnston clearly understood, though, is that doing so would have resulted in the audience caring less about the intertwined journey Tim and Dean find themselves on. As a film, Cedar Rapids is aware of the fact that audiences need someone to root for. Although more overtly absurd comedies have their place, when making a more grounded film, you can't just fill your movie with a bunch of inane characters making outlandish decisions. Centering a story on three-dimensional characters rather than one-note caricatures actually amplifies a film’s humor. Most of the characters we meet in Cedar Rapids are presented to us with one main aspect of their personality highlighted, but as the film progresses, layers are peeled back. The film finds time for raunchy and farcical situations, but it wisely sprinkles them deliberately throughout rather than overwhelming the audience with lunacy. Ultimately, it is the viewer's deep relationship with the characters that makes both the funny and the more heartfelt moments work. Cedar Rapids is a film that tells a simple story with room for a big heart. It’s the kind of movie that, in 2011, you could go see on a whim on a Saturday afternoon and leave feeling completely satisfied with no regrets. In this time when, unfortunately, reliably funny and sweet like that aren’t as widely available in theaters, Arteta's film is worth seeking out.Cedar Rapids R Comedy Release Date February 11, 2011 Director Miguel Arteta Cast Ed Helms , John C. Reilly , Anne Heche , Isiah Whitlock Jr. , Stephen Root , Kurtwood Smith Runtime 96 minutes Writers Phil Johnston
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