Cedar Rapids is a film about conflict. May not seem that way, but essentially, it both extols the virtues of small town naiveté while also warning about the motives of its "real American" inhabitants. It would seem like a tricky idea, but they pull it off effortlessl.
A by-product of the political polarization of the past decade has been the romanticization of the so-called "common man" and the "small-town." Infamously, Sarah Palin called this "the real America." Ed Helms's Tim Lippe is from there. Lippe is an amazingly sheltered young man who has been selling insurance since he was sixteen. After a bizarre accident, he gets called up to the “big” city, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the "big" insurance convention. As always, Ed Helms is oddly adorable. He is simple, but you'd never call him stupid. He is so innocent that you have to root for him. Though, there is evidence of the dangers of his lack of experience. He is so blissfully ignorant that he is untainted by common vices and by proxy living with integrity. Wholesome is his middle name. In many ways, he is an ideal of a life without meaningless distractions.
Then there is the flip side of the coin. Lippe knows so little that outside of his insulated community, in Cedar Rapids (big to him, small to everyone else), he barely knows how to function. Security at airports. Checking in at hotels. Things we take as common knowledge are foreign to him. Thus we find ourselves in the familiar situation, knowing full well that Lippe is going to meet some folks who are going to lead him to a kind of awakening (though on a relative small scale). As expected, the moment comes (paraphrased of course): "Just because I'm from nowhere, doesn't mean I can't think for myself." Being sheltered from the world around you means being sheltered from choice. It is limiting in a world full of amazing ideas and experiences.”
There comes the greatest strength of the film: those experiences. Rather that injecting jokes for jokes sake, we are treated to genuine relationships in a fully realized microcosm. When characters are strong, you do not have to manufacture humor. It comes organically from the interactions. The entire running time I never felt "oh that is clever." It did not have to hit me over the head. That is the strength of this kind of character-driven comedy: you are never taken out of the movie.
Into the specifics: Ed Helms is a magician. It is quite a feat to make a character know so little, but never have your audience think he is an idiot. He manages it, all while making Lippe charming. His greatest moment came when he told the story about why he became an insurance agent. It is so heartfelt and simply eloquent that, yes, you will see the positive side of your insurance company. Imagine that.
His opposite number, John C. Reilly, is a comedy god. He has been consistently funny since he took this "I'm only doing comedy" direction. It's hard to tell whether he is improvising all his lines or if his delivery is just so natural. Much like Helms, he pulls off being the "big fish in a teeny pond" without seeming like a delusional, cocky jerk. It’s a thin line to walk. He is both and you really want to hang out with him. He steals the film. Plain and simple.
As mentioned above, Cedar Rapids thrives on its relationships. What I love about it is that it doesn't pander or skirt around the complicated ones. Infidelity being the big one. Without giving too much away, one character is married and sleeps with someone other than their spouse. There is no judgment, but they are not let off the hook either. Equal parts remorse and understanding, and where a less well-crafted film would make for a grand gesture by leaving a spouse with a climax containing an embrace at an airport, it is handled delicately and with great affection.
Finally, along with the romanticization mentioned earlier, it is often assumed that big cities are the homes of immorality and that middle America is full of upstanding, God-fearing people. Lippe's awakening largely concerns his disapproval of such a generalization. Little soapbox moment here, but many people think that without religion, one is also without a moral compass. Untrue. Religion is by no means the sole way to determine the quality of a person. The myth of "good people" was one I was happy to see busted here.
Cedar Rapids is a movie that could easily be told with a sweetness so strong that it is saccharine. At the same time, it deals with issues that easily be the fodder for bitter rants from sour characters. In a way, it is like a mood ring. A bitter person may see it is a black comedy. If you are more chipper, perhaps it is simply a late-blooming "coming of age film." It's this dynamism that makes me so excited to see it again.
A by-product of the political polarization of the past decade has been the romanticization of the so-called "common man" and the "small-town." Infamously, Sarah Palin called this "the real America." Ed Helms's Tim Lippe is from there. Lippe is an amazingly sheltered young man who has been selling insurance since he was sixteen. After a bizarre accident, he gets called up to the “big” city, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the "big" insurance convention. As always, Ed Helms is oddly adorable. He is simple, but you'd never call him stupid. He is so innocent that you have to root for him. Though, there is evidence of the dangers of his lack of experience. He is so blissfully ignorant that he is untainted by common vices and by proxy living with integrity. Wholesome is his middle name. In many ways, he is an ideal of a life without meaningless distractions.
Then there is the flip side of the coin. Lippe knows so little that outside of his insulated community, in Cedar Rapids (big to him, small to everyone else), he barely knows how to function. Security at airports. Checking in at hotels. Things we take as common knowledge are foreign to him. Thus we find ourselves in the familiar situation, knowing full well that Lippe is going to meet some folks who are going to lead him to a kind of awakening (though on a relative small scale). As expected, the moment comes (paraphrased of course): "Just because I'm from nowhere, doesn't mean I can't think for myself." Being sheltered from the world around you means being sheltered from choice. It is limiting in a world full of amazing ideas and experiences.”
There comes the greatest strength of the film: those experiences. Rather that injecting jokes for jokes sake, we are treated to genuine relationships in a fully realized microcosm. When characters are strong, you do not have to manufacture humor. It comes organically from the interactions. The entire running time I never felt "oh that is clever." It did not have to hit me over the head. That is the strength of this kind of character-driven comedy: you are never taken out of the movie.
Into the specifics: Ed Helms is a magician. It is quite a feat to make a character know so little, but never have your audience think he is an idiot. He manages it, all while making Lippe charming. His greatest moment came when he told the story about why he became an insurance agent. It is so heartfelt and simply eloquent that, yes, you will see the positive side of your insurance company. Imagine that.
His opposite number, John C. Reilly, is a comedy god. He has been consistently funny since he took this "I'm only doing comedy" direction. It's hard to tell whether he is improvising all his lines or if his delivery is just so natural. Much like Helms, he pulls off being the "big fish in a teeny pond" without seeming like a delusional, cocky jerk. It’s a thin line to walk. He is both and you really want to hang out with him. He steals the film. Plain and simple.
As mentioned above, Cedar Rapids thrives on its relationships. What I love about it is that it doesn't pander or skirt around the complicated ones. Infidelity being the big one. Without giving too much away, one character is married and sleeps with someone other than their spouse. There is no judgment, but they are not let off the hook either. Equal parts remorse and understanding, and where a less well-crafted film would make for a grand gesture by leaving a spouse with a climax containing an embrace at an airport, it is handled delicately and with great affection.
Finally, along with the romanticization mentioned earlier, it is often assumed that big cities are the homes of immorality and that middle America is full of upstanding, God-fearing people. Lippe's awakening largely concerns his disapproval of such a generalization. Little soapbox moment here, but many people think that without religion, one is also without a moral compass. Untrue. Religion is by no means the sole way to determine the quality of a person. The myth of "good people" was one I was happy to see busted here.
Cedar Rapids is a movie that could easily be told with a sweetness so strong that it is saccharine. At the same time, it deals with issues that easily be the fodder for bitter rants from sour characters. In a way, it is like a mood ring. A bitter person may see it is a black comedy. If you are more chipper, perhaps it is simply a late-blooming "coming of age film." It's this dynamism that makes me so excited to see it again.
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