Cedar Rapids

The arrogance of this movie just kept slapping me in the face as I watched it. Although people call it a gentle comedy, it’s actually quite mean spirited in its mocking of people from the “flyover states” as well as in the insurance trade. The big national insurance convention is in San Diego every year, by the way, not some dump hotel in Cedar Rapids.

This is a hidden gem! I discovered it from a Wikipedia article on “Break My Stride” of all things during the 2020 pandemic lockdown while I was coming up with my movie bucket list. Admittedly, it took 4 years to finally watch it, mostly due to that intensely awkward first sex scene (if you know, you know). But God damn, this impressed me. This is a real underrated hidden gem. A really charming and relatable coming-of-age comedy about late bloomers. There’s so many subtle in-jokes, idioms, vernacular, and references to Wisconsin and the rest of the Midwest (shoutout to my college town, Stevens Point!). The movie takes stride in making exciting adventures out of the mundane ordinary. It’s like someone made a movie of that one fun family reunion weekend we had with our friends or family and it gets to shine in all of its friendly awkward glory. It feels very real and sincere with its characters and banter. The cast has so many great comedians, and John C Reiley easily steals the show. Every line of his is pure gold and you really buy his friendship with the rest of the cast. It’s not exactly an ambitious movie, but it’s not trying to be and it’s perfectly happy with its small slice of Midwestern life.

A movie that plays with placing an innocent and naive man out of his comfort zone, and does so reasonably well in this tightly scripted comedy.

Absolutely hilarious and fresh take on the bumpkin from a small town who quickly grows up in the big city. The casting is perfect!

Great little find. The comedy landed for the most part. Really good performance by the core actors and some pretty cool cameos and actors in smaller parts. Really enjoyed it.

A very funny movie with a lot of heart. I have no idea why it doesn't rate in the 90's. It is entertaining and true to life.

If a movie about a convention revolving around insurance and those that sell it could made to be funny, this is it. Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, and the rest of the cast really knock it out of the park. Isiah Whitlock, Jr. had me rolling while quoting lines from HBO's "The Wire" in which, he, himself, was one of the big stars. The only thing missing was him saying "sheeeeeeiiiitt." Ed Helms goes from nerdy, insurance neophyte at the beginning of the movie to nerdy, slightly less neophytical by the end. One grows to like all the main characters and you feel really invested in their future by the end. This is one of those movies that, sadly, never made it onto a lot of people's radars but should have. However, consider the talent in this movie also includes, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, Mike O'Malley, and Thomas Lennon as well as many other very talented actors along with a great script. The biggest downfall of the movie is that it sometimes doesn't feel "tight." Not sure if it's editing or writing, but it has some slow moments. Overall though, "Cedar Rapids" is a lot of fun and a jewel of a movie that many may have missed when it originally came out in 2011.

Is this an insurance marketing advertisement? Still, lots of mid-age crisis wacky silly folks, who says policy agents are boring?

Fantastic comedy, great casting. John C. Reilly steals the show. If you like all things comedy I highly recommend.

I didn't expect to like this movie, it was one of those moments where every other movie turned me off in some way so I gave Cedar Rapids a chance. I was lukewarm about it until slightly past the halfway point when it felt like a real rhythm was finally established. Act 3 of the film was quite pleasurable to watch as the mild mannered Helms gets a second wind and learns how to assert himself. There were some beautiful goodbyes captured here, where you could feel unspoken What Ifs between Helms and Anne Heche. John C. Reilly's character actually grows from a foul mouth jokester into a caring friend. It won't be listed as one of my favorite movies, but Cedar Rapids is well worth the watch with unexpected moments of great humor, touching human connection and a sense of well meaning destiny playing out in the characters' lives.