Grade: B-
Everyone gets stuck in a rut once in a while. Unfortunately for viewers, so did the movie Cedar Rapids.
Cedar Rapids plays upon the seemingly unexciting lives of insurance agents, taking the audience through the middle-class existence of a core group of characters as they all compete for the Two Diamonds award. The scenery dictates a similar sentiment; most scenes take place in an average hotel or a hole-in-the-wall bar in the overwhelmingly blue-collar Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Although the plotline offers few surprises and, at times, extremely predictable outcomes, the movie could be saved by an exceptional cast and witty dialogue. However, Cedar Rapids seems to have taken the entire "average" idea a little too far, as even the characters lack any true dimension.
Granted, Cedar Rapids is understandably a light-hearted comedy; many roles are severely underdeveloped and lack a real purpose. Characters such a Bree, a prostitute played by Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development), could have been completely omitted with little consequence.
Ed Helms, perhaps more commonly known as Andy Bernard from The Office, plays Lippe, the moral, but naïve, insurance agent trying to win it big for his insurance agency. Lippe left the audience wanting more; the simple, well-intentioned character that many have seen time and time again as Andy Bernard failed to take Helms' career to new heights.
An excess of bathroom humor and sexual innuendos supplemented the lack of witty dialogue. The sexual relationships depicted throughout the film seemed like an empty effort to create a more adult-feel to the conference amid the immaturity, but appreciably added a slight amount of depth to the characters and situation.
In a last-ditch effort to distinguish Cedar Rapids from the horde of other movies depicting simple characters with a linear plotline, the film quickly turns to a party and drug scene, which seems to have little purpose.
Despite uninspired humor and expected situations, the movie did encourage acting morally even when it may be easier to lie and cheat.
Overall, the film supplies audiences with a light-hearted comedy and a feel-good ending, but lacks depth and complexity that would separate Cedar Rapids from the mass of comedies.
E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com
