Muni reviews: Cedar Rapids (2011)
Directed by: Miguel Arteta
So as I’ve become a head writer on this wonderful website, I have been asked by Kazed to review at least one film every week. Generally this wouldn’t be an issue, as I would go to the cinema 2 to 3 times a week, but I’m not living in Birmingham anymore and there’s nothing like a Cineworld card in Leicester (which is a shame!!). Anyway, so Kazed has asked me to review new-ish films which I will do, also I hope to watch some films over the summer and concentrate on indie films as much as I can.
Back to me reviewing this week’s film, which is Cedar Rapids.
Ed Helms (Andy in "The Office") stars as Tim Lippe, the most sheltered, naive mid-western insurance agent ever captured on film. Lippe lives and works in Brown Valley, Wisconsin ... the most sheltered, naive mid-western town ever captured on film. His only real excitement is found through his "pre-engagement" to his 7th grade teacher played very well by Sigourney Weaver. When an embarrassing accident claims the life of the hotshot agent in Lippe's firm, the owner sends Lippe to the annual convention in Cedar Rapids. His mission is to win the coveted 2-Diamond Award presented by industry legend Orin Helgesson.
Since a lone character can't generate many laughs, circumstances at the convention cause Lippe to find himself roommates with a very noble Ronald Wilkes and fast-talking poacher Dean Ziegler. These 3 are joined together by Nebraska agent Joan Ostrowski-Fox. Lippe is quickly introduced to the "real world" by his new friends and after the first 20 minutes of set-up, the lines and settings get funnier and funnier.
As with most comedies these days, the trailer gives away much more than it should; but, unlike most, it leaves plenty of laughs and situations for the film. What really makes this work are that all characters are actually pretty nice people ... they are just a bit exaggerated in their traits. Lippe is a bit too naive. Wilkes is a bit too uptight. Ziegler is a bit too obnoxious, and Fox is just a little too lonely and adventurous. Still, their earnestness is what keeps the film grounded.
Alia Shawkat’s portrayal of the prostitute and a lovely dimension to the film and brought uniqueness to the film, and I really enjoyed her brief yet screen grabbing performance.
Ed Helms is really a comic force. He has the extraordinary ability to never hold back or worry how that he might not look cool. Even as the lead character, he knows when scene-stealer John C Riley should have the spotlight. This is a tremendous asset for a comic.
Where the film does falter in my opinion is the story and at times the acting, don’t get me wrong as a cast they were fantastic, but individually there was something missing. Maybe I just didn’t find it at all believable or credible, but that is a small part in a well-rounded film.
I won't give away much, but will warn that some of the humor is crude, especially some of Riley's rapid-fire one-liners. If you prefer your humor to be grounded with real people, then you might want to check this one out. I have only previously known this director, Miguel Arteta,as the guy who directed, “the good girl” and “youth in revolt” both films which I really enjoyed. Now I look forward to his next project.
My verdict, this is a wonderfully executed indie film that has a bright and appealing cast, the story is different and overall pleasurable. The film is worth watching and if you’re a fan of Ed helms and John C. Riley then I’d recommend this to you. This may not be everyone’s taste so let me warn you know but for those who would enjoy it you’re welcome.
6/10
Muni
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Tags: 2011,
alia,
andy,
c,
cedar,
ed,
helms,
john,
office,
rapids,
reilly,
shawkat,
sigourney,
weaver 
So this year Jane Lynch was hosting, her most notable role in recent years has been starting as the cheerleading coach on Glee. The opening monologue was very good and as usual had great cameos of stars from hit shows over the past year, it was very well worked and nicely put together.
This year the Emmy’s also had the Emmytones a group of 6 harmony barber shop quartet like singers compromising of Kate Flannery (The Office), Taraji P. Henson (Boston Legal), Zachary Levi (Chuck), Joel McHale (Community), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) and Wilmer Valderrama (That 70s Show). There singing was very good but I’ll be honest the show could have done without it.
Right onto the awards, firstly I just want to point out I’m NOT going to go through each individual awards, I honestly don’t have the time and plus I got a feeling you’d give up reading after the first two, so instead I’ll go by the groups.
The comedy awards
Modern Family took home most of the awards best supporting actor and actress, as well as best writing and directing for comedy series. The lead actor and actress went to Jim parson (The Big Bang Theory) and Melissa McCarthy (Mike and Molly). At this point I’d just like to point out that when the nominees were being announced all the women in the women category went up one by one, it was quite possibly the most funniest moment in the night, definitely put a smile on my face and was a joy to watch, that alone got a standing ovation from the entire audience which tells you how amazing it was to watch, worth catching it on youtube. Finally just on this part I’d like to say that Steve Carell was also nominated for lead actor but did not win, I’d like to say that I was slightly upset he rally did deserve to win and it’s a shame that he was not recognized in any capacity.
The Drama awards
The drama awards didn’t really have much drama; there was the shock but deserved win for Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), as well as that the show also won the award for best writing in its category. In the lead actor category, the lead actress award going to Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife). The directing award went to Martin Scorsese for Boardwalk Empire. Mad Men as usual in a forth year in a row won the best drama award. There were awards for Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) and Margo Martindale (Justified) for the supporting actor and actress awards respectively.
The best of British was on show too, with Kate Winslet winning the lead actress award in a miniseries or movie, for her role in Mildred Pierce. Her acceptance speech however was a bit too over the top. She milked it a lot and was at times cringing to watch. There was also a bag of awards for Downton Abbey winning best directing and writing as well as best miniseries.
Finally there was a cameo award hosting for Ricky Gervais, which was very well put together and got a warm reception of laughs. Also a quick note when Steve Levitan was accepting the award for best writing in a comedy series, as he was telling the story of how his children caught him and his wife in the act of love making, the camera was on his wife and she gave “the look” which got a huge laugh and made me laugh too, another bit worth seeing if you can.
A good year for HBO, NBC and ABC, all getting a handful of awards to share between them.
I’d say that this years awards were a success and it had a good sense of humor throughout the show. Some outstanding moments, and as usual, some cringy moments too. It’s a great way to kick of the New Year for TV shows returning back to our TVs.
Look out for Muni’s Top 5 US shows to look forward to, which I’ll be posting at the end of this week.
Muni