Cedar Rapids

Director Miguel Arteta's latest comedy is set around the wild world of business conventions.

Living a sheltered life in his hometown Brown Valley, Wisconsin, the 34 year old insurance salesman, Tim Lippe (Ed Helms) is sent for the very first time to the annual insurance convention in the overwhelming big city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to represent his company and bring home the prestigious Two Diamond Award.

Having never been on a plane, checked in a hotel, or heard of a credit card imprint, Lippe embarks on an eye-opening weekend adventure that turns out the best and worst in his life.

Concerned that Lippe's winning the award may be jeopardized, Lippe's pushy boss Bill Krogstad (Stephen Root) strongly warns Lippe to avoid Ziegler at all cost, a task that proves to be difficult since Lippe and Ziegler, along with the nerdy Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.), find themselves as roommates.

With the unfolding of the story, Arteta gradually endears the viewers towards the feature’s two diametrically opposing characters: the naïve Lippe, and the infamous, rambunctious party animal Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly).

Much of the feature's humor evolves around Lippe's compromising situations with his roommates, the seductive businesswoman Joan Ostrowski-Fox (Anne Heche), and the local hooker Bree (Alia Shawkat) who complicate Lippe's award winning chance in the eyes of convention leader and awarding judge, Orin Helgesson (Kurtwood Smith).

Helms' portrayal of an unpretentious fish out of water, brings to mind Steve Carrell's character in The 40 Year Old Virgin, while John C. Reilly's presence steals the show eliciting the most laughter.

Cedar Rapids brings out the heart in these uniquely different and flawed characters who in the end, come together as a team and win you over.