'Cedar Rapids' review

Anne Heche and Ed Helms (Credit: Zade Rosenthal/Fox Searchlight)

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Sheltered. Naïve. Clueless. They all apply to Tim Lippe (Ed Helms) a small-town insurance agent from Wisconsin with an equally small-town outlook on life. He has never left his hometown, gets jumpy when he finds a black man at the door, and tends to fall in love with every woman he shtups. Imagine his bewilderment when he's sent to the "big city"—Cedar Rapids, Iowa!—for an insurance convention and meets three fellow agents (played by John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Isiah Whitlock Jr.) with some very randy items on their agenda.

The buzz: This one's hot off the grill at Sundance! "Cedar Rapids" premiered at the fest last month, where Helms and director Miguel Arteta ("Youth in Revolt") dutifully worked the press circuit following the film's favorable buzz. Although Helms has racked up considerable comedic cred with supporting turns in "The Office" and "The Hangover," "Cedar Rapids" marks his first shot at headlining a film.

The verdict: There's a sense of déjà vu going on here, with shades of Steve Carell’s innocent, man-child antics in "The 40 Year Old Virgin." No shortage of those in "Cedar Rapids"—Tim spouts eye-rollers like "I'll dream of you in my heart"—but Helms manages to put an earnest stamp on the archetype, molded after his own affable kookiness and unique comic timing. He pulls back before things get too cloying, and smartly moves forward before they get too creepy—all while keeping a straight face that makes you buy into Tim's improbable, yet strangely believable, naiveté. Reilly, Heche and Whitlock provide deft comedic support, and—natch—Reilly steals most of the scenes he's in. On the whole, "Cedar Rapids" is a bit of a slow burn, languidly gathering  steam before firing up the lunacy. Once it does, though, it hits a good stride.

Did you know? "Cedar Rapids" puts Arteta back in his Sundance safe zone: Of the director's five feature films to date, four of them got their start at Sundance, including "Star Maps," Chuck and Buck" and "The Good Girl." Give the guy a loyalty medal!

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