Rated R for crude and sexual content, language and drug use
Cast: Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock, Jr.
Director: Miguel Arteta
For a film like this to work, the right actor is required. Ed Helms bring to the table his knack for elevating social fecklessness to an art form. It's what makes him fit in so perfectly with the cast of "The Office." Here he plays Tim Lippe, a middle-aged insurance salesman who dives into his work with inexhaustible fervor. So much so that when the opportunity presents itself to represent his small Wisconsin town agency in the annual insurance seminar in Cedar Rapids, he considers it the chance of a lifetime. For most any other salesman, this would be yet another eye roll-inducing lecture-laden snooze-fest punctuated by the remote possibility of an extramarital fling.
Tim, however, is no ordinary salesman. His naivete knows no bounds. How clueless is he? Here are some examples: immediately following a sexual tryst with his recently-divorced high school teacher from years back (Sigourney Weaver), he presents her with a promise ring. Outside his hotel in Cedar Rapids, he repeatedly mistakes a prostitute's propositions for friendly chit-chat. ("So, what are you guys up to?") As he enters his hotel room for the first time, he falls into a state of catatonic terror when he sees a black man (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) behind the door. That is, until he learns the man is another salesman.
His goal, as explained by his exuberant boss (Stephen Root), is to acquire the coveted Two Diamonds award, given out by the insurance association president (Kurtwood Smith). The pressure is on. If Tim fails, he could end up losing everything he holds dear.
His task becomes complicated by the introduction of other distractions, including a flirtatious colleague (Anne Heche) who sees the seminar as an excuse to "take a break" from her life. And a crass, in-your-face, vulgarity-peppered goofball (John C. Reilly), who manages to make the most crude remarks in the most disgusting manner possible. It's bad enough for someone to express every single thought running through their mind, but when said mind is entrenched as far in the gutter as this guy's is, it makes his speech pattern a biohazard. The unbridled mockery displayed by both characters is a means to deal with lives that didn't turn out as expected.
The movie gets a lot of mileage from sitting back and observing Tim Lippe's goofy guileless social machinations, yet it never looks down upon him. A lesser comedy would have him change from wide-eyed, sublime innocent to as jaded a buffoon as those surrounding him. But the film takes a certain pride in the very personality quirks that give birth to the movie's humor. We laugh at Tim's uptight reactions to unfolding events while maintaining a curious admiration for him at the same time.
Despite solid comic turns both on television and in movies like "The Hangover," Ed Helms doesn't seem like typical leading man material. Luckily, he's portraying a character miles from typical. His comic stylings are perfectly tailored to the role of Tim Lippe. Anne Heche adds color to the mix as a master of compartmentalization. She's able to allow herself to be moved by Tim's story of why he became a salesman, yet her fling with him is only a fling... just that... nothing more.
With a bizarre kind of ribald ebullience, John C. Reilly takes every scene he occupies by the scrotum, playing the kind of friend who, during those rare times when you're not apologizing for his behavior, you're holding your breath in fearful anticipation of being on the receiving end of lines like... "Hey, what's that? You got some pubes on your cheek. All right, eatin' a little canned tuna from the bottom shelf!"
Cynicism needs constant feeding to remain active. It's an unfortunate truth that the human condition is hardwired to provide that feeding. That's what makes off-beat characters like Tim Lippe both so funny and so endearing. There's something admirable about finding joy in the simplest things...
On the plane trip home after the seminar, Tim recounts some of his adventures to a flight attendant. "Well, that earns you a second bag of peanuts," she offers. "A second bag of peanuts," he muses. A broad smile of genuine happiness crosses his face. "Awesome."
* * * out of * * * * stars
