Cedar Rapids
There’s a scene in this film where John C. Reilly’s Dean Ziegler implores Ed Helms’s Tim Lippe to trust him. Once you’re a friend of Deansy Ziegler, you’re a friend for life, your secrets are safe.
I was intrigued by the reviews. I rarely go to the movies anymore, I can wait to watch five minutes or completely ignore them when they appear on cable a year later. But I’m always interested in excellence. That’s the secret sauce, greatness.
And there’s so much of it in "Cedar Rapids" that you end up feeling warm all over, believing you too are a member of the evolving group of buddies in this movie.
With a three hour window before seeing the Decemberists at the Wiltern, I surfed for movie availability. I try to go to the ArcLight. Because if I’m going to bother to spend my time, I want a good experience, and I’m willing to pay for it.
And right alongside the two-dimensional high concept fare at the multiplex in Hollywood was the flick that was warmly-reviewed by Joe Morgenstern in the "The Wall Street Journal", got an A- in "Entertainment Weekly" and got an 84 on rottentomatoes.com. I’m not taking any risks with my time, I triangulate, I research before I purchase, I’m a BABY BOOMER!
Kids are impulse buyers. Which is why all that advertising is geared towards them. They’re susceptible, we’re not. You can’t pull the wool over our eyes. We don’t believe in flavor of the moment, we want to see the arc of a career. Which is why NARAS is placing Dylan next to Mumford and Sons on tonight’s Grammy telecast. Bob may be almost unable to sing, but we’re not gonna tune in for a new band with no track record, we need the imprimatur of longevity.
I’ll admit that I loved Ed Helms in "The Hangover". But I didn’t even know John C. Reilly and Anne Heche were in "Cedar Rapids", they were the unexpected bonus, alongside journeyman Isiah Whitlock, Jr., who plays a middle class African-American of unknown sexuality who works too hard, drives a minivan and enjoys antiquing. That means he’s…
John C. Reilly ultimately calls Whitlock’s character on this. That’s Deansy’s role. To speak the truth.
We love those who challenge convention.
But institutions don’t.
It’s a hard road following the truth, when everybody else is kissing ass to get ahead, especially if you’re not beautiful like Brad Pitt and lack the personality of Jack Nicholson.
Deansy is the kind of guy we hate. Whom we ultimately come to love and trust. You know, someone we laugh at, not with, until we realize he’s got a good heart, that he means no harm, that he’s just trying to navigate this difficult game we call life.
And Anne Heche… What to say about someone whose questionable behavior has media flogging her but is an incredible actress? Sure, she’s probably better looking than the character she plays, but the fact that she made her choices and has to live with them resonates with us all. You look back and think of all you want to change, unfortunately you don’t get that opportunity.
And then there’s that moment… When John C. Reilly learns secret information. Too often the hearer of facts like these uses them for leverage, to gain advantage over the speaker and move ahead in the game itself. But Reilly does not do this. Instead of screwing Helms, he bonds to him, says he’s his friend for life.
You know who your lifelong friends are. The people you can count on, whom you trust. They may not be stars, they may not be rich, but if you call them up and say you need a ride to the hospital, they come right over. If they intuit you’re down in a phone conversation, they insist you journey over for dinner. They’re there to share your triumphs and your losses. They’re your team, you can depend on them.
Everybody wants to be rich and famous, that’s what the media tells us. Isn’t that the lesson of Snooki and the rest of the cast of "The Jersey Shore"? That you’re only one reinvention away from stardom? That if you can only come up with a catchy nickname…
But most people never get to be stars. But that doesn’t mean they don’t live. Selling insurance may not be glamorous. But it might get you into bed with your elementary school teacher.
Ooh, I’ve said too much. I won’t tell the tale of Macy, an eighties star sans plastic surgery who acts her age. But I will tell you to see "Cedar Rapids". Because it’s everything most movies are not. It’s got no special effects, there’s no high concept and no bankable star. But it’s more truthful and life-affirming than any of the blockbusters. Sure, we go to the movies for escape. But we also go to feel alive, included, not so alone. We’re looking for context. We’re looking for insight on the human condition. And we’re looking to laugh.
A big thumbs-up to "Cedar Rapids".
