Cedar Rapids (2011)
75%RT Audience Score: 59%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 4 nominations
It’s as conventional as its Midwestern setting, but Cedar Rapids boasts a terrific cast and a script that deftly blends R-rated raunch and endearing sweetness
Cedar Rapids may not be the most original comedy out there, but it’s got heart and charm that’ll make you forget you’re watching a movie about insurance salesmen. Ed Helms shines in his breakout role, delivering some hilarious moments that never feel forced. And let’s not forget about Anne Heche, who gives her best performance in quite some time. Sure, the movie may be offensive and pointless at times, but it’s still a well-made, imperfect kind of movie that’ll leave you with a smile on your face. Plus, it’s a lot better than actually spending 86 minutes in Cedar Rapids.
Production Company(ies)
Element Pictures, A24, Film4
Distributor
Fox Searchlight
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for crude and sexual content, language and drug use
Year of Release
2011
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 27m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 11, 2011 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 21, 2011
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Ed Helms, John C Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, directed by Miguel Arteta, written by Phil Johnston, comedy, R-rated, box office gross $6.9M, reviewed by Deborah Ross, Violet Lucca, Nick Schager, Leonard Maltin, Philip French, Anthony Quinn, Richard Propes, Allen Almachar, Felicia Feaster, Micheal Compton, Kiko Martinez, insurance agent, convention, Iowa, Wisconsin, hotel, plane, Midwestern, raunchy, sweet, fish-out-of-water, sex, drugs, cream sherry, endearing, breakout role, Fox Searchlight, SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Worldwide gross: $7,728,936
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $10,175,128
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,962
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,109,610
US/Canada gross: $6,861,102
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $9,032,626
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,645
US/Canada opening weekend: $302,968
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $398,857
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,459
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $10,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $13,164,979
Production budget ranking: 1,558
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $7,089,341
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$10,079,192
ROI to date (est.): -50%
ROI ranking: 1,688
John C. Reilly – Dean Ziegler
Anne Heche – Joan Ostrowski-Fox
Isiah Whitlock Jr. – Ronald Wilkes
Stephen Root – Bill Krogstad
Kurtwood Smith – Orin Helgesson
Director – Miguel Arteta
Producers – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Writer – Phil Johnston
Director(s)
Miguel Arteta
Writer(s)
Phil Johnston
Producer(s)
Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (167) | Top Critics (63) | Fresh (143) | Rotten (24)
Isn’t a blazingly original comedy, but it has such a nice, tender-hearted feel to it I was won over and charmed.
August 30, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
The risks Cedar Rapids takes may not always pay off, but as a general rule, I would advise spending 86 minutes of your life with the movie rather than the city itself.
June 28, 2013
Violet Lucca
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Hopelessly benign but still boisterous enough to deliver a mild buzz.
June 28, 2011 | Rating: B-
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
Everyone does good work here, but for Helms this is a breakout role, and he delivers. Cedar Rapids is a modest but disarming comedy that will leave a smile on your face…
June 23, 2011
Leonard Maltin
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
It’s funny, offensive, well acted and pointless.
May 1, 2011
Philip French
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Comedy seldom comes as good-natured as Cedar Rapids, a fish-out-of-water story in which a Midwestern innocent discovers sex, drugs and cream sherry in the big city.
April 29, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
Anthony Quinn
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Giving her best performance in quite some time, Anne Heche is simply magnificent.
September 5, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
This is a well-made, imperfect kind of movie, containing a lot of laughs and heart despite its weaknesses.
August 11, 2020 | Rating: B-
Allen Almachar
The MacGuffin
Cedar Rapids gains points for mixing up its very, very rude comedy with a real sense of purpose.
January 21, 2020
Felicia Feaster
Charleston City Paper
A slightly uneven comedy with enough laughs to overcome the lulls.
May 8, 2019 | Rating: B-
Micheal Compton
Bowling Green Daily News
Ed Helms delivers some dialed-down, hilarious moments that never feel like second-rate gags.
January 29, 2018 | Rating: B
Kiko Martinez
San Antonio Current
Not as funny as it seems to think it is, but there are considerable pleasures to be found around the margins.
May 3, 2015
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly…
Plot
Tim Lippe (Helms) was the guy people always thought would go places but then he just … didn’t. He’s been living in über-sleepy Brown Valley, Wisconsin his whole life, still “pre-engaged” to his 7th grade teacher Macy Vanderhei (Weaver), while selling insurance to protect other people’s dreams. But now, Tim’s stalled life is about to get a kick-start because, for the first time in his 34 years, he’s headed to a “major” metropolis – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – where he must try to save his company at a do-or-die insurance convention that, for him, will be entirely unconventional. From the minute he checks into his hotel with his ancient American Tourister and cummerbund money belt, it’s clear Tim has no idea how the modern world really works. He is soon smitten with seductive Nebraskan insurance agent Joan Ostrowski-Fox (Heche) and awed by his experienced roommates, the straight-shooting Ronald Wilkes (Whitlock Jr.) and the suspicious Dean Zeigler (Reilly). Disheartened when he comes face-to-face with corporate corruption, Tim is ultimately lured beyond the lobby into an urban jungle he’s only ever seen on DVD and when it seems his life – and chances to succeed – have gone completely topsy-turvy, he finds his own unjaded way to turn it all around.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
John C. Reilly’s character in Cedar Rapids is described as “corrupted, hilarious and insanely infectious.”
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