Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
A naive Midwesterner insurance salesman travels to a big-city convention in an effort to save the jobs of his co-workers.
Cedar Rapids is a modest, likable comedy with a solid ensemble cast (Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr.) that elevates fairly conventional fish-out-of-water material. The plot is formulaic and predictable — naive guy goes to convention, gets corrupted, finds himself — and offers little in terms of visual style or cinematographic ambition. The film's novelty is limited; it recycles well-worn coming-of-age tropes transplanted to an adult setting. The ending wraps things up satisfactorily without much surprise. The cast chemistry is the clear highlight, keeping things entertaining despite the thin premise.