Wednesday, February 2, 2011

'Cedar Rapids' -- Where Conventions Are King

You should be flattered by "Cedar Rapids," which is coming out next Friday, because in the worldview of this amiable-looking comedy, conventions are king. At least, that's the message I take from the trailer: Ed Helms plays Tim Lippe, an insurance agent who's never left his small Wisconsin hometown -- until his boss sends him to represent the company at an annual insurance convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Based on the additional clips posted on the movie's website, it looks like Tim will experience a variety of classic convention experiences, including anonymous hotels, questionable team-building activities, and hard-partying colleagues. And, this being a movie, I'm assuming that somewhere along the way, Tim will figure out what's really important in life. Or, as the marketing copy for "Cedar Rapids" puts it: "For a guy who plays everything by the book, this convention will be anything but conventional." Which is pretty cool, right? Sure the movie is a light comedy, but the filmmakers don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that a meeting might change someone's life.

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