It’s hard to put into words why I like Cedar Rapids so much.  It’s a pretty quiet, understated, indie comedy featuring comedic juggernauts Ed Helms and John C. Reilly.

The film tells the story of Tim Lippe (Ed Helms), an insurance salesman who goes to a convention in Cedar Rapids in place of the office star (Thomas Lennon) after he dies.  There he meets fellow salesmen/women Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly), Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock Jr) and Joan Ostrowski-Fox (Anne Heche).

In essence I guess the film is a fish out of water story, but a description of that nature doesn’t really seem to do the film justice.

Cedar Rapids is interspersed with these quiet romantic moments between Tim and Joan, and for me they are the highlight of the film.  That’s not to say the rest of it isn’t wonderful, I just found these scenes to be a distinct change of pace for a comedy.  The highlight is the pool scene with Tim, Dean and Joan.  There’s a moment in there which is shot in such a beautiful way I find myself waiting for it every time I watch the film.

Not much more to say other than watch this film.  It’s all kinds of awesome.

My love for Mindy Kaling and Ed Helms knows no end.  Ellie Kemper and BJ Novak now join them.  God this is so fucking awesome.

Ed Helms has signed on to star in the indie comedy Cedar Rapids.

The film tells the story of a wholesome and naive small-town Wisconsin man (Helms), who, when his role model dies, must represent his company at a regional insurance conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where his mind is blown by the big-town experience.

There is currently no distributor lined up but it’s expected to go to Fox Searchlight.

So this is another one to add to the watch list.  Ed Helms is awesome in everything he does and with the overwhelming success of The Hangover he’s sure to get even more roles in the future.  His next film is The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard which opens in August and looks damn hilarious.

(source = Variety, The Hollywood Reporter)

Never mind, because here’s the first poster for The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard.  As I stated before when I posted the red band trailer, this film looks f’ing awesome.

Click the image for a larger view.

Starring a shit-ton of great comedic actors including Jeremy Piven, Will Ferrell, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn, and Tony Hale, the film tells the story of a used-car liquidator (Piven) who is hired by a flailing auto dealership to turn their Fourth of July sale into a majorly profitable event.

It’s set to open on 14th August.