My friends at AMC Independent were nice enough to invite me to an Intimate Screening of the film “Cedar Rapids” this week.  The film, which played at this year’s Sundance, stars Ed Helms as a small town insurance salesman sent by his office to represent the company at a convention in the big city.  And the big city in this case, is Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  My friend nailed the vibe of this film better than I could walking out, it’s like “Up in the Air” but there’s something more tangible about it (unless you work around alot of salesman who look like George Clooney).

Ed Helms anchors a really well put together cast: Sigourney Weaver is the object of his childhood affections (literally), Anne Heche plays his love interest at the convention (I love seeing actresses you don’t normally associate with ‘sexy’ turn it up, and she does it here).  John C. Reilly brings the manic energy as a rival/friend from another firm, and Isiah Whitlock rounds out the cast.  That name might not be familiar to you, but there are a couple of great in jokes to the greatest show in the history of television that will jog your memory when you see him.

Granted I’m biased, but everything from the hotel (looks like a Holiday Inn) to the fast friends made and lost gave me several flashbacks to the Club Alphas and Big 12 Conferences of my college days.  This film is a straight comedy, don’t get me wrong, but alot of the little details (the houses, the clothing, the way people carried themselves) felt true to the world they were portraying.  Cute little film.