Cedar Rapids

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  There is something oddly very attractive about Ed Helms.  That's not the only reason I enjoyed the movie Cedar Rapids, but I felt it just needed to be said.  :-P

I saw this movie last night.  It was late for me, I didn't really know what this movie was about, and I didn't know what to expect.  But I found it delightfully charming.  While I would probably only give Cedar Rapids 3 out of 5 stars, I would still recommend people see it.  There's something about it that makes it very different from a lot of other movies out there.

The movie cut to credits and my friend said, "Well that ending was a little off point, but okay."  And I realized, that's exactly what I liked about the movie.  A lot of the things that happened in the movie were "off point", but without taking away from the movie, in fact they mostly added to it.  And then when I really think about it, the ending wasn't off point at all.

This movie wasn't about a love story.  There really was no love story arc, which was one of my favorite things about it.  It wasn't a coming of age story (although it could be considered that loosely).  It was really just about a guy who needed to loosen up, make some friends, and stand up for himself.  And through drunken late night pool swimming, sex with a married lady, befriending a prostitute (Alia Shawkat from Arrested Development), and hanging out with cool people who make a lot of offensive jokes, that's exactly what he did.  He learned he could have fun, but still be a good person who did the right thing.

I think that made it sound cheesy, and most movies do have a little cheese, but it was seriously funny and I just thought it was a very original story.  Something you don't see in the movies often.  They didn't feel the need to throw in the normal cliches to make it something mainstream.  And it made for a good movie.

I'm not saying run out and see it, but...  There's so little good in theaters now, am I right?