The main characters eventually improve their situation, using teamwork to find freedom, happiness, and self-respect, but the road they take to get there is quite iffy. Throughout the movie, their behavior is terrible, and they use underhanded means to bring down various hypocritical authority figures.

Positive Role Models & Representations

For the most part, these are the kinds of crude, underhanded characters that parents hope their kids never become -- although the hero, Tim, has a genuinely good heart and tries his best to uphold his personal values. But at the same time, the movie has a slightly condescending tone toward him.

Violence

Characters get in fights on more than one occasion, though very often they're more like clumsy wrestling matches than choreographed fistfights.

Sex

Heavy, almost non-stop sexual innuendo. The main character has sex with two women and makes out with a third. The first woman reveals that she has other partners. The second woman is already married, and the third woman is a prostitute. There's no female nudity, but males are seen topless, and other states of undress are implied (though no genitalia are shown). A minor character dies (off screen) of autoerotic asphyxiation.

Language

Very frequent use of a wide and colorful array of swear words, including "f--k," "s--t," "t-ts," "p---y," "a--hole," "twat," "cornholing," "goddamn," "pube," "queef," "son of a bitch," "wiener," "d--k," "rug munchers," "muff diver," "poop chute," "c--k," "blow me," the "N" word," and "bastard," plus an exclamatory use of "Jesus Christ."

Consumerism

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters pound shots of beer and/or hard liquor again and again, to the point of stumbling drunkenness. The main character smokes crack and enjoys it immensely. This is all played for comic effect.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this raunchy "hard R" comedy in the tradition of Animal House is about a group of men who cut loose and go crazy (some of them for the very first time) and then eventually take down a corrupt and hypocritical authority figure. The movie includes massive amounts of language, with some of the most creative and abundant swearing in ages. There's also heavy sexual innuendo and references to lots of sexual situations (multiple partners, adultery, prostitution, etc.). And there's heavy drinking, as well as use of hard drugs like crack. Thanks to a funny trailer and the presence of Hangover co-star Ed Helms, teens may be attracted to this envelope-pushing comedy, but it's really best left for adults.

User Reviews

Parents say
Kids say

Adult Written bykeeyanoosh February 22, 2012

age 16+

cedar rapids

cedar rapids is a very awesome movie!

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Adult Written byBestPicture1996 May 10, 2016

age 17+

Helms just isn't a lead yet

Give him a few more years. He was a great co-lead in "The Hangover," a great supporting role in "We're the Millers," but Helms just isn... Continue reading

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Teen, 14 years old Written byelijah.t July 3, 2011

age 18+

Lame

Packed to the brim with sexual content. Lots of cursing and a lot of drinking. "It has the comedic content of an Al Qaeda hostage video" in other word... Continue reading

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What's the story?

Tim Lippe (Ed Helms) is a naive small-town insurance man. When his firm's star salesman unexpectedly dies, Tim is selected to go to a convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to help his firm win the Two Diamond award for the fourth year in a row. Once there, Tim tries to do the right thing but falls in with a crowd of ne'er-do-wells, including party animal Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly), flirty Joan Ostrowski-Fox (Anne Heche), and upright Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.). As Tim begins to have a good time, he also begins to discover greed, selfishness, and corruption on all sides. Can he come to terms with this harsh reality check and rise above it?

Is it any good?

Directed by Miguel Arteta CEDAR RAPIDS has a grungy, low-budget feel, but it's actually a perfect copy of Animal House's successful, decades'-old formula. Nerds cut loose, discover their true selves, and bring down hypocritical authority figures. The movie also uses its small-town setting more to ridicule its characters than to say anything funny or insightful about small-town life.

But while there's nothing surprising about the movie's story or plot, the characters are endearing and -- though not constantly funny, they're at least consistently funny. Cedar Rapids also has the fact that its characters are adults -- rather than teens -- setting it apart from other films in the Animal House mold. Although they may act like crazy college students, in their quiet moments, these are grown-ups with grown-up problems (divorce, loneliness, unsatisfying marriages, etc.). Overall, the movie has enough laughs and charm to ensure a good time ... for those mature enough to handle its content, that is.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about the movie's sexual situations. Which characters are looking for solid relationships, and which aren't? Why? What messages does the movie send about sex and relationships?
Characters drink and do drugs a lot in this movie. Why? What would the consequences for this behavior be in real life?
Are any of the characters in this movie role models? Why or why not?

Movie details

In theaters: February 11, 2011
On DVD or streaming: June 21, 2011
Cast: Anne Heche, Ed Helms, John C. Reilly
Director: Miguel Arteta
Studio: Fox Searchlight
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 86 minutes
MPAA rating: R
MPAA explanation: crude and sexual content, language and drug use

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Cedar Rapids

Common Sense says

Parents say