#36 Cedar Rapids
Straight-laced Tim Lippe of small-town Wisconsin (Ed Helms, erring on the side of Andy Bernard) has never been to a "major metropolis" until his boss sends him to represent the company at a regional insurance convention. Now he's off to majestic Cedar Rapids, Iowa (population-125,000) and all kinds of temptations await him. He wants to keep his word to his boss and stay away from legendary salesman and party hound Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly), but they end up as hotel roommates. He wants to keep his word and stay true to his "pre-engagement" with his 7th grade teacher Mrs. Vanderhei (Sigourney Weaver), but he finds himself under the spell of insurance dealer Joan Ostrowski-Fox (welcome back, Anne Heche). Isiah Whitlock (Sr. Clay Davis from The Wire? Sheeeeeeeiiit) plays Ronald, the third roommate, who does his best to keep Dean and Joan at bay with by-the-books anecdotes. But before too long, Tim gives way to their outlandish peer pressure and gets in tune with a side of himself he never knew he had. Helms is great as the wide-eyed and conflicted lead. I loved when he arrived in Cedar Rapids and became flabbergasted by the buildings and his rental Chevy Cobalt. I thoroughly enjoyed his sobbing call to his pre-ancee', worried that he would turn into a philanderer. The convention veterans entertain, but none more so than John C. Reilly, who I would watch in every movie, if only it were possible.
#35 The Adjustment Bureau
The members of the Adjustment Bureau can travel through doors. By that I mean they have the power to go in the door of, say, a pet store, and come out on the the 90th floor of the Empire State building. As is often the case with sci-fi, you find yourself more disbelieving of the ordinary story elements than the extraordinary, like how you can be totally okay with a monster made from a pillar of smoke on LOST, but skeptical of the fact that Matthew Fox could wear the same sleeveless tank for a week at a time. Starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt's cleavage, The Adjustment Bureau (based on the Phillip K. Dick short story "The Adjustment Team") follows politician David Norris (Damon) as he prepares a concession speech in a men's room, where Elise (Blunt) is hiding. She tells him to be honest in his speech. They make out. She runs off. He tries the honesty thing. It works and propels his career. Then they meet again on a bus; she gives him her number. He is excited about the number. Walking into work, he encounters men who have frozen his co-workers with some sort of technology and are wiping out memories. This is the Adjustment Bureau. They are an agency tasked with keeping people on their supposed "life paths" without any sort of veering off course. Richardson (Mad Men silverfox John Slattery) and Harry (Anthony Mackie) are the team captains, if you will, and though they represent our antagonists, they are far from sinister. They say he is destined for big things but not if he is dating Emily Blunt. Then we come into classic conflict territory: Love or career? Destiny or pre-determined course? Gray bowler hat or black bowler hat? Despite the hokeyness, I actually kind of liked the film. A friend of mine said the weakness of the movie is essentially that no man in their right mind would consider giving up the possibility of being president for a girl he made out with for thirty seconds in a bathroom. Though Huey Lewis would disagree (awesome "Power of Love"" reference) I tend to side a little bit with my friend, especially finding myself not buying the "wealthy politician rides the bus every day for three years trying to cash in on what could best be described as a craigslist 'missed connection'" plotline. But the acting is there, the use of the doorway portals make for plenty of exciting chase scenes, and you actively want to know how the situation plays out, leading the viewer to almost forget that Emily Blunt is in the same low-cut dress for the last half of the movie. That could never happen!
That'll do it for today. More tomorrow.
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