MovieChat Forums > Cedar Rapids (2011) Discussion > Amusing, but... (Spoilers)

Amusing, but... (Spoilers)

posted 14 years ago by Zando777
9 replies | jump to latest

Do we really need films condoning adultry and crack smoking / coke use in our society? Don't we have enough STD's, broken homes, and drug addicts on our streets? Not to mention prostitutes?

If they had him smoking a little ganga, that would be one thing. If she (both women) at least felt bad about acting like a whore, that might also help.

They threw in a little lesson about integrity at the end, would've been nice to make it a little more comprehensive.

[–] sundmanage 14 years ago

You can always watch Sesame Street for your wholesome moral teachings.

[–] honeyforu 14 years ago

You can always watch Sesame Street for your wholesome moral teachings.

xD;

Seriously, now movies are only allowed to portray "good things" in a positive light and "bad things" negatively? Notice the ""s?

It's like there's a party in my mouth and everyone's throwing up.

[–] optiplex 14 years ago

I think this stuff gives the movie some reality. You have characters that are adulterous and some that are drug users, but you also have some characters that are saints, like Ronald. I don't think this movie encourages any of the vices in it, but it also doesn't judge any of the characters for taking part in them. I think this was great for the movie. It showed a lot of humanity by not labeling people in that way.

Also, I think it does show the consequences of all the drug using and cheating. When Ed Helms cheats on his girlfriend he feels awful about it. When he hangs out and does crack with a prostitute he ends up getting his ass kicked. This shows the dangers of taking part in any of these things, but does not scold you for doing it. I think the darker subjects were handled very well in this film.

[–] carlsez_1 14 years ago

I agree, but it was a "reality" of convenience. That means that all of the bad behavior shows Hollywood's love affair with vices, as long as they are shown in a humorous context. It plays in to the secret fantasy of many "normal" people - that given the chance they would rather do drugs and party with a hooker.

I feel that there should always be some measure in what to show. The question is: is all the vice there to play into the fantasy, for a cheap laugh, or to make a point about the conflicts that Tim Lippe is going through? I assume that it is mostly the latter, but my sense is that the two former ones were also what the movie was going for. I think this is what the OP was getting at.

Auto-Tune is not a genre, please stop treating it as such.

[–] gjieuh 13 years ago

sorry but i have to disagree with you. auto-tune SHOULD be it's own genre. that way it doesn't get confused with actual singing/performing.

as for your actual post (hehehe) i completely agree with you.

[–] billnadsley 13 years ago

I, too, disagree. I didn't find much of a cheap laugh anywhere in the film, it was too dark for that, to me. As far as a fantasy goes, maybe it's someone's fantasy, but all of the elements that may make up the fantasy were played out in a very depressing way to me, thus removing the "fantasy" of the vices entirely. I found some of them quite sad, in the context of the film, to be honest.

Maybe it's a "fantasy" scenario, but it seems obvious that that WASN'T the case with Lippe. And to be honest, it didn't paint any sort of positive picture of those vices. I do think a few were there to make points, but I think all were good in context.

The adultery felt sad to me. While it showed Lippe something, I still found Ann Heche (forgot the character's name) pretty sad, when it came to this. I didn't think she was a great influence on anyone but Lippe. And in his case, it was more about realizing he was actually a grown man, who could have real women of his age liking him, than anything else. It still wasn't good, and even Lippe got that, I think.

I saw him having some fun with drinking, which is just relatively normal, and didn't seem too Hollywood-ized.

I don't think either the crack house party, or the hooker were REALLY meant to show Lippe anything good, and I think he got that. The hooker was kind of sweet, as a person, but to me, it just spelled more of the mistakes that are out there to make, as she had done, and I think that only served to show Lippe the same thing.

[–] gjieuh 13 years ago

Actually, at the end on the plane, he listed everything that happened to him and said it was awesome, so that's the idea the movie wants to reinforce, that that *beep* is awesome. Truly though, that is the attitude that is developing in our society, in my observations anyway. Maybe this movie is just pandering to that.

[–] billnadsley 13 years ago

Maybe I'm being TOO open-minded, but I saw most as things that most normal people (I don't NECESSARILY mean hookers or crack, but I got the situations as extreme versions of real-life) would figure out in normal life, just maybe not quite as fast as Lippe.

Even though he says it was awesome, I didn't REALLY get that drift while it happened, nor do I feel that was the message - to me, it's more the impression his night left a feeling of freedom that he didn't have before.

I felt that Lippe probably had an over-the-top (especially for him, as he's a grown-up 18-year old) night, and I can't imagine him doing much ever again. But to him, he still sees it's "awesome", because it was all life experiences he missed, all crammed into one night. Much like myself (and I wasn't as sheltered as Lippe, but, excluding hookers, did see a lot of this oddness over the years, and realize from that, that THAT life isn't great), I imagine he DOES realize they're NOT great things for him. I think the credits show that he's still kind of Lippe, but maybe a more sophisticated version.

My feeling is that, yes, Lippe, enjoyed himself. I won't lie, I was worried about alcohol, especially until I was in college. I still remember that first night of real drinking as something really fun (though, kids, it's not good for you in the short OR long run, at ALL). I assume Lippe's night was even more "fun", as far as seeing things you've not seen before, but still cloudy.

I didn't see it as much as him REALLY feeling like it was a lifestyle choice, as much as one that showed him an alternate version of the world, that IS real, and he was happy to experience "reality".

As far as pandering, very little that seemed "bad", is enforced as "positive", in the film, to me. Again, they were tools for Lippe to learn. His drinking left him feeling bad, as I recall (it's been a a number of months since I've seen it). His drug/hooker association left him beaten and with a need for rescue. Even Heche's conversation with her husband felt sad, and nothing felt "good" about her cheating.

The film needs to be looked at in different ways, which is why it's underappreciated. People look for a comedy, then don't look again.

[–] gjieuh 13 years ago

Ya, actually, that's more what I meant. Not that that stuff is normal and good to do on a regular basis, but that the crazier the time you had, the crazier the story you have to tell and, I guess, the more experienced you become.
Also, I wasn't expecting this to be a full-out comedy. I knew this was gonna be one of those movies that just had a few moments to laugh at thrown in. Like that recent movie with vince vaughn and kevin james (forget the title).