Ed Helms has been getting good reviews for his performance in 'The Hangover' films. Now he plays the lead in this comedy I saw at the Sydney Film Festival.
The story of a guy from a small town who goes to the big city is not new. But it provides fertile ground for writers to create characters who are very naive and get overwhelmed by all the trappings in a city. That is very true of Tim Lippe, an insurance agent who goes to a conference and gets into trouble with other agents. While this is similar to Stu in 'The Hangover' films, Tim is a lot more clueless about how the outside world works. This provides most of the great comedy as Tim discovers all the wonders that occur outside his small town. Tim gets involved with people who lead him astray. He also discovers some secrets about his job. This naturally makes the film quite funny.
The film is very much a character piece and one to show off the comedy skills of Ed Helms. As mentioned above he is playing a character similar to Stu in 'The Hangover' films and his character gets into similar situations. The main difference as I said is that Tim is a lot more naive. Ed is an excellent comedy actor as proved by this film. He certainly has the presence to carry a leading role. He is though backed up by an excellent support cast. John C. Reilly is hilarious as Tim's new friend, Dean, who introduces Tim to fun. Anne Heche has been away from the cinema lately so it is good to see her return. She is an excellent comedic actress and has a nice role here that is sweet too. Isiah Washington Jnr. rounds out the team with a great deadpan role. there are some nice references to his work in 'The Wire' too. There are some great smaller supporting performances by Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Root and Alia Shawkat.
An excellent comedy that really showcases the talent of Ed Helms. If all you've seen of him is 'The Hangover' and 'The Office' then make sure you check this out.
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