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Show March 4, 2011 CEDAR continued from Page 6 group of characters that includes his predecessor's sworn rival Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly), his nonchalant roommate Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and their foxy friend Joan Ostrowski-Fox (Anne Heche). The group bands together as the overruling way of the world threatens Lippe's innocence. Joan is one of the most complex characters in the film. She describes the Cedar Rapids getaway as her one chance every year to let loose and live without the ties of her marriage and family as she gets continually closer to Lippe. Heche describes her character as a devoted wife and mother, despite her annual promiscuous relationships with insurance industry colleagues. "She is committed to them, but she needs to take that one vacation from her life every year so she doesn't go insane," she said. Despite her affairs, she still makes time to call her husband and children to wish them luck at a junior sports game. Heche described the experience as being one of the most entertaining 1 IWU2I0011E0MM A1111111En0 I 7 THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE she's had. Reilly, known for his absurd roles in comedies such as "Step Brothers" and "Walk Hard," improvised on set, staying in the mindset of his friendly but somewhat deranged character throughout production, often apologizing to the other actors for his outlandish, though comical, behavior. Screenwriter Phil Johnston and talented director Miguel Arteta make the best use of Reilly as a comedian since he co-starred in "Talladega Nights" with Will Ferrell. He manages to be funny and lovable as a character without ever becoming crude or ignorant enough to turn off the film's audience. Helms and Whitlock Jr. are perfectly cast as the naive protagonist and his friend, an enthusiastic fan of the HBO series "The Wire" (on which the actor has previously held a part). "Cedar Rapids" is an enchanting comedy both about Lippe's coming to understand the vices of the world and his learning to be a good person with the help of his friends. It forgoes the absolute morals that many movies adhere to and acknowledges the world's shades of gray in an often hilarious manner. An ensemble comedy at its heart, the movie is plenty of fun and the best comedy of the year so far. d.richey@chronicle.utah.edu POWER SURGE PORTUGAL continued from Page 6 Hill, known for his work with the likes of Santigold and M.I.A. "(Hill) always comes up with really interesting new sounds and ideas about how things will work," Carothers said. "He had a lot of great ideas and a lot of tricks we had never seen before." Carothers said the band was attracted to Hill by his previous work, especially on Santigold's zoo8 album Santogold. Carothers noted that another element of the pairing came from Hill's excitement for the band. "We think that love is always the secret ingredient in any recipe," Carothers said. The band's sound has become more focused over the years, according to Carothers. He said that he still likes the old tunes, but the band's latest efforts are more polished and fluid. "We had no idea what we were doing at the beginning and so all of our songs were just a bunch of parts jumbled together with no real transitions and not a very good flow," Carothers said. "I think that we've just greased the axles a little bit and have gotten a little more smooth with our songwriting." Carothers said that some people have taken the band's recent work the wrong way because of its more, as he put it, "mainstream-friendly" sound, It hasn't been on purpose, he said, but because the band has "just learned how to write better songs." The recording on the still-untitled album is complete and the band plans to play some of the songs live in the next few months to see how they are received, Carothers said. For the upcoming album, the band was hunting for new ideas while staying true to its original influences. "I don't know if we intentionally do it, but we just hear something cool and we kind of emulate it in our own way," Carothers said. Carothers said being busy is normal for the band. "It doesn't seem that crazy to us— music is just what we do," he said. "It's our hobby, it's our job, it's our career. It's pretty much everything. We're not going to get lazy." Portugal. The Man will be playing at In The Venue tonight. Doors open at 6 p.m., and tickets are $15.5o in advance and $17 the day of. j.price@chronicle.utah.edu ;,): Become a Technological Superhero. Technology Education offers flexible, hands-on classes from computer basics to professional certifications in Linux and Apple. Call 801-581-6061 Mention this ad and get 10% off your next class ILICONTINUING EDUCATION 0 THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH continue.utah.edu |