[1] The film stars Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Sigourney Weaver.

Tim Lippe, a naive and idealistic insurance agent from a small town in Wisconsin, attempts to give his former middle school teacher, Mrs. Vanderhei, a promise ring after they have casual sex.

A successful agent, Tim is sent to represent his company, Brownstar Insurance, at a regional conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as a replacement for his co-worker, Roger Lemke, who died in an auto-erotic asphyxiation accident.

At the hotel, Bill appears at Tim's door to inform him that with the successful acquisition of another Two Diamond award, he has sold the company which will result in the branch's closure.

On the final day of the conference, Bill formally announces the sale but Tim takes over the podium and reveals that his company has unethically acquired the award every year by bribing Helgesson and confesses to doing so himself.

[2] In the film, Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) is a self-described fan of the television series The Wire and does an impersonation of one of its most popular characters, Omar Little.

Whitlock was involved in the HBO series portraying character Clay Davis, but has said the references to the show were written in before he was cast as Wilkes.

The website's consensus reads: "It's as conventional as its Midwestern setting, but Cedar Rapids boasts a terrific cast and a script that deftly blends R-rated raunch and endearing sweetness.