'Cedar Rapids' plays to capacity crowd in Ann Arbor

It is, of course, the movie that is going to change our lives. And by "our," of course I mean all of us. Everywhere.

It is "Cedar Rapids," coming soon to a theater near you. It's a comedy, sure, but it's much, much, much more. Or it's just a comedy. How do I know? I haven't seen it yet.

But the buzz from the Sundance Film Festival, where it was screened last week, is that it's pretty good. It was shown at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday night to a packed house, including Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett.

Why Ann Arbor? That's, uh, where most of it was filmed.

Some people in the real Cedar Rapids, where this blog originates, are a little miffed it wasn't filmed here. Not me. Most movies filmed in Iowa go straight to Netflix. Or Starz. Or somewhere they can never be found again. It's been a long, long time since "Field of Dreams," my babies.

I figure if "Cedar Rapids" is a hit, you know there will be thousands of people who will gou out of their way to visit my town even though nothing from the film will be found here except the city for which it's named. People can be odd like that. Maybe they'll buy something when they're here, like gasoline and loose-meat sandwiches.

If this is a big hit, even half as successful as the monstrously successful "The Hangover" (Ed Helms is in both), Cedar Rapids will automatically surpass Greenville, S.C., and Greenville, N.C., and every other city with a six-digit population total or so that never really gets much attention.

For a little while, anyhow.

Mock this if you want, jealous people from the rest of the world. We can take your mean, insensitive remarks. We're "Cedar Rapids," and we're about to get bigger than life itself.

If that weren't enough, how about this: