In a World…, 2013.
Written and Directed by Lake Bell.
Starring Lake Bell, Fred Melamed, Demetri Martin, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino and Rob Corddry.
SYNOPSIS:
An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation.
It’s easy to not be a fan of the “awkward” style of comedy as they can a touch too forced and on the nose, but when you have someone as charming and funny as Lake Bell behind and in front of the camera, you’re in safe hands. In short, In a World… is absolutely brilliant.
In a World… delves into the often unseen world of voice over artists and focuses on three in particular as they fight to bring back the infamous “in a world” line, made popular by trailer voice over legend Don LaFontaine. Things get complicated however when sexual mind games, back stabbing and a father-daughter rivalry come into play.
What makes In a World… such a good film is Bell’s charming and perky performance of the incredibly likeable Carol. She shines through every one of her awkward lines and bounces off everyone in the supporting cast perfectly. But full credit can not just be put on Miss Bell as the rest of the cast also do a great job including Rob Corddry and Michaela Watkins as he brother-in-law and sister respectively. Ken Marino is delightfully smarmy as ‘upcoming voice over star’ Gustav who has a working relationship with Carol’s father – and current voice over king – Sam Soto (played brilliantly by Fred Malamed). They all work so well together which makes every scene a joy to watch.
The film was always going to have a hard time shaking the shackles of looking like a feminist movie, but thankfully Bell balances out the plot and story so that it never feels like it’s trying to make a ‘woman in a man’s world’ statement. There are tones in there of sexism in the voice over world but they are never highlighted and only mentioned in passing. Granted it is brought up towards the end but it ends up more as a very clever ‘anti-message’.
Of course the true heart of the movie is the father/daughter relationship with Carol doing everything she possibly can just to win his approval. It’s a story we’ve seen a hundred times before but the voice over world setting its set in makes it feel so unique and interesting. I would argue that this storyline doesn’t feel like its completely resolved and is a touch forced, but all the build towards it is pitch perfect.
And while the story of In a World… is balanced very well, there is an incredibly superfluous sub plot featuring Carol’s sister and her brother-in-law which ends at the halfway point of the movie never to be mentioned again. It seems like a strange story choice as it never contributes to the main narrative nor does it tie into the main ‘messages’ of the movie. That’s not to say it’s major detraction to the movie, but it was an entirely pointless edition that feels like nothing more than padding.
Speaking of pointless editions, Eva Longoria’s ‘role’ in the movie is nothing more than a 20 second gag which doesn’t amount to much.
Even with these slight niggles, In a World… is a superb movie and hilariously funny. Bell’s witty script is jam packed with great characters, funny dialogue and engaging relationships. It does use the ‘awkward comedy’ card a little too often which could annoy some viewers, but those who can look past it will find a fantastic and entertaining movie.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Month in Review show for Flickering Myth’s Podcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published April 27, 2013. Updated November 6, 2019.
