It will be hard to look at trailers the same again. Writer/Director/Star Lake Bell has created a fun little movie “in a world…where people…with great verbal acumen…square off for the chance…to be the voice…of the next great movie trailer.” A solid family drama masquerading as a cute indie comedy, In a World gets some solid laughs and decent observations about society. I’m also now acutely aware of how disturbing the baby voice actually is.
The last great voiceover man, Dan Lafontaine, has just died (this is also a true story), leaving the door open for a new heir to the throne. Vying for the title are 3 suitors: Sam (Fred Melamed), a contemporary of Lafontaines; his daughter Carol (Lake Bell), trying to become a pioneering woman in the business, and Gustav (Ken Marino), an up-and-comer that Sam takes under his wing and Carol is attracted to. Sam’s frustration at Carol’s life choices force him to kick Carol out. Carol moves in with her sister (Michaela Watkins) and brother-in-law (Rob Corddry) which generates friction in their already shaky marriage.
In A World does a good balancing act of mixing drama into the overall comedic structure. Since this is a movie about voiceover work, the screenplay is light on heft, but there are still some solid underpinnings of screwed up family dynamics and realizing success is right in front of your face. Most of these scenes are then followed by something along the lines of Eva Longoria chewing on a cork (this happens by the way). In A World may be trying a little too hard to be funny, but it mostly hits the funny bone: the funniest gag involves the running joke of girls using a baby voice and Carol’s hatred when hearing it.
The plot structure of In A World is also just a little strange. Anytime it telegraphs where the story should go, it sidesteps the obvious line for some sort of tangential one that eventually weaves back into the main plot thrust. Carol is given a couple of love interests that she flirts with but never commits to. When Sam looks like he’s about to commit a terrible self-inflicted act, he just bursts into tears instead. In A World does a fun job sidestepping storylines that might distract from the main one (the competition for the voiceover) and creating a bunch of fun tangents that could probably become their own films.
Much of the success of In A World is the awesome comedy team Bell has put together. Rob Corddry, Ken Marino, Alexandra Holden, Demetri Martin, Tig Notaro, Nick Offerman, Stephanie Allynne, Geena Davis, and even Eva Longoria get some very funny moments being either the butt of the joke or getting off a zippy one liner. The main family is the stars of this film though. Michaela Watkins is good at being funny and wearing her heart on her sleeve; I want to see more of her. Fred Melamed is a good character actor who can add another one to his list here: Sam is selfish but extremely confident because of his perceived power in the film world. Finally, Lake Bell herself holds the movie together with a funny part that is Woody Allen with less melancholy and more heart.
This is Bell’s directing debut, and it is a good one. With her solid ties to the business, I hope to see more fun times like In A World hit theatres from her with regularity. Perhaps she can direct the trailer in the film: The Amazon Games, a no holds barred battle between giant women and mutants.