In a World... (2013)

Carol, in the booth

The words “In a World…” begin far, far too many movie trailers begin. Say them in your head, and think about how many times you’ve been sitting in a dark theatre waiting for the movie to begin, and heard them at the start of a preview. That they’re used so often is a sign of lazy, unimaginative writing (and also probably producers who hope to make their movie sound more substantial than it really is).

In a World… is also the title of a witty and good-natured new comedy starring, directed, and written by the talented Lake Bell (What Happens in Vegas, Pride and Glory, It’s Complicated).

The movie takes place in the insular world of voice-over actors. These are the people who not only narrate movie trailers, but also tell you how much you can save on your car insurance, how many square feet of trunk space a new sedan has, and advise you to see your doctor if your erection lasts more than four hours. It’s kind of an interesting world, if you think about it. We hear and are familiar with these people’s voices every day, but never know the faces and human being attached to them.

In the film, the voice-over fraternity (and it does seem to be mostly male) is a relatively small club, where members constantly compete for a very few plum jobs. Bell plays Carol, a freelance vocal coach, who lives in Los Angeles. She’s brought in to help actors re-record dialogue, any time a particularly difficult accent is required (we see her trying to help a hapless Eva Longoria achieve a believable cockney delivery). Her father Sam (Fred Melamed; A Serious Man, Hollywood Ending, Hannah and Her Sisters) is a legendary in the field, so she’s witnessed first-hand that the career almost entirely omits women.

Already at the recording studio, helping an actor perfect an accent, she happens to record a temporary voice-over demo for a children’s film. The producers like it, and give her the job. When she finds out, she responds incredulously “…but I’m a chick?!” Soon after she successfully lands two other voice jobs in quick succession. Carol can’t believe her good fortune.

However, there is a price: now that she’s finally punched through the glass ceiling, she now finds herself in direct competition with her father for what little work there is. To make matters worse, at a party she sleeps with Gustav (Ken Marino, essentially playing the same character he did on East Bound and Down), without realizing that he, too, is a voice actor, and thus the competition. The film’s climax involves Carol competing with Sam and Gustav for a career-making job, as the voice of a new tween-action “quadrilogy” (a thinly-veiled jab at the Hunger Games).

On screen, Bell’s a natural. Her Carol is cute, clever, appealing and playfully down-to-earth (not easy to pull off, since the actress is disarmingly good looking). Her reactions and comedic timing are spot on. It doesn’t hurt that she’s written most of the best lines for herself.

There are other subplots involving Carol’s sister Dani’s (Michaela Watkins; Thanks for Sharing, Wanderlust)) near infidelity with an attractive Irish director, Sam’s tedious new trophy wife (Alexandra Holden), and a burgeoning romance between Carol and a sound engineer (Comedy Central staple Dmitri Martin). But basically In a World… is a likeable feminist fable, about Carol trying to integrate the all-male world of voice acting.

As a director, Bell’s story-telling ability could use some polish. The film looks good, and is well paced, but certain parts either seem unnecessary, or are underdeveloped. The storyline involving the struggling relationship of Dani and her husband Moe (Daily Show alum Rob Corddry; Warm Bodies, Cedar Rapids, the Way Way Back) doesn’t quite work. They seem happy and comfortable together, so why are they both tempted to stray? The film doesn’t ever say. So In a World… could be more cohesive. But that doesn't keep it from being funny and compassionate. It’s actors are likeable, instead of banal and cliche. I particularly liked the satirical running gag about grown women intentionally talking like little girls.

So what if the film’s story line isn’t terribly sophisticated, some of the characters are too one-note, and potentially major conflicts resolve a little too easily? The film has a pleasant, sweet nature and ultimately it’s heart is in the right place. It is unfair that the vocal industry is dominated by men, when women are equally capable. I'm not sure for how long the specific details of In a World… will stick with me, but I enjoyed the movie just the same. It made me laugh, and left my world feeling warm and content.