In a World... (2013)

Directed and produced by Lake Bell

Carol Solomon (Lake Bell) is a voice-artist in Los Angeles. Her speciality is accents, but she would like to move into bigger things, including movie-trailer voice-overs. Her father, Sam Soto (Fred Melamed), discourages her, perhaps out of fear, since he is the current dominant voice of movie-trailers, and he knows his daughter is very talented. When she breaks into the field, however, the offers start coming, culminating in a contest for the coveted narration for a film ‘quadrilogy’ that pits Carol against her father and an established but younger voice, Gustav Warner (Ken Marino).

A funny and intelligent comedy, In a World… is set in the professional field of the voice-artist. The title refers to the phrase that became the trademark of Don LaFontaine, the real-life ‘king of the voice-overs’, who, in his something like 5,000 movie-trailer projects often used the phrase to establish a setting quickly and succinctly (“In a world where the rich rule everything…”, “In a world where the law is dog eat dog…” etc.) The movie cleverly begins with an excerpt from a fake documentary about LaFontaine, which mixes genuine clips of that man with others of fictional characters. It thus does what LaFontaine’s famous words do, and immediately establishes the setting, while introducing some of the characters.

The smart opening is typical of Bell’s writing. The subject is clearly one she knows well; her fluid use of accents in the movie shows her professional origins. (She flawlessly portrayed an Englishwoman in 2015’s Man Up, reviewed on this blog in July, 2023.) Carol’s constant trick of surreptitiously recording odd voices and unusual dialects for her archives is probably no more than an obvious version of what Bell has done herself.

In a World… manages to combine several genres (family relationships, romantic comedy, underdog against establishment) without falling into the clichés of any. The characters are especially well-handled, avoiding stereotypes and creating full personalities. This can be seen particularly in the minor characters, as it often is in films. Sam’s girlfriend, Jamie (Alexandra Holden), though a year younger than Sam’s younger daughter, is no gold-digger and genuinely has affection for Sam, though she’s not oblivious to his faults. Carol’s sister, Dani (Michaela Watkins), and brother-in-law, Moe (Rob Corddry), are also well-written.

The acting brings the screenplay to life. Bell herself creates a diffident character struggling to apply what is clearly a great talent; Carole’s combination of intelligence, modesty, wit and compassion makes her hard to resist. She is backed up (in a couple of senses of the word) by several good and supportive friends. Melamed makes Sam amusing, annoying, childish and vain, but never unrealistic. Except for Geena Davis, who has a small rôle as a movie executive, and bit parts for Eva Longoria (as herself) and Cameron Diaz (possibly as herself, playing the tribal leader in the preview of the fictional movie The Amazon Games), the actors will likely be unknown to the audience; they bring a fresh look, despite the fact that one suspects they’ve been in the industry most of their lives.

The direction is good, with nothing extraordinary attempted; instead, straightforward story-telling is used. Bell is generous in her allotment of time to characters other than her own, allowing the movie to be propelled from several view-points. This is smart, as Carol’s own view is circumscribed by her as yet limited contacts in the business.

A fun, mature, clever comedy that avoids the superiority that sometimes comes from an ‘insider’s’ vantage point on a subject, In a World… will entertain and satisfy.