In A World

In a world where men are simple and all it takes is for there to be a shapely woman on screen to get them to shell out ten bucks to go see their work, I fell right in line and trekked out to see Lake Bell’s first movie that she both wrote and directed. If you don’t recognize her name, it’s ok because she’s kind of the “oh yeah…her” girl that pops up in movies, similar to the troll Clint Howard (Ron Howard’s brother). She’s obviously nowhere near as frightening as Howard is, with her exotic facial features and pleasant rack, but she is rather pale and has eyes that are piercing which make you think that she’s always angry. I’m certain that this is what is keeping her from being the lead in most feature films but her talent is undeniable as she was one of the only reasons to watch HBO’s New York version of Entourage, How to Make it In America. Well both her knack for sharp wit and her ability to project drama in the same role are on display in this pleasant surprise of a film.

In A World takes you behind the scenes of Hollywood’s voice over industry; you know, the guy’s voice you hear during the previews of movies or in commercials. Lake Bell plays Carol, the daughter of voice over legend Sam. Sam finally has the opportunity to come from behind the shadow of the industry’s godfather Don LaFontaine (who coined and copyrighted the phrase In A World) due to his recent death but has decided that it time for him to retire and hand over the keys to this male dominated industry to the up and comer Gustav. Meanwhile his daughter is a struggling voice coach who is trying desperately to break into the voice over game but can’t get anyone will take her seriously because women have never done movie trailers. Her father isn’t any help to her because he is too busy caught up in himself and his twenty something year old girlfriend.

Well one day due to being in the right place at the right time, Carol catches a break because Gustav can’t make a gig due to illness. She fills in for him for this small indie film and the studio ends up loving her and recommends her for a few bigger projects. Once word gets out that Carol has taken a gig from Gustav, she finds herself in a fight with not only Gustav but from an unexpected source as well.

First off, what makes this movie so great is that it’s really funny! I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times during this film, especially with every condescending interaction that Carol has with a typical valley girl. Then there’s the fact that she basically stalks foreigners as she follows them around with a tape recorder and “sneakily” records their voices in hopes to get better at her job. She openly makes fun of Eva Longaria in the film, who plays herself btw, and you can’t help but laugh at how weird Hollywood is. Bell also shows you how these odd, hairy, and geeky men get caught up in their own little rich worlds but are somehow able to still pull beautiful women.

I mentioned earlier that she’s also able to also bring a dramatic element to her work. You see this in quite a bit of the film but in particular when it comes to her family. After her dad kicks her out (in a rather funny scene I might add) she has to crash on her sister’s couch, who is going through the motions of her marriage to the lovable Moe (played by Rob Corrdry). Well one day her sister breaks down and responds to one her client’s flirtatious nature and this leads to all of the family’s skeletons coming out of the closet. I wont go into it too much so you to discover most of it on your own but just know that Bell does an excellent job of adding this element without it taking away from the fun of the film.

I rate this movie as FRESH because it really does have something for everyone. Guys can just stare at Bell the entire time and women can swoon over Demetri Martin, who actually isn’t annoying in this film.