In a World...

In a world were one voice stands out as universally recognizable far too few people know the name that issued those rich, resonating tones, Don LaFontaine. He was the man that provided the voice overs used in movie trailers that preceded most of the movies that we watched for decades. By instilling the phrase “In a World” into the popular jargon he has alter the zeitgeist of the last few generations. As it happens the phrase is also the title of one of the most imaginative independent films I have seen in a long time. Understandably the underlying plot point of the film is concerned with the highly competitive world of voice over artists. Many actors want to move on, expanding their repertoire to include screenwriting and directing. The ones with more ambition than talent and patience they push for some vanity project to exploit the name recognition they built up through their work in front of the camera. Fortunately for those of us that are fans of real cinema Lake Bell has carefully plotted her eclectic curriculum vitae by waiting, learning and understanding the intricacies of the full scope of cinematic artistic expression. Ms Bell has acted in comedies, dramas, and dabbled in thrillers even staring in a short lived but well produced science fiction television series. This film, aptly titled ‘In a World’ is her freshman opus as screenwriter and director and thanks to the years of diligence it is exceptional quality from inception through execution. With a start as an independent filmmaker like this Ms Bell is certain to continue to be a festival favorite lauding her work in in any number of capacities.Carol Solomon (Lake Bell) has had an ambition to become the first well known female voice over artist. While she does possess a string and extremely versatile voice that career seemed doomed before it could take flight. The problem is not talent but a distinctive form of reverse nepotism. Carol grew in the formidable shadow of her father Sam Soto (Fred Melamed) the current most famous member of that small be fiercely competitive industry. Sam is widely hailed as the heir apparent to the late, great Don LaFontaine. Cementing that lauded position is the success of his autobiography and the fact that it has been announced that he is to receive a life time achievement award for his industry’s Guild. While working on getting her big break doing voice overs Carole earns a living and continues to hone her voice by working as a voice coach, besides a class and private lessons she does find work in the movies helping actresses master accents. In one instance that we get to witness Carol has to teach Eva Longoria to use a passable cockney accent in her upcoming movie.Carol had been living in her father’s house but is unceremoniously tossed out so Sam’s girlfriend, Jamie (Alexandra Holden) can move in. Adding to her consternation is the fact that Jamie is almost exactly the same age as Carol. With literally nowhere else to go Carol moves in with her sister Dani (Michaela Watkins) who eschewed the vocal family business to work as a concierge. Carol uses her sister’s hotel connections to record the voices of clients in order to expand her library of accents and speech patterns. Dani is sympathetic to Carol’s dilemma have grown up under Sam’s exceptional narcissism. From Sam’s perspective Don LaFontaine was just a warm-up preparing the world for the greatest that is him. When a major studio announces that they were going to turn an extremely popular series of books into s film quadology; ‘The Amazon Games’ every voice over artist in the industry is ready to kill for the job. This is pushed to unheard heights when as part of marketing to promote the franchise the plan to bring back Lafontaine’s trade mark phrase, ‘In a World’. Of course Sam is in consideration but he removes himself from consideration in order push the career of his friend and hopeful successor, Gustav Warner (Ken Marino). He is already sufficiently established in the field to afford a nicely appointed mansion. Always ready to show off his success and rub it in the faces of others Gustav throws a party to push his certainty that with Sam’s endorsement he will be the one to resurrect the most famous line in the history of trailers.Circumstances seem to conspire against Carol. Because of her constant tapping the voices of guests the hotel where Dani works bans Carol. Anxious to add a certain dialect to her collection she Dani to record a set of questions recording the client’s responses. When Dani’s husband, Moe (Rob Corddry) inadvertently hears it out of its proper context he become certain his wife was creating on him. Carol and Dani wind up at Gustav’s party where Carol is flirted with by the host. In her cups Carol spends the night and later on Gustav brags to Sam about the party crasher he had sex with not realizing who she was. When Carol takes the lead in the ‘Amazon Games’ job Gustav is outraged that he ‘stole’ his jog although he never officially was offered it. Carol’s agent, Louis (Demetri Martin) is ecstatic but soon the offer is up for grabs with every voice over artist scrambling to record an audition file that will put them over the top. More is on the line for Carol; this would make her the first woman to do the trailers for a major film franchise and place her name alongside Don LaFontaine as associated with those iconic words.This movie in, for a large part, and film industry inside joke but it is crafted with such imagination and executed with a degree of skill that is incredible, that will inexorably pull you into this thin slice of the movie industry and hold you. The reason for this is although the story line is centered almost exclusively on the voice over community the themes that Ms Bell has infused in it are universal. At the heart of the film is a tale of a family that somewhere along the road veered into dysfunction. While the father put everything into pursuing his dream he alienated his family. One daughter sought a life away from films in a position where she catered to the whims of her clients while holding on to a marriage with a nice guy. The other daughter so loved and admired her father that she wanted to follow in his footsteps. When she finally gets her big break instead of being proud of his daughter’s accomplishments he names a self-serving, clone of himself to be his heir apparent. Beyond that Sam is ready to throw his daughter and friend under the bus for a shot at one more accolade. The humor is on the darker side built upon the tragedy of a father and daughter torn apart by ambition.Ms Lake not only stared in the film, wrote the screenplay and directed she also wore the producer’s hat. I would be at all surprise if she got to the set extra early to set up the craft service table. Apparently the principle photography for this movie was under three weeks with what had to be a miniscule budget, not only is Ms Bell a versatile actress and in her ascendency as a filmmaker but she has already garnered a crucial part of the art form; the ability to stay in budget and on schedule. Some filmmakers go on for decades without master the pragmatic aspect of making a movie. You can tell she has earned a lot of good will in the industry by noticing the guest stars. Besides comedians that have made a name for themselves in that venue like Rob Corddry , Demetri Martin and Ken Marino but some A list names are liberally sprinkled throughout the movie with Eva Longoria playing herself, Geena Davis as the studio executive and, if you look closely at the Amazon Games trailer, Cameron Diaz has a cameo as their leader. One little inside reference I admittedly needed IMDB to realize; one on the voice over artist was Joe Cipriano as himself. He was the announcer for the 2006 NBC science fiction series, ‘Surface’ which stared Lake Bell. This is a witty Indy with strong character development, a solid narrative and directorial style. Most of all it has an abundance of heart.

I used to work in radio, the voice over industry is essentially the same thing. So I get the inside humor in this film, but lacking that it is still a funny look at the lives of a family and coworkers in a show-biz industry.The story follows two adult sisters, whose father is a world famous voice artist that does commercials and movie trailers. One daughter is a hotel concierge the other is a voice coach and VO artist like her father.Dad is an older obese guy with a fantastic voice leading that industry after the passing of Don LaFontaine who wrote the book on voicing movie trailers with his God's brother-like voice. Dad is dating a woman close to the age of his younger daughter.An opportunity to voice the trailers for an upcoming series of movies attracts several of the films main characters, all of whom think they are the best one for the job. Enter the battling egos. Hilarity ensues.My personal favorite moment in this film is when the star is in a street level foyer on her cellphone as a young girl walks past on the sidewalk looking for a place to get a smoothie, their chance meeting dialog has me laugh so hard my sides ache. This same woman is also featured in the final few minutes of the film in a voice coaching studio.

Writer, Director and STAR, Lake Bell puts together a well chosen cast in an amusing/entertaining film about and unseen part of "the business" that we all experience. No spoilers. I just recommend it!

Lake Bell plays Carol, a voice coach who, through good timing and luck, breaks into the male dominated voice over industry. She soon discovers that she has entered a competitive and unwelcoming business that wants to keep the status quo. Her early good fortune is met with resistance and she must rise to prove everyone wrong, including her own father.That is probably the IMDB version of what this movie is about, but that would be selling it very short. This movie has an awkward charm to it. It deftly touches on themes of family, sexism, marriage and new love, while almost always being funny. The performances from Rob Coddry, Michaela Watkins and Lake Bell are understated, but so right. And this movie made me a fan of Lake Bell.If you are looking for a movie to watch with your wife that won't make you want to claw your eyes out, In A World won't disappoint. It is a funny and sincere movie that departs from the romantic comedy formula and becomes something much more engaging. I truly enjoyed this movie.

I was slightly hesitant about watching this comedy film, but am glad it turned out better than expected. A couple reasons. First, I could relate to the overall premise of the film in that you're always going to be subject to someone or something else unless you take charge of your life and grab hold of the opportunities that are floating around you. Second, I thought the production and acting within this film was flawless in that it portrayed the average human's struggle to survive in the cutthroat world we all live in. Third, I noticed that this film had little nuggets of wisdom scattered within thereby making it more enjoyable to watch outside of its funny moments. Overall, I highly doubt that if you watch this film in its entirety that you will be displeased though I may be wrong because that's my opinion. Are you ready to make yours?