In a World… has a funny and charming voice about voice overs

Words have power. That’s not really a point of contention, but it leads me easily to my next slightly radical opinion: voiceovers matter. Think about it. How often do you hear a voice telling you information or what to do? Sure, the soothing electronic sounds of a computer have gotten more and more reasonable from the old days of cringe-worthy voices. But whether it’s a commercial for anti-beans or a sexual harassment video, the voice makes a different. Soothing versus harsh, a mild accent or an exaggerated one, all of these things affect the context and your perception. Even so, movie trailers, which used to be filled with voice overs, are increasingly more and more just text, sound, explosions, and music. Many guesses can be made as to why this has changed. Perhaps it’s because audiences don’t like being told explicitly what a movie is about anymore? Unlikely, as trailers still often give an awful lot away (usually). Or perhaps it’s because it’s just shifted after the “voice of god,” legendary voiceover artist Don LaFontaine, passed away in 2008. You know the guy … he popularized starting trailers with “In a world…” before giving you the business. That’s certainly what this movie tries to say; at least until you get to the commentary on institutionalized sexism.

 In a World… (those ellipses are supposed to be there) by first time writer/director Lake Bell (previously seen in such things as Children’s Hospital and How to Make it in America) is about Carol, vocal and accent coach to the stars and daughter of famous voiceover man Sam Sotto (Fred Melamed). Sam’s an arrogant blowhard who’s also insecure and very sexist about his industry — he often tells his daughter that “nobody’s looking for a women’s voice.” This movie integrates real life footage of tributes to Don LaFontaine with the movie’s characters to show an interesting world that’s very similar to ours, except with slightly different movies. Carol is just doing her best, working in a studio with sound engineer Louis (Demetri Martin) and forced to crash with her sister (Michaela Watkins) and her boyfriend (Rob Corddry) after Sam kicks Carol out. You see, Sam’s much younger fangirl girlfriend will be moving in. Pretty wacky already! And then Carol gets a lucky break, managing to do some some voices for trailers until a rumor spreads … they’re bringing back “In a world” and they want a new voice. So now Carol must compete with rival Gustav (Ken Marino) and maybe even her own father to try to get the part. And in the meantime, maybe sneak in some less interesting subplots about a mild romance and dating problems for her sister.

The movie is fairly consistently funny, with characters just enough over the top to seem believable but interesting. The actual voice talent on display is actually quite impressive, especially Fred Melamed, who’s done that sort of thing for 20 years or so. There’s this idea permeating the film about women trying to break through barriers and overcoming systemic sexism, although the message gets kind of muddled when things get slapstick or treacly at times. The romantic tension between Carol and Louis is cute but not engrossing, being ultimately kind of forgettable compared to anything else. And the problems of her sister and her boyfriend try to evince tears and empathy, but ultimately seems a bit out of place. But the movie does have some great characters, including some faces you’ll undoubtedly recognize. I laughed most of the time, even if I didn’t cry when they wanted me to. In general the acting works pretty well, with Ken Marino being a standout in his typical “arrogant jerk charisma” sort of role he’s done a few times now. Most of the other tertiary characters worked well enough, but I felt like the story with the sister was more about giving an avenue for Rob Corddry and Michaela Watkins to act in a semi-dramatic role. Sure it’s mostly subtle performances, but it’s seems incongruous here.

As for Lake Bell herself, she has a kind of likable, self-effacing quality that works very well, even when she’s playing it a bit too absurd. It’s a very good freshman effort from this film creator, showcasing talent that if fine-tuned, could lead to truly excellent things in the future. And it’s nice to have a new “voice” out there. If you know what I mean.