In a World... where Lake Bell writes and directs her first feature film
When vocal coach Carol gets the chance to do the voice-over for a movie trailer, she's all in. But can she replace the man with 'the voice of God'? Not to mention, her own father?
Lake Bell
You might have seen Lake Bell come by a couple times on screen, but with 'In a World...' she's directing her own script and her own self in a fun and charming feature debut. Sometimes you wonder why first time directors also want to star as the main character in their own story, but I'm sure the reason this time was money — the producers claim the budget was under a million.
'In a World...' came out of Lake Bell's obsession with the valley girl 'sexy baby voice' and the dream of doing voice-overs for trailers. We all know the deep manly voice that talks to us in trailers. And this is where the film mixes in some reality:
Don LaFontaine
In 2008 Don LaFontaine, one of Hollywood's most notable voice actor, died. He was famous for being driven around from studio to studio to voice as many as 35 film trailers a day. But more importantly, he claims he coined the phrase 'In a World...', just because it was a quick way to establish a new and different world.
Back to the film, one of the studios wants to bring back the catchphrase for a new high-profile quadrilogy. Carol's father, Sam, is one of the big current voice-over talents, and he naturally expects the person to bring back the iconic phrase to be a (deep-voiced) man. He pushes forward his protege, but when he finds out his own daughter is in the run for the gig, he wants back in and gives his all to beat her.
Now this all may sound like a bit of a weird premise, and it kind of is. But underneath, it's a charming little film with a quirky Lake Bell, some romantic elements and a surprisingly intriguing plot. It sets you in this low-profile Hollywood life — filled with real-life friend of Lake Bell nonetheless — and just takes you along for a couple of days. It's a fun little film that deserves some more attention than it actually got last year. And one that makes you hope Lake Bell is one of the actors-turned-directors who keeps at it.
