MYST POST #3: In a World

There have been plenty of movies about movies. This film, directed, written by, and starring Lake Bell gives an inside look to an often overlooked, but crucial aspect of the movie business: the voice-over industry. The title of the movie plays off those three words we all have heard countless times in movie trailers, with the voice booming, "In a world..."

The movie's main premise is based off those three words. The man who provided the famous phrase passed away, so the idea is that the phrase will be brought back for a movie to honor his legacy, with all the top voice-over actors vying to get the coveted role. As you can tell, this isn't your basic cookie-cutter plot, so I was intrigued to see the indie flick, hoping it would be a refreshment from all the blockbusters and sequels Hollywood spews out.

Lake Bell plays the daughter of a famous voice-over artist, who wants to break into the male dominated industry. You might recognize her from a few comedies released the past couple of years ("No Strings Attached", "What Happens in Vegas") usually playing the best friend of the main actress. However, she is in the spotlight for this film, and she shines bright. She is very funny throughout the film, and doesn't seem to care if she looks stupid on screen if it gets a laugh, which I really admired, in a day and age when image has never been more emphasized. Also, the comedy wasn't one-dimensional like you often see. I was glad that there were no scenes of her tripping and falling in high heels. In other words this isn't a Katherine Heigl movie. Joining her on screen were some familiar comedic faces, like Demetri Martin, Nick Offerman, Rob Corddry, and Ken Marino.

Demetri Martin is one of my favorite comedians and it was a nice surprise to him on the screen, and he was very good in the movie. He was part of a little romance element in the movie, which I wasn't expecting, but was actually pulled off rather well. Also, Corddy plays Bell's brother-in-law in the movie, and is a co-star of Bell on the TV show, "Children's Hospital". He plays against his usual type of a raunchy, scumbag character, doing a great job playing the role straight, rather than for comedic value.

The film as I said before was an independent film with a budget of only $1 million and was filmed in Los Angeles. I was worried that these factors and that many of the actors seemed to agree to be on the movie because of their relationship with Bell, would hurt the movie, fearing it would feel like it was just slapped together. Yet, Bell managed to create a very effective film. There were no crazy crane shots and the lighting seemed to be mostly natural, but this made the story just seem more normal and relatable. The script had me laughing often, but also there were some well-placed dramatic scenes.

One scene I particularly liked came near the end of the film, as we see all the different routines of the voice-actors. The editing works well as in one shot we see Ken Marino doing sit-ups, Bell's dad making odd noises in a sauna to warm up, and then the kicker, Bell in her pajamas just eating cereal. The scene was simple and wasn't yelling in our faces, trying to get us to laugh, but rather very subtle and then very funny.

For those who want action scenes, lots of punchline jokes, or big name actors, this film isn't for you. However, I was quite pleased after watching the movie and the ending was one of those endings that make you feel real good, but not in a cheesy happy ever after way. I also won't be surprised to see Bell appearing in more movies, as this film shows that she has the directing, writing, and acting/comedic chops to become a star. Overall, I give this a 9/10.