I enjoy doing Take Five on Film for a lot of reasons. I love movies and it gives me a good reason to make time for new releases and obscure favorites on a regular basis. I got to take over from my friend Ryan Wilson and try to continue on the fine work he did on the show for five years. But also, I enjoy it because I
love radio. Ever since I was a kid I have thought there was something very powerful about a disembodied voice speaking to me through the car radio or the stereo at home. People on the radio have always been celebrities to me – from the time a local DJ visited my 5th grade classroom for career day to the vaguely unhealthy crush I had on Fresh Air’s Terry Gross in the 90s. This appreciation of disembodied voices also extends to actors who do voice work for commercials, cartoons, and movie trailers. In my family, it’s a contest to see who can identify the actor voicing the latest ad for Chrysler or Carl’s Junior or who plays the animated bat in Anastasia.
Because of my affection for both movies and disembodied voices, I particularly loved this month’s movie you might have missed, the small independent comedy In a World. It was written and directed by Lake Bell, a model and actress who is best known for goofy-sidekick or girlfriend roles in forgettable movies like Over Her Dead Body and What Happens in Vegas.
Despite her involvement in those sorry projects, Bell is a razor sharp writer and a canny
director too. She raised the funds, gathered a group of her good friends to be the cast and crew, and managed to make a smart, funny, romantic movie that explores a little-known corner of the movie making industry – voiceover work for movie trailers.
The movie takes its name from the iconic trailers of the 80s and 90s voiced by Don
LaFontaine. You may think, Don who? But trust me, Google him and you'll realize you know who I’m talking about.
The film is about Carol Solomon, a vocal coach in Los Angeles who is the daughter of a
LaFontaine-esque movie trailer voiceover artist. She essentially stumbles into voiceover work and ends up competing with her dad and his chosen (idiotic) successor to be the voice of a new Hunger Games-esque series. Whoever gets the job will get the honor of reviving LaFontaine's well-known catchphrase (you
guessed it), "In a world..."
The film is a funny character study, a clever satire of Hollywood insiderism, and a
charming romance. There's a subplot with Carol's sister and brother-in-law that is resolved far too quickly and a couple of characters that appear and never really develop beyond their immediate plot purpose, but the overall success of
the movie makes those problems pretty easy to overlook.
the movie makes those problems pretty easy to overlook.
As a character, Carol is smart, funny, and utterly human while managing to avoid so
many of the garbagy cliches this film might have featured had it starred Katherine Heigl, Rachel McAdams, or Kate Hudson in a younger day. Carol is not uptight nor is she an airhead. She's not a driven careerist who has no time for
love nor is she a lovelorn romantic who just can't catch a break. She's a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a professional rather than some cardboard cut-out of a woman who can’t do anything except talk about her love life.
love nor is she a lovelorn romantic who just can't catch a break. She's a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a professional rather than some cardboard cut-out of a woman who can’t do anything except talk about her love life.
Strangely, because I wasn't busy being distracted by romcom cliches, I had far more time
to laugh and enjoy myself. The romance between Carol and one-time comedy it-boy Demetri Martin is charming and fun without being twee or obnoxious.
Perhaps the film’s greatest strength besides Bell’s charisma and the avoidance of obvious
cliché is how apparent it is that the cast had a great time making the film. The obviously improved scenes between Carol’s friends at the recording studio made me giggle because the actors are so clearly good friends trying to make
each other giggle.
each other giggle.
The film knowingly plays on the power of the disembodied voice while simultaneously
skewering the egos of those voices. In a world where I get to be on the radio talking about movies, I appreciate that a lot. In A World is now out on DVD and is a movie you might have missed.
This review was originally broadcast on Q90.1, Delta College Public Radio. Learn more about the station at www.deltabroadcasting.org.
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