A Voz de uma Geração

A curious thing struck me about this movie, something you rarely see on screen: The living quarters seemed very realistic. Most of the characters worked on the fringes of the entertainment industry and were barely getting by. None of them had the standard issue, blatantly unaffordable, starving artist loft apartment as seen in so many movies. Instead, they had run-of-the-mill places in a so-so part of town. I was impressed they got this detail right. When we first saw Louis' place, I started to call BS because the outside appearance was intriguing, but I breathed a sigh of relief to find it was actually a cracker box on the inside.

In case you can't tell, I found this movie to be very enjoyable. The Dad was a juicy, borderline insufferable character. As obnoxious as he could be, he was fun to watch.

The movie had a few interesting subplots and themes woven around the main story. Not an out and out comedy, it still had some very funny moments, including some inside jabs at Hollywood. I especially enjoyed Geena Davis' brief role as a movie executive, and the confusing and somewhat contradictory bit of advice she offered.

And oh yeah, it's got Nick Offerman in a minor role. So far he's batting a thousand in my book, so check it out.

IN A WORLD... doesn't exactly have a totally engaging plot (some of its B-Plots are even weaker) but the film has such character and cute and hilarious humour naturally within the interactions that it's a joy to watch.

The cast across the board is great from the leads to a few smaller parts adding even more humour from the likes of Nick Offerman and Ig Notaro.

Gender inequality takes the for front of this film, with excellent family moments and hilarious cynicism from the lead. Of course it also has a sweet romantic story happening throughout too. It's a fun clever movie and a good watch.

Lake Bell delivers as the screenwriter/director/star and looking forward to what she does next.

I didn't know anything about the movie other than the synopsis, and so I thought it was a documentary. Nope!

That said, this was one of the most laid-back movies I've seen (and liked) in a while. It feels so much like a typical "independent" movie from the late 90's/early 2000's, that it was very refreshing. The dialogue felt very authentic (a few scenes felt improvised, even), and the main character is awesome. I hope this movie becomes more popular just to showcase this character to a wider audience. She's the female lead character we're not shown too often in Hollywood- she's just kinda...normal.

Demitri Martin is also awesome, and I wish he had more screen time (though his character was wisely kept in small doses). The supporting roles, as well as the B-plot characters, are mostly great, though there are a couple of two-dimensional characters who feel written in for convenience, or cheap gags.

The movie is not without flaws, either. At times the characters' dialogue overlaps each other and comes out a bit too quick. Especially in the beginning, I had trouble figuring out what was going on because I couldn't pick out what the people were saying. But then again, that did add to the authenticity of the film overall.

Also, one person's "authentic" is another person's "boring" or "unmotivated." Like real life, stuff just kinda happens and people just kinda do things. It felt very much like just suddenly watching somebody's weekend. I can see how that might irritate some people, who'd want a more audience-friendly flow and script.

I only mention it because it threw me off at first- since I expected a documentary, I had no idea what the movie was trying to be for the first 10 minutes or so. But it did all come together in the end, and I liked it.

Don LaFontaine narrated many trailers of noted movies, often opening with "in a world". So, Lake Bell has directed the movie "In a World...", focusing on voice-over artists. These people usually get the short shrift in the entertainment world but have contributed a lot. Bell's character is the daughter of a voice-over artist and is hoping to break into the business.

I really liked "In a World...". In addition to the quirky plot and smooth character development, I hope that it draws more attention to the world of voice-over artists. I also am eager to see Lake Bell's next movie, if she makes one. Really worth seeing.

Lake Bell is appealing in the lead role as Carol, an aspiring voice-over artist, and as writer/director she's come up with a unique variation on a familiar indie formula: 30-something slacker gets kicked out of the nest. There's a lot going on-Michaela Watkins and Rob Corddry as Carol's sister and brother-in-law get a whole little romcom to themselves-but Carol's various struggles, professional, romantic and familial, mesh together very well. The cast is impressive: nice to imagine that somebody would cast Eva Longoria as a Cockney gangster's moll (though not in this movie, I'm glad to say), and Geena Davis turns up briefly as a studio exec who delivers a crucial message, maybe THE crucial message. Fuzzy, flabby Fred Melamed ("A Serious Man") is definitely the go-to guy when you need an overbearing a**hole, though Ken Marino seemed a little too cartoony as Carol's voice-over rival-more like an escapee from a Christopher Guest movie. Wouldn't have minded seeing more more about the worrrrld of Hollywood voice artists and dialect coaches; it's refreshing to watch a film where the characters do something real and don't just have vague glamour jobs as lawyers or architects (mainstream) or toil away as peons on a cube farm (indie). Available on streaming Netflix.