In a World is a hilarious skewering of the voice-over industry

“In a world…”

True fans of blockbuster Hollywood schlock will instantly recognize those three opening words from any number of epic movie trailers over the years. They have become a cliché for tent-pole summer blockbuster trailers over the years, and are now the basis for In a World, a great new indie comedy from star, writer, and first-time director Lacy Bell.

Bell plays Carol Solomon, a 30-ish struggling vocal coach in LA, who still lives with her overbearing father, legendary voice-over actor Sam Solomon (real life voice-over actor Fred Melamed). Solomon dreams of following her father in the movie trailer voice-over business, but as anyone who has been to the movies knows, trailers are nearly exclusively the domain of deep, husky-voiced males.

However, when the iconic voice-over actor Don LaFontaine dies, the Hollywood go-to for the grand “In a World” trailers, a race is on to find a replacement for an upcoming woman-centered action quadrilogy. Carol then has to contend not only with her competitive father, but also with Don LaFontaine’s favoured successor, the sleazy Gustav Warner (Michaela Watkins).

A fun screwball comedy in the vein of the Christopher Guest films, In a World does a great job of highlighting this strange little microcosm of Hollywood.

The film is rounded out with an impressive cast of some of today’s best alternative comedians, including Demetri Martin as Carol’s smitten co-worker, Rob Corddry as her suffering brother-in-law, and the incredible Tig Nataro, underused here as Carol’s smug co-worker.

In a World works best when sending up the self-important world of these stuffy middle-aged male voice-over actors, and Carol’s struggles to break through the industry’s glass ceiling. Her budding relationship with Martin does edge precariously close to rom-com territory, but the tone of the film still thankfully remains largely tongue-in-cheek throughout.

However, the entire subplot involving Carol’s sister Dani (Michaela Watkins) and her marriage issues only really serves to distract from Carol’s engaging story, although it does provide for additional Rob Corddry screen-time, which is always a good thing.

Bell has crafted a sweet and quirky look at the rarely-seen world of voice-over actors, one that should make us all pay closer attention next time the coming attractions hit the screen.  With one of the greatest casts of comedians of any film this summer, In a World is definitely an excellent first entry for Bell, and marks her as an exciting voice (sorry!) to follow.