Review of In a World... (2013) by Joey S — 15 Jun 2013

A charming indie comedy that occasionally becomes too predictable and formulaic, In a World... is nonetheless an impressive writing/directing debut from Children's Hospital actress Lake Bell. Bell stars as Carol Solomon, the daughter of one of the most prominent movie-trailer voiceover actors in the business.

After Carol gets a voiceover gig for the trailer of a so-called children's romantic comedy, she becomes involved in the same profession as her father, and father-daughter competition ensues. There are also a number of subplots involving characters having romantic relationships with one another.

Lake Bell gives a very funny performance and proves herself to be a very capable comedienne. Aside from Bell though, there are a number of other recognizable names in the cast including Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Nick Offerman, and Ken Marino.

Demetri Martin stands out as being especially likeable, and I really wish he starred in movies more often because he is a really hilarious comedian. Rob Corddry is funny as well, although his character becomes completely serious about halfway into the movie.

The reason his character goes from cheery and funny to dour and frowny stems from a sub-plot involving his character's wife having an extramarital affair, which I felt was entirely unnecessary and took the movie down a very clichéd path.

I guess it was included in an effort to develop these minor characters further, but it just ends up being a downer of a distraction from an otherwise fun movie. Aside from the romance between Lake Bell's Carol and Demetri Martin's Louis, most of the romances between characters seem forced.

Literally every single character that is at least somewhat relevant to the story has their own sub-plot involving romance, and it becomes a little repetitive after a while. The movie would have been far simpler and more satisfying if the only two storylines were the movie trailer voiceover story and the relationship between Carol and Louis.

All the other affairs and marriages and one-night-stands aren't necessary in the long run. Despite these frustrations, In a World... does demonstrate that Lake Bell has a lot of potential in movie-making, and although she hasn't quite achieved greatness with this debut, she shows that she is more than capable of making smart comedy.