Review of In a World... (2013) by Kevin P — 13 Apr 2018

Strengths: Lake Bell (Carol) is absolutely the star of this film. She killed it as the writer, director, and lead. She's crazy likable in the role and nails every scene she's involved in. I think the premise of the movie is delightfully unique. I honestly can't remember a movie that surrounded the idea of someone and trailer voiceover work. It's great. Fred Melamed (Sam) was great as her father. He's a narcissistic man with many flaws. Nick Offerman (Heners) didn't get much to work with, but was his usual great self. Though it wasn't a main part of the plot, I enjoyed the side story involving Dani (Michaela) and her husband, Moe (Rob Corddry). It was a realistic take on a struggling relationship. The culmination of the story was well done, and the characters were well rounded.

Weaknesses: Some of what I liked also played a part in what I didn't. While I enjoyed the Heners character, he just didn't get enough screen time. I wasn't bit on the performances of Ken Marino (Gustav) and Demetri Martin (Louis). They were both kind of just there. The same goes for Alexandra Holden (Jamie). The biggest issue might be that, for a kind of romantic comedy, it just wasn't very funny. I enjoyed the characters and the story, it just didn't' make me laugh.

Overall: This is basically what I expect out of independent films. It worked on the small budget behind strong acting and a compelling, but unique tale. This was very well written, with three-dimensional characters who grew in various ways over the course of the film.