Cert 15
93 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, once very strong and strong sex references
It's Saturday morning and I am having to cast my mind back as far as Wednesday as I begin writing up the latest movies I've seen.
This is far from ideal but fortunately Lake Bell's comedy is so offbeat that, on this occasion, it is no problem
Bell is director, writer and lead actress in a film which is centred on the American voiceover industry and among its stars are real life kings of trailers playing characters based on themselves.
To be more precise, the king is dead: Don La Fontaine the man who coined the phrase "In A World...'' passed away in 2008 and the movie surrounds the fictional battle to fill his microphone.
Bell plays a struggling voice coach who becomes one of the contenders much to the chagrin of her father (Fred Melamed) who was La Fontaine's closest rival.
The third name in the frame is the super-confident heir apparent (Ken Marino).
In A World... keeps the battle for trailer glory at its heart without getting obsessed with it, instead often concentrating on our heroine's chaotic home life.
Her self-obsessed dad has chucked her out so he can live with a floozy (Alexandra Holden) who is less than half his age.
So she moves in with her sister (Michaela Watkins) who is having marriage problems with hubby (Rob Corddry).
Meanwhile, Bell's character struggles to hold down any relationship despite being pursued by her producer (Demetri Martin).
If anything there are too many tangents to make In A World.., a fully coherent comedy. Indeed, I had the sense of watching a pilot for what would be a very decent TV sitcom if each line had been more fully explored.
In saying that, I couldn't help liking the spark to Bell's picture and believe that as a debut feature as director and writer it shows much promise.
It is also far better than some of the recent movies in which she has appeared (eg Black Rock).
Laughs: Just a couple
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7/10