Feminist Sweepstakes, Part 2

IN A WORLD ... - I held off on a final grade for this film until finishing my review, fluctuating between a B+ (very good) and an A-minus (really good, near great).

In the hours after seeing Lake Bell's debut as a writer/director, I had the nagging feeling that this was a pleasant but trifling personal story. And at times this does feel more like a series of skits than a full-blown motion picture. But as it marinates in the brain, this playful feminist tract -- about a woman (Bell as the heroine, Carol) trying to break big into the movie voice-over business -- lingers as a film that is sharply observed and wonderfully written.

Bell offers up a romantic comedy wrapped in a gentle but snarky polemic about a young woman battling the Old School. Bell assembles a winning cast to provide key support. Demetri Martin is puppy-dog cute as her champion, technician and awkward suitor, Louis. Fred Melamed (so delicious in the Coen Brothers gem "A Serious Man") is a treat as Carol's boorish sexist father, Sam, who is one of the elite voice-over men and competes with her for the job of resurrecting the phrase "In as world ...," which had been the exclusive domain of the late, great Don LaFontaine (seen in news clips during the entertaining opening credits). Nick Offerman, sans moustache, is as cutting as ever as Louis' sidekick. (It's always a joy to discover him in such small indie gems.) Comedian Tig Notaro brings depth to the role of wisecracking lesbian Cher. And Rob Coddry and the ever-expressive Michaela Watkins bring subtlety to their elegantly written roles of Carol's sister and brother-in-law stuck in a marriage rut that needs a good jolt (sandwich bar!). Even Eva Longoria, playing herself, is game as she solicits Carol as last-minute vocal coach to help her nail down a passable cockney accent on re-dub. And Geena Davis is perfect in a climactic cameo as a middle-aged producer who provides an essential narrative twist to seal the deal.

Bell seems buoyed by all that support, which infuses her with confidence as a writer, director and the star who holds it all together with comedic chops and charisma. Her everywoman lead character, Carol, is getting kicked out of her dad's free digs (in favor of Sam's trophy galpal who is about Carol's age), and she's not making much money as a vocal expert. We're drawn to Carol's charming habit of surreptitiously tailing foreigners and recording their accents. This running gag will be turned inside out toward the end, when she uses the recording device to play cupid and catch one character speaking fondly of another; the scene is a knowing millennial wink to the sitcom aesthetic of "I Love Lucy" or "The Honeymooners."

Bell is assured enough to traffic in such post-ironic moments while keeping her feminist satire sharp. She's not afraid to poke fun at grown women who talk like babies. Her film-within-a-film -- a trailer for "The Amazon Games," where "The Hunger Games" meets "Game of Thrones" -- parodies her target as well as the old "Ben Stiller Show" would have 20 years ago. And just when the viewer is tempted to dismiss this whole exercise at chatty Mumblecore chick lit, she subverts everything with one short sharp speech from Davis' character -- in a women's bathroom.

It's a master stroke. And it's a substantive statement, one that proves that this film -- and its creator and star -- are no trifling passing fancies.

GRADE: Okay, A-minus.

For more, from a true feminist perspective, check out this essay at Feminema.