First Hit: Although a bit rough in execution, it was very entertaining and adoringly quirky.
The title has to do with a marque saying in voiceover work. It was made famous by a legendary voice over man who has now passed on.
The man long considered the second in command in this field Sam (Fred Melamed) is going to receive a life achievement award for his work, while his daughter Carol (Lake Bell), who wants to do voiceover work gets very little work and has to make a living from doing voice coaching.
The voice over business is mostly controlled by men and it has its characters. Carol’s sister Jamie (Alexandra Holden) supports Carol by letting her stay with her and her husband Moe (Rob Corddry). In the studio that Carol uses for her minor voiceover work and coaching is an engineer named Louis (Demetri Martin) who likes Carol a lot but cannot seem to find the wherewithal to ask Carol out on a date.
As this story unfolds it is about how Carol gets some jobs and then lands the big one over the up and comer Gustav (Ken Marino) and her father.
Bell is great as Carol, wrote an interesting screenplay and directed herself and the other actors with an effortless that showed up in many scenes. Although some scenes didn’t seen complete, others will beautiful and well-acted (Carol staying ad Louis’ house was priceless). Melamed was perfect as the ego driven overindulged old timer of the business. Holden was very good as the sister who seemed to be struggling with her life but finds its base by learning from one mistake. Corddry was super as Holden’s supportive loving husband. Martin was really great as the guy who really wants to share his love but struggles to find the path.
Overall: This film was fun, interesting, and a great start for Bell.