A mentally unhinged factory worker (Ryan Reynolds) must decide whether to listen to his talking cat and become a killer, or follow his dog's advice to keep striving for normalcy.
Ryan Reynolds is one of those actors that has a personality type and he sticks to it; that weird combination of cheerful naivety, egotism, and dry sarcastic comedic delivery. Whether he's in Blade: Trinity, Deadpool, Pokémon Detective Pikachu, or Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, his personality is one of those things that remain consistent, and it's probably the saving grace of this film.
The Voices is a black comedy that is quite well-executed. Our main character comes in the form of the lovable goof (played by Ryan Reynolds) who lives in quite the magical world; a world of energetic pop songs, bright colours, butterflies and synchronised forklift driving. It's also a world where Reynolds (I've honestly forgotten what his characters name was...Gerry?) can talk to his cat and dog, and they can talk back! It's much like living in a classic Disney animated film. It almost gets irritating because of the amount of pep and obliviousness that his character has.
Of course, something is not quite right with our main character. He lives between two parallel worlds. One that is cheerful and he can chat with his pets and another that is ultimately a lot darker. It's an intriguing premise where Reynolds must come to terms with his life and decide which world he wants to live in. Sitting on his shoulders (in a metaphorical sense) is his dog, Bosco, and his cat, Mr Whiskers, who play the proverbial angel and devil. This rom-com turned slasher flick definitely has it's fun moments, and it adds another layer of hilarity (and depth) when you consider that Ryan Reynolds voices all of the "extra" voices himself.
The film is quite well designed in a visual sense. Everything starts in a cartoonish manner, like a caricature, or fairytale world. In this sense, Reynolds is the Disney princess. It never quite reaches the over-the-top level. Everything remains quirky. In the parallel world (which is only really shown in his flat) there is definitely more of murky darkness, as dirtiness begins to invade the screen.
It's always intriguing to see how different filmmakers portray the likes of schizophrenia, delusions, and hallucinations in a visual sense. The film could have been improved with greater contrast between the light and dark dimensions, but as it stands, the execution does still work, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy.
Whee the film struggles more is in its supporting female cast. They just aren't really given anything to do. They have very little development if any, and even Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver is absolutely wasted. Sure, she does get to have a greater impact in the third act when events start to snowball, but it's too little too late.
There's definitely a fun and light-hearted story to be seen here. The gore is light (or off-screen) which keeps the levity. It would have been better if some of the supporting cast had more to do (because Jacki Weaver, Gemma Arterton, and Anna Kendrick can definitely act) and it could always have done with more Bosco and Mr Whiskers. Regardless of its flaws, The Voices is a barrel of laughs.