For a Good Time, Call...

A comedy about phone sex may not sound like a good idea, but For A Good Time, Call... manages to pull it off thanks to a good deal of humor and character development. Much of the humor here is raunchy but it works. It's not one of those dumb raunchy comedies. Some of the best bits happen when Lauren and Katie talk to their customers. One of them is Captain Jerry who's played by Seth Rogen, Lauren Miller's real-life husband. Miller plays proper young woman Lauren Powell. She was also one of the script writers, along with Katie Anne Naylon. They based the script on their real-life experiences as college roommates. Miller's performance is suitable and works well opposite Ari Graynor as Katie Steel. There's commitment from every actor involved but it's Graynor who steals every scene she's in. She has the best lines and she knows it. She plays her character like a pro. At first she doesn't seem appealing to the audience, but as the film progresses she becomes a rounded and likable personality. Although the story is set in the modern day the film still seems like one of those films from the early-1990s. It reminded me of Clerks (1994). A good script and a good setup make For A Good Time, Call... one of the better comedies of 2012. I recommend it.

I suppose this was mildly amusing. I was surprised to see Kevin Smith as one of their phone sex clients. That was good. Not so good is the entire premise. This movie strictly adheres to the romantic comedy template (between two platonic friends, mind you), that you've already seen in practically every romantic comedy ever made. Bad past, forced together, besties, conflict, breakup, resolution, "love." Man oh man, I thought from the plot synopsis this would be a little different.

And if you want to see Ari Graynor naked, you can cram those dreams. In this movie, she takes a shower, is in a bathtub with her co-star filming a phone sex commercial, AND has sex with her boyfriend. No skin.

In Manhattan, the nerd aspirant editor Lauren Powell (Lauren Anne Miller) is dumped by her boyfriend Charlie (James Wolk) that is expatriated to Rome. Meanwhile, the manicure Katie Steele (Ari Graynor) can not afford the raise in the rent of her apartment at the Gramercy Park. Their common gay friend Jesse (Justin Long) brings Lauren to share the apartment with Katie, but they are college enemies and have difficulties to accept each other. Katie also works in a phone sex line but her income is very low. When Lauren loses her lousy job and is not accepted in a publishing house, she decides to use her knowledge to make a profitable business in sex for Katie and herself. But when Lauren's parents unexpectedly appear in the apartment, their friendship is tested.

"For a Good Time, Call..." is an uneven comedy, funny in certain moments and lame in others. The religious fanatic in very unfunny; the slut Katie being a virgin is something ridiculous. But there are many scenes that make laugh. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Para se Divertir, Ligue..." ("For a Good Time, Call...")

Note: On 21 July 2016, I saw this film again.

Okay first things first, I know this movie will raise a few eyebrows amongst you, but I would urge you not to base this film off of its synopsis or concept. Don't get me wrong, this film is what you think, but it's also NOT. It all revolves around two former-college "frenemies" (I really hate that term, but whatever…) who both need to find a roommate so they can stay in New York and live the "American Dream" which is when mutual friend Jesse (played by an hilariously camp Justin Long) forces them to move in together. The two women, strapped for cash, very quickly set up a phone-sex-line and realise a very lucrative, if not slightly filthy, business opportunity. The phone-sex-line however, is not the centre of this film, though it certainly plays a significant part. The heart of this film lies in the friendship that grows from this business, and this is where a lot of our laughs and "awh" moments come from. This film is borne from a post-Bridesmaids we-women-can-be-just-as- filthy-and-funny-as-men era and it takes that female empowerment to a whole new level with both ladies showing their modern-esque sexuality and embracing there situation. They don't lament their career and pity themselves for running such a service. In fact they revel in their power and it's quite an empowering, if not slightly wacky, message to bring to our screens. Aside from the I-am-woman-hear-me-roar quality to the film though comes the message of love that slowly grows between the characters, and this is where the film really grows on you. The chemistry between the two lead actors is very convincing and as I watched I couldn't help but think that they had a truly distinctive "Womance" (that's the female version of a bromance) that is rear to see in film or TV. In fact now I think about it there is no pop-culture media-frenzy womance that really comes to mind, which is irritating really. Maybe this awesome little film will pave the way for more womances in the future, I certainly hope so.

"Hello world for a good time call 1-900-mmm-hmmm." Lauren (Miller) & Katie (Graynor) are both at a rough patch. Lauren's boyfriend is moving to Europe and she lost her job, Katie can't make enough to stay in her apartment so their mutual friend decides it's time they move in together. When they meet they remember they hate each other and it becomes tense, until they find a way to make more money then they ever dreamed of. The preview to this movie made it look very funny to me and I was excited about watching this. The cameos were great and the movie was funny but it was a little more girlie then I was expecting. This is more then a movie about phone sex, its about friendship and being true to yourself. As cheesy as that sounds watch it and you will see what I mean. While there are some pretty racy things in this it's nothing over the top so don't expect a soft-core type movie. Overall, not as funny as I was expecting but still funny and worth seeing. I give it a B.