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With: Ari Graynor, Lauren Miller, Justin Long, Mimi Rogers, Don McManus, Mark Webber, Nia Vardalos, Kevin Smith, Seth Rogen, Sugar Lyn Beard, James Wolk, Lawrence Mandley, Steven Shaw, Ken Marino
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Written by: Lauren Miller, Katie Anne Naylon
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Directed by: Jamie Travis
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MPAA Rating: R for strong sexual content throughout, language and some drug use
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Running Time: 85
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Date: 01/26/2012
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For a Good Time, Call... (2012)
Romancing the Phone
By Jeffrey M. Anderson Making his feature debut, director Jamie Travis is content to keep For a Good Time, Call... at a sitcom level, set in a squeaky-clean, good-natured New York. The potentially adult material is pitched at a goofy, warm level rather than depraved (a joke about a baby-voiced operator is diffused before it gets disgusting). And the two leads, though a typical Hollywood mismatch, are genuinely engaging. Introduced to one another at a party, good-time girl Katie (Ari Graynor) and high-strung perfectionist Lauren (Lauren Anne Miller) instantly clashed and became enemies. Now Lauren is newly single and Katie's rent has been raised, and their mutual gay best friend Jesse (Justin Long) fits them together as roommates. At first, it's a disaster, until Lauren discovers Katie's side job as a phone sex operator. Lauren suggests ways to improve her earnings, and before long they have turned it into a successful business. At the same time, their friendship grows ever stronger. But how long can they sustain this good fortune before the other shoe drops? While the two main characters are together in their controlled apartment, the movie clicks, but whenever outside elements come in, such as a customer turning into a love interest for Katie, or Lauren's meddling parents visiting at all the wrong times, the movie gets clunky and ridiculous. Additionally, silly cameos by people like Kevin Smith and Seth Rogen as sex line customers seem like needless filler. Co-star Lauren Anne Miller, who co-wrote the screenplay with Katie Anne Naylon, is to be commended for her attempt at girl power, and hopefully her future endeavors can be a bit more daring.
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