Le squillo della porta accanto

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.

Attended the World Premier of For a Good Time, Call... at the Sundance Film Festival

If you liked Bridesmaids you'll want to see this movie. For a Good Time, Call... had the audience in stitches the whole way through. It somehow manages to be both raunchy and sweet at the same time. Cameo's with Seth Rogen and Kevin Smith were hilarious. Ari Graynor is perversely funny. (that's a compliment) Lauren Miller is just too damn cute. And Justin Long WOULD make a great Bond villain. I loved it and if you're not a complete prude I think you'll find things to love as well.

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.

Lauren (Lauren Miller) and Katie (Ari Graynor) have a mutual friend (Justin Long), but they hate each other. A humorous flashback scene is included to help explain their hatred. Essentially, they hate each other because they're opposites. Lauren lives the settled conservative life with her perfect, boring boyfriend; Katie is an adventurous, flamboyant sex phone operator. And now their current situations force them to become roommates.

Our ticking clock of the three-month lease sets a good, quick pace for the adventures and relationships the girls get themselves into. Lauren's sudden unemployment coupled with the good head on her shoulders sparks her idea to help Katie launch her own sex phone hotline. Cut-out the middle man and take more of the profits.

A smart move the film made was to have their business be successful right off the bat. That's because the film isn't about the phone sex hotline business but rather Lauren and Katie's friendship. Written by girls, starring girls, about girls and for girls. Earlier this summer, the male stripper movie "Magic Mike" turned into a rather nice surprise as it became a quarter-life crisis dramedy. And now the crass and crude sex comedy "For a Good Time, Call…" is actually a cute and sweet female buddy film.

While the dialogue is extreme, it is surprisingly fairly well written. It's all in context, and the vulgar and coarse sex jokes fit in extremely well with the plot. The final scene, the climax if you will, is an excellent example of keeping the sex-addled jokes funny and completely in context of the story.

A certain indie filmmaker shows up for one cameo scene where self-servicing has never been as funny. The other well-documented cameo with Seth Rogen isn't nearly as funny because it is also supposed to serve as plot advancement. Plot advancement is limited as it is very predictable and the jokes are very one-note, but it's still funny.

"For a Good Time, Call…" is honest in what it claims to be, and despite an unresolved storyline, we're cheering for Lauren and Katie by the end because of the actors and how they have connected them to us. Lauren is beautiful and sympathetic; Katie is more complex and is gorgeously displaying one of the sexiest figures to grace the screen.

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.