The setup of For a Good Time, Call... is pretty simple. Lauren Powell (Lauren Miller) is a serious, somewhat boring woman who loses her publishing job at the same time her boyfriend breaks up with her and kicks her out of their apartment. Katie Steele (Ari Graynor) is a free spirit with multiple jobs whose Manhattan apartment just stopped being rent controlled, so she needs a roommate. Jesse (Justin Long), their mutual flamboyant gay friend, sees a great solution: have Lauren and Katie move in together! Unfortunately, the two had a very awkward run-in at college ten years before, so between that and their different temperments life in the apartment is quite tense.
Things change when Lauren thinks she overhears Katie with a boyfriend -- and it turns out to be Katie's work as a phone sex operator. Lauren is disgusted at first ("I'm better than better than phone sex") but soon sets up Katie to go into business for herself. And when their first new employee doesn't work out (to put it mildly), Lauren decided to work the phone lines as well.
Sexuality provides plenty of material for comedy; unfortunately, it doesn't here. For a Good Time, Call... is both predictable and unamusing. There are the "funny" set pieces, such as Lauren's parents popping in unexpectedly, goofy callers (including several celebrity cameos), a romantic subplot between Katie and a caller, a training montage for Katie, and former enemies turning into best friends. But there's little humor here -- simply talking dirty and showing sex toys is no substitute for good writing -- and the acting is pretty bad. (Ari Grayor feels like a budget version of Kate Hudson.) DVD extras are pretty sparse as well. For a good time, skip For a Good Time, Call...
Reviewed by James Lynch
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