Hot Talk

Movies: For a Good Time, Call

For a Good Time, Call is bubbly, happy little movie that had me leaving the theatre with a smile on my face. It's not going to win any awards, but it will probably get some laughs and maybe even tug a few heartstrings.

On its surface, For a Good Time, Call is a raunchy sex comedy about two women in their late twenties who start a phone sex business to make some extra dough in a crappy economy. But what the movie is really about is friendship; specifically, it's about how friendship in and of itself can be a sort of love affair.

Katie (played by Ari Graynor, a lady so cute that she strongly tests my heterosexuality) and Lauren (Lauren Miller, also the screenwriter) don't start out as friends. The met briefly in college, but due to a mishap involving a cup of urine in a moving car, they had a falling out and never spoke again...until 10 years later when their guy pal introduces them since they are both in desperate need of a roommate.



Begrudingly, they move in together. When prim Lauren hears lusty, deep-voiced Katie constantly talking dirty on the phone, she asks what's up. Katie admits that she makes extra money on the side as a phone sex operator. Lauren's response? To make it into a business. The two ladies coin their sex talk business "1-800-MMM-HMMM" and the cash (and heavy breathing) starts rolling in.

But here is where the movie goes from a good-natured sex romp (with cameos by Kevin Smith and Seth Rogen as horny customers) into something more. During a "threesome" scenario, a customer asks Katie and Lauren to look at each other and describe what they see. Instead of the typical lewd talk, a tightly-framed camera focuses on each actress while they say things like "She's the most honest person I've ever known." and "She's so beautiful. Her hair is perfect." Katie and Lauren have gone from vaguely hating each other to what can aptly be called a "homoromantic" relationship. And the best part is: they never make out!

Don't get me wrong--I would not be adverse to seeing them make out. It's just that the For a Good Time, Call doesn't exploit Katie and Lauren's friendship as an excuse to show some unrealistic girl-on-girl (for a hetero male gaze). I'm a woman who tends to have female friends. I've never made out with any of my female friends...but have I told some of them that I loved them? Yes. And I meant it.

Likewise, For a Good Time, Call shows female friendship as love, not backstabbing and bitchery. Sure, Lauren and Katie have some serious ups and downs, but when it comes down to it, they genuinely care about each other and want each other to be happy. This is what real friendship is--when you accept someone's flaws and want the best for them. When you can be yourself around them and know that they won't judge you (much...). Without that comfort, honesty, and caring--why bother?

For a Good Time, Call also handles sexuality in a really positive way. It takes place in a world where women own vibrators, and that is considered normal. There's also a subplot where a character reveals a secret about her sexuality that is indeed unusual, but it's treated as not a big deal. The film has an attitude of "I'm OK, you're OK" when it comes to sex. It's refreshing.

Even though I don't run a phone sex hotline, I felt like For a Good Time, Call really spoke my language. The characters were friendly and relatable. Unlike other female-led comedies such as Clueless and Mean Girls, this movie is populated with people I'd actually want to be friends with. Although clearly feminist and sex-positive, For a Good Time, Call is also just plain fun.

4 out of 5 stars