For a Good Time, Call…(Two-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) by Universal Studios

Actors

• Ari Graynor
• Lauren Anne Miller
• James Wolk
• Nia Vardalos
• Mark Webber

Format

• AC-3
• Color
• Dolby
• DTS Surround Sound
• Subtitled

Editorial Review

There's no doubt that For a Good Time, Call… concerns phone sex–and the explicit language drives the point home–but female friendship lies at the heart of this raunchy comedy. And it's about time somebody gave the brash Ari Graynor, who recalls 1970s-era Bette Midler, a leading role. Graynor's high-spirited Katie occupies her late grandmother's rent-controlled Gramercy Park apartment, but when the landlord informs her that the old rules no longer apply, she has to think fast. In steps her friend, Jesse (Justin Long), who reintroduces her to the tightly wound Lauren (cowriter Lauren Miller), who's just lost her job and her boyfriend. Ten years before, the three went to college together, where the ladies clashed–violently. It's distaste at second sight, but then Lauren finds out about Katie's line of work, and surmises that her new roomie is: 1) good at her job, 2) paying too much overhead, so they set up their own operation. At first, it's just a professional arrangement, but as the two build up their clientele and learn to see beyond their external differences, old preconceptions fall away. When a full-time publishing job comes Lauren's way, however, their alliance is put to the test (Katie also falls for Mark Webber's repeat caller). Despite a few surface similarities to Bridesmaids, debut director Jamie Travis otherwise emphasizes verbal high jinks over gross-out gags, and the cameos from Kevin Smith, Ken Marino, and Seth Rogen (Miller's husband)–as some particularly kinky callers–contribute to the salty-sweetness of the enterprise. –Kathleen C. Fennessy