For a Good Time, Call… still holds up

Lauren Miller Rogen and Ari Gaynor in For a Good Time, Call...

The very funny independent comedy, For a Good Time, Call…, still holds up nearly six years after its theatrical release in 2012.

The biggest reason as to why the film still holds up is because of the strong lead performances from Ari Graynor and actress/screenwriter Lauren Miller Rogen.  Graynor delivered one of the most unsung performances among 2012 releases.

The two women, Lauren Powell (Rogen) and Katie Steele (Graynor), are as opposite of each other as it gets.  Lauren hasn’t been a fan since Katie peed on her following a frat party in college.  Dumped by her boyfriend, Charlie (James Wolk), Lauren has nowhere to go until her friend, Jesse (Justin Long), suggests an apartment while withholding the fact that Katie lives there.  Two of them agree to room with each other but not without their own reservations.

When Lauren learns that Katie is a phone-sex operator, she’s appalled at first before realizing the amount of money that the two of them could make together.  At the time, Lauren was working at a publishing company so when she loses her job, the two go into business for themselves, complete with a 1-900 number.  Even as the two of them become friends upon working together, it isn’t without their challenges once Lauren decides to accept a job with a publishing company.  This angers Katie and Lauren is forced to move out.

The film features some nice cameos from Kevin Smith, Martha MacIsaac, and Rogen’s husband, Seth Rogen.  All of which are hysterical in nature.

As far as boyfriends in movies are concerned, Charlie is up there with all the jerks.  He leaves Lauren for the same reasons that he decides to try and win her back.  It’s a solid performance from Wolk for what it’s worth.

The film may have a preposterous premise but it’s so funny.  Much of the credit for this has to go to screenwriters Lauren Miller Rogen and Katie Ann Naylon.  The duo based their original and funny script on their own experiences as college roommates.  It isn’t just how rare it is for screenplays to be this funny but the film only added to the female-led R-rated comedies that followed 2011’s Bridesmaids.  It’s films such as this one that show that not only can women write funny films but can lead them as well.  If this film is any indication, there’s a lot to look forward to in Lauren Miller Rogen’s feature directorial debut, Like Father, premiering on Netflix later this year.

For a Good Time, Call… is a film that works because of it’s strong performances and funny script.

DIRECTOR:  Jamie Travis
SCREENWRITERS:  Lauren Miller Rogen and Katie Ann Naylon
CAST:  Ari Graynor, Lauren Miller Rogen, Justin Long, Sugar Lyn Beard, Mimi Rogers, Nia Vardalos, Mark Webber, and James Wolk.

Premiering at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Focus Features released For a Good Time, Call… on August 31, 2012.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.

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