For a Good Time Call… (2012) & the Beauty of a (Platonic) Romantic Comedy

by Morgan Stone

When I think of love stories, naturally the first thing that comes to mind are romantic comedies. When Harry Met Sally (1989), Pride and Prejudice (1995 or 2005 or even the book, pick your poison), and 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)…all those classics. And these romantic comedies all follow a classic structure: the two protagonists start as strangers, or even enemies. They slowly open up to one another and begin to fall in love, have a deciding conflict that sets them back, then reconcile for a perfect romantic ending. This also happens to be the structure of one of my favorite platonic love stories.

A movie that completely blind-sighted me and quickly rose on my list of favorite movies is For a Good Time Call… (2012), directed by Jamie Travis, as it’s a romantic comedy for friendships. As a synopsis for this movie states “Just because someone pees in your hair in college doesn’t mean she won’t be your best friend 10 years later.” If that doesn’t sound strange, maybe the rest of the film will pick at your curiosity. If you want to avoid spoilers…warning: I’m about to recap the entire film.

The film starts out with Lauren (Lauren Miller) having sex with her boyfriend (his name isn’t important). Immediately after, he tells her he got a big job in Italy and he wants to “reevaluate” their relationship. Then he kicks her out of the apartment. Lauren is naturally heartbroken, and without a place to live, but she turns to her friend Jesse (Justin Long), who suggests that he has a place she can move into...unfortunately, it’s with Katie (Ari Graynor).

Lauren and Katie have a long-standing beef. Back to that quick synopsis from earlier, Lauren had given Katie a ride home from a party in college, which ultimately resulted in a cup of pee spilling throughout the car. Lauren thinks Katie is a ridiculous party girl who has nothing going for her but lots of sex. Katie thinks Lauren is incredibly uptight and completely devoid of a fun bone in her body. The two hate each other, but they agree to move in. Neither can afford to live in New York on their own. 

Now that we’ve established the enemies, it’s time for the rest of the arc. It’s time for the “to lovers."

The two don’t get along to begin with, but something changes once Lauren finds out that Katie has been working for a phone sex line. Lauren comes up with an idea: what if, instead of working for the phone sex line, they made one themselves? With Lauren recently out of a job (oh yeah she got fired earlier), she buys them a landline, establishes 1-800-MMM-HMM, and eventually incorporates an LLC. They are in business…selling phone sex!

Their business becomes more and more successful. And eventually, Lauren becomes part of the "talent." She opens up to Katie, and becomes more free with her sexuality and plans for the future. They are making thousands per month at this point. Katie makes the scary decision to meet up with one of her clients in real life, one that she has developed a personal connection with. After meeting up with him and having a fantastic date, she admits to Lauren: she's all bark and no bite. She’s still a virgin, and she’s been waiting for her first time to be with someone she loves. And throughout all of this, Lauren and Katie have become deep and true friends. They love living together, and make plans to be together for the foreseeable future. They've fallen in love.

Then: disaster strikes. The climactic conflict. It's the morning of Lauren's big interview for her dream job (which she plans to bomb to stick it to the man). Lauren tells Katie she loves her, and Katie doesn’t say it back. Lauren goes to the interview, intending to tell the interviewer to suck it, but realizes that she needs something more stable than running a phone sex line. She wants health insurance. 

Once Katie learns about this, she’s furious, she feels betrayed. Katie tells Lauren’s parents that they've been running a phone sex line. A fight culminates with Katie telling Lauren she doesn’t love her and kicking her out. Naturally, both are devastated.

Lauren moves onto Jesse’s couch (remember how Justin Long is this?), and she goes to a lunch with her ex-boyfriend (remember from the beginning). And he’s an asshole, and she tells him such, leaving him alone in the bar. Simultaneously, Katie decides she is ready to have sex for the first time and loses her virginity, the act culminating with her telling her boyfriend that she loves Lauren…huh?

The two girls call and scream at each other over the phone, not that different than they would on calls (I’m coming! I’m coming!). They run to meet each other and embrace. Katie tells her she loves her, and they apologize for being hurtful. They make up, and the love arc completes.

Lauren's shitty ex-boyfriend has been sent flying out of the picture. Katie's nice new boyfriend is upstairs and wholeheartedly supports their friendship. Justin Long's character...is somewhere probably? Honestly, he's the weakest part of the whole movie. But most importantly: Katie and Lauren's relationship is secure.

Now, why am I writing about this?

It’s a weird concept, I’ll admit. I remember seeing the trailer for this regularly as a kid (don't ask me what DVD I have no clue), and I was mystified. It seemed so taboo and scandalous and surely vulgar and inappropriate. All I knew is that this was a film about phone sex, and that was enough to send off some signals in my brain. I had never (and still haven't) seen anything quite like it.

And it isn't a perfect movie. A few jokes aren't funny, the directing doesn't feel especially creative, and Justin Long's character kinda just doesn't need to be there.

But I have to give it to the writers, Lauren Miller & Katie Naylon (who are actual real-life friends and based the script on their college experiences): it's a good script. There's no saying how much of this specifically happened in their lives, but much of it has that biting comedic edge that really only seems to be based in reality. And, oh boy, is this movie funny. Don't let me earlier comment about unfunny jokes misinform you.

I'm usually not the biggest on sex jokes. I think they can be overwrought, or just based in shock factor alone. But there is something beautifully comical in seeing these two women laugh through pretending to make out with one another while Seth Rogen (playing a pilot jerking off in a bathroom between flights) is on the other side of the line bluntly saying "Nice." This movie has this sex humor that doesn't feel degrading, which I feel is rare.

And despite this sexual subject matter, the movie is just so full of love; from the dialogue to the plot to how it makes me feel. I know that this same plot in different hands could take turns into what would feel exploitative and gross, but this never does that. It's purely sweet, and watching these two women fall in love with each other feels so magical.

The first time I saw this movie, all I wanted to do was hold my friends...and maybe make them watch this with me. It really left an impact on me that fateful night I watched it alone in my apartment. I care really deeply about my friendships. I've had a couple friendship breakups in my lifetime, and they have felt absolutely devastating. So watching this movie to me just feels good.

It's so sweet and genuinely funny, and it's not surprising it was written by real-life friends. I genuinely love seeing how the two women help each other grow for the better, as they really do complete one another. It feels like a real-life friendship. I know that there are plenty of films that explore the love of friendships, and others that even use the romantic comedy structure, but there's something special about For a Good Time Call...

So, if you want a laugh, some fun, and, dare I say, a "good time," I highly recommend giving this movie a chance. Maybe some wholesome friendship is just what you need to get through the week.