Of all the latest crop of fresh, young, funny ladies making their way up in Hollywood right now(including Greta Gerwig, Aubrey Plaza, and more), the most talented of all may be Ari Graynor. She first made a splash as the dopey and lost best friend to Kat Dennings in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, and has been lighting up the screen ever since. Her first shot at taking center stage comes on August 31st when the sexy workplace comedy, For A Good Time Call....hits theaters. Will this be the film that sets Graynor among the comedy elite?
Well....yes and no. I saw the film back at Sundance(review here), and it's definitely a mixed bag. Co-written by and starring Lauren Miller(Seth Rogen's wife), the film follows two rival ladies who couldn't possibly be more different. When the rigors of living in Manhattan become too much to handle alone, they decide to work together by running a phone sex operation out of their high class apartment, which quickly becomes a hit. A red band trailer for the film has been released, and it gives you just a taste of the raunch and vulgarity that make up much of the story. Unfortunately, there's not much else to it, and the relationship between the two girls, which is central to the entire thing working, doesn't feel the least bit real. Miller's script relies too heavily on "hot girls saying nasty things" rather than developing interesting characters. Kevin Smith, however, makes a hilarious cameo as one of their regular customers.
Graynor is excellent, though, and I described her performance as "effervescent", which it definitely was. She's a star on the cusp of greatness, but it's going to take better material than For A Good Time Call...has to offer. Check out the trailer below....
