Movie Review: 'For a Good Time, Call ...' -- 3 stars

For a Good Time, Call . . .
3 stars
Directed by Jamie Travis
Starring Ari Graynor, Lauren Anne Miller, Justin Long
Rated R

It's been over a year since "Bridesmaids" spurred the tired media narrative that we're living in age of funny women, as if a Y chromosome was once somehow the pre-requisite for quality comedy. Written by and starring talented, funny ladies, "For a Good Time, Call ..." is sure to continue that conversation.

But instead of perseverating on the gender behind this phone sex comedy, it's best to flat out state that the movie is hilarious, with a laugh quotient unrivaled by anything in theaters now. Stars Ari Graynor and Lauren Anne Miller play likable characters and the flick's dirty spin on the Manhattan corporate ladder-climbing fantasy pays off from start to finish.

Miller, who co-wrote the script with Katie Anne Naylon, plays uptight Lauren Powell, searching for an apartment after being dumped by her boyfriend (James Wolk).

Best friend Jesse (Justin Long) sets her up with the overbearing Katie (Ari Graynor), who desperately needs a roommate to stay in her grandma's fancy Gramercy Park apartment and consents to Lauren moving in, even though it turns out that they are longtime enemies of sorts.

At its heart, the film, directed by Jamie Travis, is about the roomies bonding and overcoming an unfortunate past that's best left undescribed here. The business they start together, their own phone sex line, is incidental, really, to the sentimental friendship story. You care because the actors are charming and their conflicting personalities mesh well, while the screenplay imbues Lauren and Katie with more complications than one might expect.

But let's be honest here: You're not going to see "For a Good Time, Call ..." for its heartwarming story. You're going for the dirty talk, and the movie's got plenty of it, scripted in vivid detail and conveyed with aplomb by Graynor and Miller. There's an art to X-rated linguistics, and they've got it down.