Main Cast: Tim Daly, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Caroleen Feeney, Liev Schreiber, Dan Gunther
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 80 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Thanks to the technological marvels of wireless phones, answering machines, the internet, and e-mail, it is no longer necessary actually to see anyone you know, and seven friends have taken this notion to its logical extreme in this comedy. Linda (Aida Turturro) throws a birthday party and to her dismay, none of her friends show up. The next day, while making phone calls with several acquaintances (none of whom ever meet face to face), Linda hears the same excuse from everyone: they were busy with work and tied up on the phone. Denise (Alanna Ubach), meanwhile, is pregnant, and she decides to call the father, Martin (Dan Gunther), whom she's never met; he made what he thought was an anonymous donation to a sperm bank, and he isn't so sure he wants to be part of the parenting process. Gale (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson) wants to set up a blind date between her friend Barbara (Caroleen Feeney) and Jerry (Liev Schreiber), who exchange photos via fax machine. The group ends up having a wake via conference call when one of their friends dies in a car accident, while talking on a cellular phone, of course. Denise Calls Up was the directorial debut for screenwriter Hal Salwen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
A one-joke movie that works (in part because of its modest length), Denise Calls Up understands how young urbanites hide beyond semi-anonymous communication, mainly the telephone. (It's possible to see this as a wittier precursor to You've Got Mail.) Thanks to call waiting and conference calls, it's also possible to set up a small community of faceless friends, but the key is not to show up in person, whether for a lunch date or a party (the film is bookended by two of the latter). In this world, even sex is better over the phone; the courtship of Barbara (Caroleen Feeney) and Jerry (Liev Schreiber) provides the movie with some of its funniest moments. Unfortunately, the film's weakest link is the title character, played by Alanna Ubach in full Cyndi Lauper mode. Her relationship with Martin (Dan Gunther), the ultimate Type A (who works at home in dress shirt and tie?), seems as forced as the others seem natural. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Aida Turturro - Linda; Mark Blum - Dr. Brennan; Jean-Claude LaMarre - Barton Phillips, Cab Driver; Sylvia Miles - Gale's Aunt; Alanna Ubach - Denise; Hal Salwen - Jerry as a Little Boy
Credit
Georgianne Walken - Casting, Sheila Jaffe - Casting, Michael J. Cozell - Co-producer, Edi Giguere - Costume Designer, Hal Salwen - Director, Gary Sharfin - Editor, John Davis - Executive Producer, Michael J. Cozell - Line Producer, Lynn Geller - Musical Direction/Supervision, Susan Bolles - Production Designer, Michael Mayers - Cinematographer, Stephen Nemeth - Producer, J. Todd Harris - Producer, Hal Salwen - Screenwriter
The plot revolves around a group of friends in New York who work away at their PCs and laptops and keep in touch exclusively by phone and fax as they are all too busy to meet face to face.
