Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

The Other End of the Line

MPA Rating: PG-13 for some suggestive material.

Reviewed by: David Criswell, Ph.D.
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Teens Adults
Genre: Romance Comedy
Length: 1 hr. 46 min.
Year of Release: 2008
USA Release: October 31, 2008 (limited)
DVD: March 31, 2009
Copyright, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Copyright, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Copyright, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Copyright, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
True love

What is true love and how do you know when you have found it? Answer

For a follower of Christ, what is LOVE—a feeling, an emotion, or an action?

Sex, Love and Relationships
Learn how to make your love the best it can be. Christian answers to questions about sex, marriage, sexual addictions, and more. Valuable resources for Christian couples, singles and pastors.

Featuring Austin Basis, Nina Bergman, Parvesh Cheena, Sara Foster, Anupam Kher, Jesse Metcalfe, Christian Middelthon, Larry Miller, Al Perez, Anna Maria Pinna, Tara Sharma, Shriya, Brian Vowell, Nouva Monika Wahlgren
Director James Dodson
Producer Brass Hat Films, Hyde Park Films, Patrick Aiello, Ashok Amritraj, Debbie Brubaker, Pete Chiarelli, Manu Gargi, Nick Hamson, Elizabeth Ingold, Lars Sylvest
Distributor
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Trademark logo.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(MGM), owned by Amazon® through MGM Holdings, Inc.

“The Other End of the Line” is a romantic comedy about an Indian woman who works at a Call Center falling in love with an American advertising agent she has only spoken with over the phone. Eventually she comes to the US on false pretenses to meet him and they fall in love, but when her lie is exposed will their love survive?

If this sounds like a typical romantic comedy, it is. The best thing in this comedy is Bollywood actress Shriya. The funniest parts of the film are early in the movie when we learn that Indian Call centers apparently teach their employees to pretend like they are Americans. Shriya's character is taught how to act and talk American. In one scene they are shown pictures of American celebrities and must learn to identify them. However, once she moves to the USA the film becomes a standard fare American romantic comedy.

The film opens with a near sex scene in what is supposed to be an advertisement for a hotel chain. The head of the hotel chain call it pornography and the viewer will be left with the same impression. This sets the tone for a lot of overt sexual and potty humor throughout the movie. There is one sex scene done under the covers (so to speak) and several foul words (the s--- word mainly). Fortunately, Bollywood star Shriya refused to do a nude scene which the director tried to get her to do. It is testament to Shriya that she outright refused to do the scene. Supposedly the scene was filmed with a body double but that scene was apparently cut from the final print as there is no actual nudity in the DVD I viewed.

My final verdict is that “The Other End of the Line” is a standard Hollywood romantic comedy. It offers nothing terribly new, and families will probably not want to watch this as it is laced with sexual potty humor inappropriate for younger viewers. The best thing about the film was Shriya, and I hope she goes on to achieve better things in Bollywood, if not Hollywood.

Violence: None / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive—I loved this movie! Although fairly predictable, it was a very cute romantic comedy that made me laugh and touched my heart. The language and sensuality were mild in comparison to most movies out there these days, and I liked seeing the contrast between the two different cultures. As the reviewer said, the female lead refused to do a nude scene, and as a result it made me like and respect her character much more. Overall, cute movie!!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Nicole, age 24 (USA)
Movie Critics
…A charming old-fashioned romantic comedy transposed to today's global dating world. …
Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter
…Attracting a sizeable Anglo audience seems unlikely, but the studio may have more luck in its targeted appeals to the States’ sizeable Indian-American population. …
Screen Daily
…A feather-light romantic comedy that's laborious when it ought to be effervescent…
Jason Anderson, Toronto Star
…Now, it's not fair to ask that a romantic comedy be entirely realistic, but some level of plausibility would make the jokes go down easier, as would a touch of delicacy in the writing. …
Bob Mondello, NPR
…Despite an appealing cast, ‘The Other End of the Line’ goes nowhere… Who do you have to pay to get out of this movie?
John Hartl, The Seattle Times
…Long-distance romance has too many hang-ups… the movie is like a glass of Sprite that has been left on the counter too long: transparent, sweet and flat. …
Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail