  
The Other End of the LineMPAA Rating:
 for some suggestive material.Reviewed by: David Criswell, Ph.D. 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 
Relevant Issues
True love
What is true love and how do you know when you have found it? Answer 
“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.   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 |
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My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
—Nicole, age 24 (USA)