Former college frenemies Lauren and Katie move into a fabulous Gramercy Park apartment, and in order to make ends meet, the unlikely pair start a phone sex line together.
Lauren and Katie, college frenemies with a mutual good friend, move in together at age 28 in order to afford an amazing Gramercy Park apartment. The unlikely pair start a phone sex line and become best friends while learning about this hilarious world of vibrators, fake orgasms and nighttime callers. When the hot line is hung up and reality comes calling, the most meaningful relationship of their lives is put to the test.—anonymous
The reserved Lauren (played by 'Lauren Anne Miller') and the irrepressible Katie (Ari Graynor) are polar opposites - and past enemies. But when both come up short on the funds needed to afford their dream New York City apartment, a mutual friend ('Justin Long') re-introduces them, and they reluctantly agree to room together. These apartment-mates have nothing in common - until Lauren discovers that Katie is working as a phone-sex operator, and recognizes a good business opportunity. But as their business partnership takes off, their newfound friendship finds unexpected challenges that may leave them both, as they say, hanging on the telephone.—Anonymous
In Manhattan, the nerd aspirant editor Lauren Powell is dumped by her boyfriend Charlie that is expatriated to Rome. Meanwhile, the manicure Katie Steele can not afford the raise in the rent of her apartment at the Gramercy Park. Their common gay friend Jesse brings Lauren to share the apartment with Katie, but they are college enemies and have difficulties to accept each other. Katie also works in a phone sex line but her income is very low. When Lauren loses her lousy job and is not accepted in a publishing house, she decides to use her knowledge to make a profitable business in sex for Katie and herself. But when Lauren's parents unexpectedly appear in the apartment, their friendship is tested.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Staid Lauren Powell, originally a Long Island princess and now working as a book editor for a small, struggling publishing house, faces a housing crisis in expensive New York City after her live-in boyfriend, Charlie, moving temporarily to Rome, breaks up with her thinking that she is boring. She is unable to afford the apartment on her own. Sexually provocative Katie Steele is also facing a housing crisis when what was her now deceased grandmother's rent controlled apartment, where she lives alone, goes market rate, she too unable to afford the apartment on her own now. Lauren and Katie, who have known and hated each other for ten years - that hate due to one specific incident when they were in college - are brought together by their gay, mutual friend Jesse who convinces them that they need each other to live together in Katie's spacious apartment, at least in the short term. Things go from bad to worse for Lauren when she is let go from her job due to no fault of her own. She is somewhat offered her dream job at a larger publishing house, that job which isn't available for three months. Finding out that Katie works a multitude of jobs, Lauren, in order to pay her share of the rent for those three months, offers to take over the business side of one of Katie's at-home jobs: as a phone sex operator. As the business flourishes under Lauren's acumen, Lauren and Katie's relationship changes from roommate enemies to business partners and true friends, with Lauren possibly being able to break out of her shell. That newfound friendship, the roommate situation and the business itself may all be in jeopardy as certain things in her life may tempt Lauren to head back into the life she knew, especially as she tries to hide the phone sex business from her conservative parents.—Huggo
After Lauren (Lauren Ann Miller) is dumped by her boyfriend Charlie (James Wolk), she is unable to afford a place of her own. Her old friend Jesse (Justin Long) informs her of a beautiful apartment right by Gramercy Park, but does not include the fact that his other friend Katie (Ari Graynor) lives there. During their freshman year of college, Lauren had to drive an inebriated Katie home from a frat party. She accidentally spilled her own urine onto Lauren from an empty slushie container, and was promptly thrown out of the car. Despite their clear disdain for each other, they reluctantly move in together for lack of better options.
One night, Lauren hears strange noises coming from Katie's bedroom. Believing she is being attacked, she opens the door to see Katie is saying sexually explicit things on the phone. Katie explains that her career as a writer does not earn her enough money to live in New York City, so she does some work as a phone sex operator. Lauren is disgusted by her roommate's profession, but makes some suggestions to how she could make more money.
Several weeks go by, and Lauren loses her job at a publishing company when her boss decides to retire. Thinking about the phone sex line, Lauren encourages Katie to obtain a land line, 1-900-mmmhmmm, and becomes her business manager, as they go into business for themselves, which is much more lucrative. In a few weeks they make $12,000, of which Lauren gets one-third of it, which increases when she becomes a phone operator herself. In the process of their venture, they become close friends.
Throughout the film, Katie has been speaking with a repeat customer named Sean and the calls become less about phone sex and more about getting to know one another. They agree to meet, but are accompanied by Lauren and Jesse who are concerned that he may be a rapist. However, after Katie and Sean meet they discover that they are very well suited to each other and begin to start a relationship which leaves Katie feeling distressed as it is revealed that she is a virgin and has been lying for many years to cover up her insecurities.
One day, Lauren gets a job interview at a prestigious publishing company who earlier rejected her, and Katie convinces her to do the interview so that she can blow them off. Yet once Lauren gets to the interview and admits that she has been running a phone sex line all summer, they offer her the job as they feel she has business savvy. Concerned about her long-term prospects, Lauren accepts the job which angers Katie to the point where she reveals their business to Lauren's conservative parents (Mimi Rogers and Don McManus). Lauren moves out and the girls stop speaking to each other.
A few weeks later, Lauren's ex-boyfriend Charlie returns from Italy and declares that he made a mistake in breaking up with her. He reveals that he had a passionate love affair with a fiery Italian woman, but if he is to succeed in his business he needs someone boring, predictable and simple... the same reasons he gave to Lauren for dumping her in the first place. Lauren stands up for herself and leaves Charlie for good.
Meanwhile, Katie and Sean decide to have sex and in order to calm their nerves they talk on the phone while lying next to each other in bed. When they were finished, Katie feels sad that she can't share this news with Lauren, whom she loves. Sean encourages her to call Lauren, and they declare that they 'think' they love each other.
Lauren and Katie both call each other at the same time, and they engage in a phone conversation full of unintentional lesbian-type innuendo before they meet each other on the street and hug.