Denise Calls Up

Denise Calls Up is a 1995 American comedy released by Sony Pictures Classics in 1996.[1] Written and directed by Hal Salwen, it has an ensemble cast which includes Liev Schreiber, Timothy Daly, and Alanna Ubach. The plot revolves around a group of friends in New York City who, while working at their PCs and laptops and keeping in touch by phone and fax, never seem to be able to get together.

Denise Calls Up
Directed byHal Salwen
Written byHal Salwen
Produced byJ. Todd Harris
Starring
Distributed byDavis Entertainment
Rastar
Sony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • April 1995 (1995-04) (WorldFest-Houston)
  • May 1995 (1995-05) (Cannes Directors' Fortnight)
  • May 17, 1995 (1995-05-17) (Canada)
  • September 22, 1995 (1995-09-22) (Cinéfest Sudbury)
  • March 29, 1996 (1996-03-29) (United States)
Running time
80 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Box office$148,121

Plot

Linda wakes up one morning to her ringing phone. Her friend, Gale wants to know how her party went last night. To her dismay, Linda tells her that no one showed up, "not a one." Thus begins Denise Calls Up, the story of seven friends living in New York City who no longer find it necessary to actually meet face to face due to the new age of the internet and wireless phones. But Gale is less upset about the absolute absenteeism, than about the fact that her friend Barbara never got to meet Jerry. Gale has been trying to set them up. So she calls Barbara, chastising her for not making it to Linda's and goading her into meeting Jerry. After protesting that she's just been too busy, Barbara eventually acquiesces. Meanwhile, Denise, who has gotten pregnant by an anonymous sperm insemination, locates the donor, Martin, and decides to call him. And so it goes, as the characters, via phone and fax, duck and miss each other time after time, using one excuse after the other to avoid meetings, births, and even a funeral until, finally, Frank, determined to finally get everyone together, plans a New Year's Eve party. All swear that they will be there.

Cast

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 74% "Certified Fresh" rating based on 23 reviews.[2] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote: "Mr. Salwen's storytelling gambit may sound like a stunt, but he does a remarkably agile job of sustaining it throughout a sunny 80-minute comedy."[3][4][5]

Awards

References
  1. "Denise Calls Up - Crew - Hal Salwen". Denise Calls Up at Sony Pictures Classics. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012.
  2. "Denise Calls Up (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  3. Maslin, Janet (27 March 1996). "FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW;Techno-Yuppies Who Live and Die by the Microchip". The New York Times.
  4. Ebert, Roger (April 26, 1996). "Denise Calls Up". Chicago Sun-Times.
  5. Levy, Emanuel (13 March 1995). "Denise Calls Up". Variety.
  6. "1995 | 21ème Festival du Cinéma Américain". Deauville American Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  7. "Denise Calls Up | Denise au téléphone". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
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