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Can an old-fashioned romantic comedy appeal to today’s audiences? Would a cynic who prefers reality to starry-eyed fantasy be able to sit through a feel-good movie with an improbable plot? The answer to the second question is “yes.” The cynic I’m referring to is me, and the film is The Other End of the Line.
Up-and-coming advertising executive Granger Woodruff (Jesse Metcalf) can’t seem to commit to a serious relationship. After a work calamity, while inattentive Granger sits at dinner with a date, his credit card is declined by the restaurant. He receives a call from Jennifer David from the San Francisco office of the credit card company to inform his that his account was frozen due to possible fraudulent charges. As days pass, she continues to call as charges come through, in order to verify which ones are valid. Granger is intrigued by the voice on the other end, and it becomes the perfect relationship. Though it’s not thought out to this extent, he doesn’t have to commit to a voice.
“Jennifer” is employed by the credit card company, but she’s not in San Francisco, and she’s not really Jennifer David. She’s Priya Sethi (Shriya Saran) from the Card One Bank center in Mumbai, India. She and her fellow employees are trained to minimize their accents and impersonate Americans and their culture. She’s also intrigued by this handsome entrepreneur, whose image she views on her computer screen.
Granger informs her that he’s planning to visit San Francisco on business, and he urges her to meet him. She hesitates but decides to take the chance. After all, she’s an adventurist and a dreamer. However, a dreamer has no place in her culture, and she’s already engaged to a dull man in a soon-to-be arranged marriage.
The Other End of the Line takes classic comedic incidences such as “boy knocks down girl.” “girl lies to boy,” and other familiar territory and still manages to keep it fresh. This is where the distinct cultural differences force us to laugh at ourselves, as well as at customs that are foreign to us.
The hilarious side scenes are an integral part of the film, such as Credit One’s American culture training sessions, and Priya’s day with her arranged fiancé and his family. The supporting characters, like the unyielding Mr. Hawksin (Larry Miller) and Priya’s bumbling but compassionate father (Anupam Kher), also provide depth to the movie.
If the only comedy that you enjoy is filled with gross-out humor and adolescent-acting adults, this DVD is not for you. However, you may find a film that relies on non-offensive cultural humor to tell a story about a young woman who refuses to give up on her dreams and a man who finally learns what makes him happy to be quite entertaining.
Will The Other End of the Line catch on with American audiences? I hope that they’ll at least give it a try. Like me, they may be pleasantly surprised.
