Oh, we just stepped out of the shower. What are you wearing?
This week, Ari Graynor, Lauren Miller, and Justin Long star in For A Good Time, Call…, a new comedy about female roommates who start a phone-sex line. So we picked out a few of our favorite phone-sex scenes for your delectation.
1. Get Carter (Mike Hodges, 1971)
According to us, this is one of the fifty hottest sex scenes in a movie, period. And it's not hard to see why it made the list, when you take in Michael Caine's voice, his unwavering stare at his uninvolved landlady, his desire so single-minded that he doesn't care whom he may weird out. Britt Ekland's breathy, sweaty response is completely understandable.
NEXT: "At one point, a co-worker asks her if she's having orgasms with her clients…"
2. Girl 6 (Spike Lee, 1996)
Here we go — an entire movie about phone sex. Girl 6 is not exactly the most progressive offering from Mr. Lee — the nuances of autonomous female sexuality seem to escape him in this particular joint. But it does feature several moments of authentic sexiness. So that's nice. Theresa Randle plays a struggling actress who takes on phone-sex work, becoming the mutable, desirable Girl 6 at a sex line. The line between fantasy and reality slowly blurs. At one point, a co-worker asks her if she's having orgasms with her clients. Like a lot of people in sex work, she denies it, wanting to keep boundaries clear, but when she first enters this world, she's visibly turned on by her own sexual potency, and it's way steamier than expected.
NEXT: "One of the first times phone sex was treated like legitimate sex on screen…"
3. The Truth About Cats and Dogs (Michael Lehmann, 1996)
This is a big reference point for phone sex in film, because it was one of the first times phone sex was treated like legitimate sex on screen. It's also kind of the best moment in the movie. Janeane Garofalo will always be one of my personal favorites, but she's underused here. And it makes me impossibly sad that, in the world of this movie, it's just sort of accepted that she is a hideous troll person, and therefore unworthy of male attention. (Hollywood Ugly: anyone this side of Penelope Cruz.) However! The sex scene in question is totally hot. They're into it! It's a little awkward! They both get off! Hooray!
NEXT: "The phone sex in this movie earned it an NC-17 rating without the deployment of a single boob…"
4. Easier With Practice (Kyle Patrick Alvarez, 2000)
In case you had any worry that phone sex can't be as raw as "real" naked-people sex, the phone sex in this movie earned it an NC-17 rating without the deployment of a single boob. The entire movie revolves around a steamy phone-sex relationship between a struggling writer and an anonymous lady on the other side of the phone. The talk is hot and consistent. Of course, it's an allegory for modern alienation, but either way, it's hot.
NEXT: "The two actors were dating — and probably phone-sexing — in real life…"
5. Going the Distance (Nanette Burstein, 2012)
This one is less sexy than it is cute. But it is really cute. A long-distance relationship (like the one here, between Justin Long and Drew Barrymore) sort of demands several dedicated sessions of healthy phone sex. Anybody who's ever had an LDR will feel some tingling familiarity watching Going the Distance. It's adorable because it's very real; the two participants get confused about their scenarios and who's on top. And since the two actors were dating — and probably phone-sexing — in real life, it just adds an extra layer of "Aw!" all around.
