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.

Hal Salwen allowed the actors to meet each other once before filming began, then had them shoot their phone scenes separately.

[6] 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.

"[7] The Washington Post was very positive, with Desson Thomson calling it "an amusing, soundbite-era satire about the dehumanizing link-up between deep human impulses (specifically love) and telephone/computer technology.

"[8] Hal Hinson, also of The Post, called it a "stunning satire of yuppie life in Manhattan" and concluded "Salwen has captured and properly identified a very particular modern American species.

[12] In Variety, Emanuel Levy wrote, "At times, 'Denise Calls Up' feels like an overextended, one-joke movie, but the joke’s a good one.