FLASHES

HOLD ON R.E.M. rocked to "Star 69." Now Hollywood's picked up on call waiting. The dual-line telephone service malfunctions in Jerry Maguire, and it has a big role in Albert Brooks' Mother. (In the trailer, listen for Brooks' mantra: "It's still me.") "I don't know if I've ever heard of one of our products having a central part in the plot of a movie before," says Jeff Gluck, a New York telephone company spokesman who was unaware that the phone feature was being razzed on the big screen but considers the attention a "great awareness opportunity." Does it matter that both films point out glitches in the system? "The only time it doesn't switch over is when you don't push the switch hook down all the way," defends Gluck. "But people are afraid they're going to hang up on someone." Despite repeated phone calls, Brooks, who cowrote and directed the offending lines in Mother, could not be reached for comment. Perhaps he was on the other line. --Erin Richter