GIRL 6
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.0 Alternative Scale: **1/2 out of ****
United States, 1996
U.S. Release Date: 3/29/96 (limited)
Running Length: 1:45
MPAA Classification: R (Graphic sexual language, profanity,
brief nudity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Theresa Randle, Isaiah Washington, Spike Lee, Jenifer Lewis,
Debi Mazar
Director: Spike Lee
Producer: Spike Lee
Screenplay: Suzan-Lori Parks
Cinematography: Malik Hassan Sayeed
Music: Prince
U.S. Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
GIRL 6 is the first major motion picture about the phone sex industry. Director Spike Lee (DO THE RIGHT THING, MALCOLM X) places would-be actress Judy (Theresa Randle) in a position where her best chance to earn a living is by talking dirty to anonymous men over the phone. All day long, she sits in an office cubicle, next to dozens of other girls in similar cubicles, using her disembodied voice to play dominatrix, schoolgirl, housewife, and any number of other roles. However, Judy falls prey to the profession's dark side. It's easy to become hooked on the fantasies, and, especially with a little Marijuana to augment the experience, reality can become a tenuous thing.
When it comes to details, GIRL 6 is excellent. Lee's film is sprinkled with touches that give his phone sex world an aura of verisimilitude: dark-haired, black women pretending to be busty blondes, someone flipping through a magazine while moaning into the receiver, and workers scarcely able to contain laughter at callers' more absurd requests. The phone sex mantra is simple: "Listen, appreciate, and don't judge -- you want them to like you." The girls go by numbers, not names; hence, Judy becomes "Girl 6".
Unfortunately, as good as GIRL 6 is with the fine points, the larger brushstrokes are erratic. Lee may have a keen sense of setting and dialogue, but his characterization is off. Other than Judy, no one has any depth, and even she isn't afforded much development. Theresa Randle (SUGAR HILL, MALCOLM X) is okay in the role, but not a revelation. The other characters, especially Judy's ex-husband (Isaiah Washington) and her baseball memorabilia-collecting neighbor, Jimmy (Lee), are virtual nonentities.
Psychologically, GIRL 6 is superficial. Unlike EXOTICA, which cut deeply into the motivations of those who work in and frequent strip clubs, this film is content to skim the surface of a similar industry. One scene of poignant disillusionment notwithstanding, Judy's burgeoning addiction to the illusory aspects of her job is used more as a plot device than a means of exploring her psyche.
Is being a phone sex girl exploitation or just another job? The question is raised, although Lee doesn't really probe it. While GIRL 6 is considerably more effective than SHOWGIRLS at exploring the issue, there are times when this film seems like the proverbial triumph of style over substance. Cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed, who worked with Lee on CLOCKERS, uses a battery of odd camera angles and experimental shots. Most of these work on a purely visual level, but their attempts to telegraph emotional states are less successful.
The highlights of the film are a trio of parody fantasies. In two of these, Lee dresses Judy as Dorothy Dandridge and Foxy Brown. In the other, he fills the role of George Jefferson in a sendup of the hit TV series. There's also an impressive list of cameos: Naomi Campbell (Girl 75), Ron Silver (a sleazy Hollywood director), Peter Berg ("Bob Regular"), John Turturro (Judy's agent), Madonna (the manager of a work- at-home phone sex operation), Halle Berry (herself), and Quentin Tarantino (portraying, and mocking, himself). Give Lee credit for using Madonna and Tarantino in roles they're capable of playing.
If nothing else, GIRL 6's perspective of the industry is fascinating. The fantasy is that phone sex women are all beautiful, young, and hot. The stereotype is that they're ugly, wrinkled, and haggard. The reality, at least in GIRL 6, is somewhere in between. None of the revelations here are especially shocking -- we've seen a lot of this stuff before, anywhere from TV news magazines to Robert Altman's SHORT CUTS (where Jennifer Jason Leigh played a phone sex girl), but Lee puts it all together and adds a few twists. Unfortunately, while certain aspects of GIRL 6 are handled with flair, the film's dramatic scope too often isn't compelling enough for subject matter of such rich and varied possibilities.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net web: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin (or) http://www2.cybernex.net/~berardin
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