Girl 6

Spike Lee directed this look at one woman's attempt to improve her life by working in the phone-sex trade. Theresa Randle stars as the plucky, wanna-be actress who settles for this line of work, which is presented in a clean, corporate style. Lee co-stars as her neighbor, Jimmy, and there is some subplot about than man (Isaiah Washington) who keeps following her along, but as can be this case with Lee films, there's not much beneath the surface.

Vote: 5

After a confrontation with a director who forces her to take her top off in an audition, the title character of the film storms out and is subsequently dropped by both her agent and her acting teacher. Unable to get `proper' acting work, she moves into the world of phone sex. Getting a job with an office-call firm, Girl 6 is one of many girls, acting out whatever fantasy her callers want. However, the more confident she gets the more she starts to lose touch with herself.

When I write a review of a film I have just seen, it helps me to write a little summary of the plot to help me think about what I have just seen. I sat this because I don't want you to think that my opening paragraph suggests that plot is a key part of this film - it isn't. What exists in the place of a solid narrative is a series of stylish scenes, spinning characters and good performances. I can totally understand why so many people just hated this film - god knows it does itself no favours - however fans of Spike Lee should find much to keep them watching as it is very much the director's film. Lee, however, cannot find anything to really build on in the screenplay and the plot is never very satisfying; the film's energy just about covers this until the end where Lee realises that he hasn't really gone anywhere to generate a traditional conclusion - this means that the serious stuff doesn't ring true.

However Lee is the driving force behind the film and it is his stylish direction that keeps all the fragmented scenes/sketches/skits together. He uses different film stock to good effect and the stuff he does with the camera is typical of what we have seen in his other films - except here he does it a lot more. Of course, this is style with little narrative substance and that is not a good thing but, if you are going to do style without substance, then you'd better do it as well as Lee can do it. The film leaps all over different styles including the Jeffersons, Foxy Brown and many others; in a way I suppose this is meant to be 6 losing touch with herself on the way to finding inner confidence and peace but it doesn't really work (and the `falling down a dark lift shaft' subplot/snippets are too heavy handed on top of this).

Lee's direction is the first reason for watching this film, but equally worthwhile is Randle (and not for the reason rather juvenilely suggested by many reviews here). Randle is a great actress and she shows it here - it is rather sad that she has actually done quite few films and too many of them have her in small supporting roles (Bad Boys I & II, Spawn, Space Jam, Malcolm X and so on). Here she has very little character to work with (not even a name!) but she made me forget that simply by the range of her performance. She is asked to do a lot and, despite lacking audience involvement in 6, her performance shows the range that she has - she should really be given better roles on the basis of this film, it's just a shame there aren't really that mean good roles for actresses approaching their 40's (never mind black actresses approaching their 40's!). The support cast features plenty of well-known faces - none of them actually have characters, but mostly they do OK whatever their contribution is. Washington is a good-looking guy and does OK with a character that I never understood. Lee himself does his usual role - he is amusing but contributes to the lack of narrative. The callers include people like Lee-regular Byrd, Peter Berg, Imperioli and Richard Belzer - they do what is asked of them and it isn't their fault the film doesn't work. Batson's acting coach is OTT, Campbell does nothing but look sexy, Madonna is actually OK but other like Berry and Silver merely show their face. Tarantino is suitably brash prior to his public falling out with Lee and Turturro just seems to be there for the sake of finding a part for him. Despite the many stars, it is Randle that carries the film - her character is poor but her performance is great.

Indeed this sums up the whole film. To watch it is rather infuriating as it lacks characters, meaningful narrative and plotting. If you are a fan of Spike Lee then you will enjoy the style of the film and the fact that his behind-the-camera skills are there for all to see. Aside from this the only other reason to really watch it is a great performance by Randle that will almost act like an audition tape for her - no character but plenty of range and ability! The vast majority of people will dislike this film and I understand why. There is nothing to it but Lee and Randle make it worth a watch once.

I have always like Spike Lee's movie due to the intelligence he puts in the plot and in the dialogues. His films are full of things that make we think and they're guarantee we'll have fun. "Girl 6" however doesn't fit this category. It's not bad, actually I liked it, but it's just an ordinary movie. I liked (very beautiful) Theresa Radle performance and Spike Lee himself is also good. There are lots of pretty girls in "Girl 6", what is a good reason to watch it, but there's nothing really impressive here.

My rate 6/10

Spike Lee is a man that loves to provoke. He awakens the viewer as he asks to participate in what he is showing on screen. Most of Spike Lee's films have been unmercifully panned by his detractors, including the printed media in this country, and it's a shame because Mr. Lee is one of today's most original creators. In "Girl 6", based on a screen play by the talented Suzan-Lori Parks, a playwright herself, the director directs his satire to the porn industry. If you haven't seen the film, stop reading here!

Judy, the young and black woman at the center of the story, is seen at the start at a casting session with Q.T. (Quentin Tarantino, at his most obnoxious self). Judy is asked by the director to show her breasts, which she reluctantly does, but she is so repulsed by the experience, that Tarantino, or no Tarantino, she's out of there.

This young woman can't find work to enable her to live. The solution presents itself when she answers an ad for a sex phone line after having turned down a woman who runs a strip joint. It appears that Judy is a natural for the job. Suddenly she becomes one of the most demanded woman in the place. She listens attentively, talks soft and is never too pushy or mean to the men who seek her.

Judy makes a mistake when she gives someone her home phone number and goes to meet one of her "regulars" at Coney Island's boardwalk. That's when the dangerous creep keeps persecuting her with threatening phone calls. Since she basically is an actress and wants a change, she decides to leave New York and go to Hollywood, a sad mistake. The last thing we see her do is go to another casting agent who demands to see her breasts, the same thing that the great Tarantino demanded from her! In fact, Spike Lee shows us how women, especially young ones, are vulnerable to fall pray to these unscrupulous operators just to get into the movie business. One thing is evident: Spike Lee is a director who gets magnificent performances out of the stars of his films. In this case is the wonderful Theresa Randle who as Judy runs away with it because she is perfect as Judy. In fact, this young actress turns a great performance under Mr. Lee's direction. It's a shame we don't see her in roles that will let her show her talents in a positive way.

The large cast does amazing work. Madonna does one of the best things she has ever done in a film with the manager of the strip tease joint. She's perfect! Quentin Tarantino plays himself with all the characteristic excess. John Turturro is seen briefly as Judy's agent. Michael Imperioli and Peter Berg are seen as some of Judy's callers. Gretchen Mol, Debi Mazar, Naomi Campbell, Jenifer Lewis are part of the sex phone women, and Ron Silver shows up at the end. Spike Lee himself is the next door neighbor, but he takes a back seat in order to leave the front to the amazing Theresa Randle.

Amazing how badly received was this film. Only an average of 5 from the IMDb viewers?? In my opinion it is a remarkable film from many points of view, daring and interesting, one of Lee's best.

There are many layers in this film. Let us start with the story - an Afro-American actress refuses to expose her body for screen tests, finds herself unemployed, and the lucrative job she finds is in the phone sex industry. Is this job less exposing and more honorable? It seems it is, and what comes plays on a fine line between acting and living a virtual life, that takes over the mundane aspects of the say-to-day life (a kleptomaniac ex, a timid neighbor). The dream plan becomes more complex, intertwined with the story of a little girl that went through an accident to be saved redeemed by the good people around. The film asks questions about the border between passion and addiction, between real life and imagination in a series of lively sketches. Lee with his Afro-American New York reminds here Woody Allen at his best when re-creating the Jewish New York.

Unfortunately, the end is conventional and a little bit confusing. However, the film has many qualities, and a strong cast, first of all the amazing Theresa Randle. I wonder how such a wonderful actress disappeared after such a film, does anybody know what happen to her career? Good movie, worth watching, growing up in time. 8 out of 10 on my personal scale.