Spike Lee directed this comedy-drama about a woman who falls into a career in phone sex. An African-American woman (Theresa Randle) who aspires to a career as an actress endures a number of dispiriting jobs (handing out leaflets and working as a coat check girl) before reaching the end of her rope at an audition with Q.T. (Quentin Tarantino), a sleazy movie director. Q.T. claims that he wants to offer her a role in his next film -- but since the role requires nudity, she will have to show him her breasts first. After firing her agent, the actress is strapped for cash and is offered a job enacting sexual fantasies for men over the phone. Dubbed "Girl 6" by her employers, the actress is treated with respect by her boss (Jennifer Lewis) and is well-liked by her co-workers. However, she has a hard time emotionally distancing herself from her work, and she finds herself becoming infatuated with Bob (Peter Berg), one of her regular callers, going so far as to set up a meeting with him. As she deals in other people's fantasies for a living, Girl 6 begins retreating into her own world of make-believe, where she can be a sexy screen siren or a butt-kicking blaxploitation star. Meanwhile, her former fiancé (Isaiah Washington), who scrapes by as a shoplifter, desperately wants her to give him another chance, and her next door neighbor, a baseball card collector named Jimmy (Spike Lee), keeps pestering her that she ought to be doing something more positive with her life. Girl 6's supporting cast includes Madonna as one of Girl 6's supervisors, John Turturro as her agent, and Debi Mazar as one of the other phone-sex girls; the film also features an original song score by Prince. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Celebrity cameos, pop culture send-ups, a bunch of stellar Prince songs, and the likable, layered lead performance of Theresa Randle are the high points of this uneven Spike Lee comedy-drama, which treats the phone sex industry with a mixture of false glamour and cautionary angst. Despite Suzan-Lori Parks' spotty screenplay, Randle gives it her all as Girl 6, a would-be actress with her head in the clouds and her butt in a cubicle talking dirty to pay the rent. Girl 6's colorful fantasies of appearing in everything from The Jeffersons to Foxy Brown give Lee the chance to strut his satirical stuff -- and provide cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed and production designer Ina Mayhew the opportunity to dazzle. More problematic are the nightmare sequences in which Girl 6 conflates her own emotional downfall with the plight of a little girl who's plunged into an elevator shaft. The murky drama of these scenes doesn't quite gel with the exuberance of the movie spoofs, the bawdiness of the phone-sex scenes and the soap-opera earnestness of much of the rest. Still, Randle's convincing performance provides a sense of continuity, and colorful cameos from Halle Berry, Madonna, and Quentin Tarantino keep things interesting. Naomi Campbell and Debi Mazar have fun playing two of the protagonist's heavy-breathing colleagues, while Lee himself gives one of his more credible performances as Jimmy, Girl 6's officious neighbor. Messy but likable, Girl 6 is a mixed bag. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Peter Berg - Caller #1 (Bob); Quentin Tarantino - Director #1, N.Y.; Richard Belzer - Caller 4, Beach; Halle Berry - Herself; Naomi Campbell - Girl 75; Ranjit Chowdhry - Indian Shopkeeper; Michael Imperioli - Scary Caller #30; Chuck Jeffreys - Bad Guy; Joie Lee - Switchboard Operator; John Cameron Mitchell - Rob; Billie Neal - Angela's Mother; Novella Nelson - Angela's Aunt; Anthony Nocerino - Caller 6; Larry Pine - Caller 33, Wall Street; Joe Taylor; Leonard Thomas - Co-Agent; Nelson Vasquez - Ronnie the Guard; Rita Wolf - Wife of Indian Shopkeeper; Madonna - Boss #3; Coati Mundi - Caller 8, Martin; Maggie Rush - Girl 42; Ron Silver - Director #2, L.A.; John Turturro - Murray, the Agent; Jeff Ward - Bad Guy; Susan Batson - Acting Coach; Kristen Wilson - Salesgirl #1; Vinny Vella; Keith Randolph Smith - 2nd Assistant Director; Golden Brooks
Credit
Cirri Nottage - Associate Producer, Aisha Coley - Casting, Sandra Hernandez - Costume Designer, John Lyons - First Assistant Director, Mike Ellis - First Assistant Director, Spike Lee - Director, Sam Pollard - Editor, Jon Kilik - Executive Producer, Prince - Composer (Music Score), Prince - Songwriter, Ina Mayhew - Production Designer, Malik Hassan Sayeed - Cinematographer, Spike Lee - Producer, Paul Weathered - Set Designer, Allan Byer - Sound/Sound Designer, Suzan-Lori Parks - Screenwriter
The story starts with Judy, also known as Girl 6 (Theresa Randle), at what is turning out to be a very awkward audition with Quentin Tarantino. Judy seems to grin and bear it. Tarantino reveals that the movie Judy is auditioning for is "the greatest romantic, African-American film ever made. Directed by me, of course." However, Judy grows suspicious of the audition, when "Q.T.", tells her that "Wesley, Denzel, Fish(burne) . . ." are signed up to play supporting roles. Judy seems to keep her cool until it is requested that she remove her blouse so "Q.T." and his assistant can see her breasts. She reluctantly complies, but not for long. She walks out on the audition.
Her agent (John Turturro) is furious. Having worked hard to get Judy her audition with such a prestigious director, he quickly and angrily drops her from his roster of clients. Her melodramatic acting coach (Susan Batson) is also extremely displeased. When Judy tells her why she did not go through with the audition, the acting coach still does not see any reason why Judy should have walked out. This, topped with the fact that Judy has not paid her rent in a very long while, forces her to drop Judy from her roster of clients as well.
Now unable to secure acting work, Judy must find a way to make ends meet. She tries a number of jobs: passing out fliers, waiting tables at a club, etc. At one point she agrees to be an extra on a movie set. However, it is cold and unpleasant, as is the director. Judy is sick with a cold, and still trying to secure work. While reading a newspaper, she sees an ad for a "friendly phone line", as well as one with the headline, "mo money, mo money, mo money". She circles them both.
This brings her to a meeting at a phone sex office. She meets the boss (Jenifer Lewis), who seems to be an assertive but friendly woman. The two click and the "audition" goes over just fine. The boss, now known as Lil, says that although she can't promise anything, she'll put in the good word for Judy. Judy also goes to another meeting, but the boss there wants her to do more visually related work, so she declines. Then, she attends another meeting, at a strip club/phone sex line with a relaxed boss (Madonna). She would take the job, but the content allowed for on-line discussion is a bit too heavy for her taste. She decides to stick to her original application with Lil.
We now look in on Judy's dissolved relationship with her kleptomaniac ex-husband (Isaiah Washington), as well as her relationship with her baseball-memorabilia obsessed best friend, Jimmy (Spike Lee). Jimmy is reliant on his collection for money, but until it accumulates enough age to be worth money, he gets his rent money from Judy.
Throughout the film, the phone sex line, having been secured at Lil's company, begins to take its mental toll on the newly christened Girl 6. She trusts her clients too much at times, and is therefore tricked repeatedly. She even agrees to meet one of her callers at one point, but he never shows up. It is visible to everybody, especially Lil and Jimmy, that Judy is having a breakdown. The movie culminates in a dark sequence in which she enters a snuff fantasy with a caller (Michael Imperioli). It becomes serious when she discovers the caller knows where she lives. Running upstairs for shelter with Jimmy, she decides that it is time to leave the phone sex career behind and get her acting career in motion. Finally reconciling with her ex, she decides to move to L.A.
Oddly enough, Judy attends another audition in which she experiences the same problem as the one with "Q.T." She again walks out. However, it is clear that Girl 6 has reclaimed her dignity, and will find work sooner or later.
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The film garnered mixed reviews. Some said that its message wasn't entirely clear, and that it was quite sub-par for Lee's usual work. Some also said that the characters did not develop enough, and became very one-dimensional. It was also criticized for being somewhat confusing: we do not learn Girl 6's real name until the final scene of the movie. Much more awkwardly, Isaiah Washington's character is never given an official name throughout the storyline. Despite the fact he is one of the three main roles in the movie, the end credits have him credited as "Shoplifter". Others said that the film was vibrant, quirky, and a nice departure from Spike's usual, message-heavy work. Many praised the soundtrack, composed by Prince.
Current availability
In 2006, Girl 6 finally saw its proper DVD release on its 10th anniversary through Anchor Bay Entertainment. Special features include a reasonable-length "making of" featurette and a reel of behind-the-scenes footage. However, no commentary is provided, simply for the fact that Anchor Bay reissued the film out of its relative obscurity. In commemoration of its 10th anniversary, the film also saw frequent rotation in 2006 on HBO along with a few other Spike Lee films like Malcolm X and She Hate Me.
