#suzanloriparks

Every director goes through phases, especially those that find themselves in the ‘business’ for multiple decades, and Spike Lee is no exception.  From his groundbreaking perspectives on roles and race in his early films, to the personal and highly stylized films of his second decade, to the big-budget diverse cast offerings of the Summer of Sam and 25th Hour period, to his return to form of late, Lee has continued to bring a vast array of stories to the table.  Some of the films that have been considered his failures, oddly, are some of my favorite, and chief among them is Girl 6. 

Judy (Theresa Randle) is a New York-based actress with hopes of breaking into the movie business, but a reality full of multiple jobs, financial shortcomings and failed opportunities.  With her opportunities drying up, her industry connections cutting ties with her, and the need for steady work and income, Judy decides to pursue a job in the phone sex industry.  Because of her acting chops, Judy (now going by Girl 6 due to her phone assignment) succeeds at the job, but at the behest of her neighbor Jimmy (Spike Lee) and her ex-husband (Isaiah Washington), Judy begins to lose focus of her acting dreams while diving headlong into her phone sex work.  As Judy goes deeper and deeper into the world of phone sex, her life spirals out of control, forcing her to make tough decisions to pull her world back together.

While Spike Lee has never been one to shy away from the female presence in his films, Girl 6 was one of 3 films (at that time) made by Lee with a focus on a female lead.  Theresa Randle is so much the lead, in fact, that the majority of characters around her are either nameless or applied names that identify what they do more so than their personality, with the exception of Jimmy (played by Lee) and Lil (Jenifer Lewis).  Not even Judy’s ex-husband is given a name, although he is graced with a (failed) redemption arc.  Randle gets a chance to dive into a meta-role about someone searching for a star-making turn, but facing a derailed dream due to a need for money, a story that many actors and actresses face.  Not only does she get to pull from a well of experience, but with Lee at the helm, a handful of sequences give Randle a chance to play iconic roles like Carmen Jones, Foxy Brown and Penny from The Jeffersons.  

At the time of release, I truly enjoyed this movie, but it was not generally well received by the public or the critics.  Perhaps it may have been a perceived lack of focus, a reliance on cameos, or the topic of phone sex itself that turned many viewers off, but for some reason the connection did not happen on a large scale.  Girl 6 was released in a range of films that seemed to be both deeply personal and a chance to do exercises in styles and ideas, as exhibited in Crooklyn and the Lee-produced Clockers.  Thusly, this film has been a hard one to find and watch, but in my opinion, the film has held up to my standards.  I was expecting time (and the following Lee films that were critical and commercial successes) to change my opinion on Girl 6, and surprisingly it has held up quite well to the test of time... maybe it can find an audience now that phone sex has taken a backseat to the juggernaut that is pornography.

Having Prince soundtrack the film (mostly existing songs, but a few new songs and B-sides) gives the film a heavy emotional undertone that serves as a foundation for the narrative.  Lee goes heavy on the style with many choices that would become key pieces of future films : using different film and video stocks, location-specific fourth-wall break character introductions, reverse dolly shots that navigate large areas rather than traverse a straight line, and Lee’s ever present references to other films all make strong appearances in this film, only to become signature elements in Malcolm X, Bamboozled, He Hate Me and more.  The Suzan Lori-Parks script brings a different, unique energy to Lee’s work, maintaining the humor and the human moments, but engaging the audience in an entirely different rhythm, something closer to that of School Daze. 

Theresa Randle seems to have been a muse to Lee at this time in his career, and her presence allowed Lee to indulge in some of the directorial choices that cannot be made with a male lead.  Randle, as the focus, immerses herself into the looks and performances, showing a dynamic range similar to that of a one-woman stage show.  With Randle being the clear center of the film, tiers of support are found in the film’s structure.  Closest to her are Lee and Isaiah Washington, providing two different looks at male interaction (supportive and unhealthy, respectfully).  One step below are Jennifer Lewis as the strong role model in the dangerous business, with a massive supporting cast that includes Debi Mazar, Kristen Wilson, Debra Wilson, Naomi Campbell, Gretchen Mol and more as fellow phone sex operators.  Auxiliary to that, you can find Madonna as a different look at the business, plus caller performances by Peter Berg, Michael Imperioli, Richard Belzer, Larry Fine, Coati Mundi, Delilah Cotto, Anthony Nocerino and Tom Byrd III.  Cameos by Quentin Tarintino, Ron Silver, Susan Batson and John Turturro round out the cast.