Search - Working Girls (Widescreen) on DVD

A Day's Work

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 08/11/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Working Girls"

A Day's Work

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

New from First Run Features is Lizzie Borden's "Working Girls", an in depth look at women who have sex for money. Let me start off by saying that I know that this is not a gay-themed movie but I have strong reasons for including it in my reviews. Many women who work as prostitutes are lesbians and this movie gives great insight into that aspect of the "business".
The film is about New York hookers and among them are Molly, a lesbian, with a degree from an Ivy League school, Dawn, a law student, Gina who wants to open he own beauty salon and Mary who just decided to give the gig a try. They work in a very exclusive Manhattan whore house and come into contact with everything as they take care of the needs of their clients--all kinds of men. To make this film, director Lizzie Borden ("Born in Flames") gave up six months of her life to interview real prostitutes so that you could bring to the screen a true picture of prostitution and she delivers an amazing look.
Molly, our Ivy Leaguer, is in her thirties and was looking for a change and finds herself highly involved in the sex industry. She is a lesbian that fakes it well and returns to her female lover after her tricks. She is an actress who s exceedingly clever and even chats with her clients after work is done. She seems to be caught in a trap. Even with her degree and opportunities for a real career, she stays on her job as a prostitute. Unlike the other girls who know their place and do not wish to rise above it, Molly cannot decide what she really wants. Because she is a lesbian, sex with a man, to her, is no more than an act. She does not, however, dismiss her male clients and even states that they have helped her get over her fear f men.
Lucy and Dawn have stories that are brutally true. Dawn displays overt hostility and she grates on the audience. These two girls are constantly at odds.
We have al kinds of women working in the profession--college girls, an aging Afro-American, just regular Janes. Directed by Lizzie Borden, a committed feminist, this is just he kind of film that gives us the real inside look at prostitution. Made on a low budget, with acting that may leave a little to be desired, here is a film that makes you think and quite possibly will cause you to change your mind about some aspects of the subject. It covers one day and there is a lot crammed into that short period of time. I felt that the movie was made by a person who had actually been there and seen it all happen.
When I first started watching I had the feeling that that the movie might have some kind of agenda but it does not. It asks questions which it does not answer.
What is interesting about the film is that it tackles its subject directly but it does not provide a reason as to why men prefer this kind of sex to another. Obviously the loneliness and boredom of the inner city is a factor and since there isn't only one type of client, there really isn't just one answer.
This is nowhere near a Hollywood movie--it is odd, it is original and it is refreshing as well as stimulating without being pornographic.
"

Loosely-structured but interesting

One-Line Film Reviews | Easton, MD | 06/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Bottom Line:

Working Girls is a fairly slight piece of filmmaking depicting a day in the life of an upscale 1980s bordello; it's never especially compelling or transcendent, but it's unexploitative and features many interesting scenes that just manage to make it worth recommending.

3/4"