Working Girls

What we see is a day in the life of a brothel working girl. This is no cartoonish whorehouse with supermodels in garter belts sucking poutily on their fingers while lounging suggestively on chaise lounges in a gaudy parlor. These are real-looking women at the workplace.

Nothing unusual happens today. Someone calls in sick, someone has to pick up an extra shift, someone new starts work, lunch is ordered, jokes are shared, co-workers talk about how much they hate their boss, just a normal day, just a normal job.

Only it's not a normal job. This is such an honest film, it blew me away. Prostitution isn't glamorized, nor is its depiction harsh enough to scare you straight. Good script, well worth seeing.

The drawback? Obvious amateurs in most of the roles. Sometimes the acting is wooden -- but it can be forgiven because everything else is anything but.

Molly is a thirty something college educated sex worker looking for a change of career. However the sex industry seems to have a tight hold over her and her life.

Lizzie Borden is a committed feminist so the choice of making a film about a subject such a prostitution and sex is not an obvious one. While this is low budget, and some of the sideline acting amateurish, this a film that makes you think and maybe even change your views. While a lot is crammed in to the one day that it covers you get the feeling that is written by someone that has been there and seen it for real.

The central question is who is exploiting who here? The affluent clients that buys sex is sneered at and joked about ("here comes Fantasy Fred"): but only by women that are either too lazy to do something else or maybe too inefficient to find other work. Or maybe they couldn't stand the pay cut?

Here we have all types of "working girl" from the college girl to the ageing black girl that is never chosen despite her best efforts. It is not a job everyone can do and the film demonstrates this clearly and without sentiment.

Molly doesn't even like men in real life - being in a lesbian relationship, but fakes it well. Even doing a lesbian scene with a new girl and then denying her sexuality to her when questioned. Her life is one of a hands-on actress. She is cleverer than most and has "regulars" that chose her for her chat as much as her sex. They even give her their cards hoping that they will become friends in the real world - something that can never be. There is always that old white line.

I came to this film believing that it would have an agenda, but it doesn't. It asks questions, but it doesn't answer them. Should sex be bought and sold in modern day society? The female brothel owner believes that sex and money are the best things in society so "why not bring them together."

Molly seems trapped, despite her education and alternative career options. Yes she can do better, but can she make the break? The other girls are, in the main, different in that they know their place - they don't want to rise above it. Her lesbianism probably helps in that she isn't confused as to why a man is having sex with her - but at the same time she is dismissive of them and even claims that the job has helped her to get over her innate "fear of men." She is also not above cheating so she can keep more of the money she makes.

(In the sex industry stealing is different from stealing in the outside world?)

This is quite a unique film in that it takes on the subject in cold blood, but it doesn't seek to give any indication as to why men chose this type of sex over - say - masturbation. Nevertheless the boredom and loneliness of the inner city (New York) has to be a factor. Like there isn't one type of client, there isn't really one form of answer.

I started the film not knowing if Molly was a victim or not and ended up still not knowing. You can make your own mind up, but if she is a prisoner she is a prisoner of the love of the quick-buck that must be hard to break away from in today's high price world. I am glad I am not in her (high heeled) shoes now, then or anytime...

A day in the life of a woman who is a prostitute in a brothel-a very high class brothel. Nothing really happens--her and the other girls sit around and talk and serve clients. The movie does not glamorize prostitution. It shows it as a grueling, painful and demoralizing job. The script is sharp and on-target and most of the performances are good. Not great film, but well-made.

Just recently watched this independent film from 1986 called "Working Girls" and it kind of lives up to it's title showing how girls like this worked back in the day, yet while going thru it all return to life at the end of the work day or night shift. Set in New York city, it follows Molly who already has a family and live in female lover, yet on the side she moonlights as an escort in a house brothel which is ran by a madam. The scenes are blunt and call it erotic, exotic, and kinky as you see plenty of nudity and skin with little sex games that involve spanking, and being tied up!

All Along the dialogue shows Molly and the other black bra wearing escorts talking and dealing with customers while trying to navigate life also. Overall interesting and provocative film one that any film buff should watch and see as it shows even still in the end that Molly and these go against the grain ladies all wear masks yet they return to normal life in the end.

Here is one film from 1987 that stands alone. I've seen this movie numerous times. I love it. Everyone else, that I've given this movie to, hates it, or just doesn't like it. It''s my brother in law's worst movie. He was pulling incredulous looks, when he watched it with me and my sister, he actually thought it was that bad. I'm sure most escorts would tell you, this film is true to fact. It opens up, where our main character Molly, who's into photography, and shares her New York apartment with her lesbian lover and kids, is getting ready for the day. Hardly any dialogue takes place here, and we have this interesting piece of music that accompanies it. Then it's off to work on her bicycle and we get into the story. It's basically Molly's story, a day in the life of a brothel worker. There in this ordinary looking apartment that operates as a brothel, we meet some other girls. Only a couple of them are moderately good looking. Their male clients are mostly ordinary looking, intellectual forties to sixties types, a mixture of pathetic, obscene, degrading, cruel, some who are good hearted types. A younger client, a musician who's been harassing Molly to get together with him on the outside, gets forceful with her, providing a dangerous touch to the film and shows you that small minority of clients you don't need. Most of the actress's here, have only done one or too films, which gives it that documentary feel and it works. One of the exclusions is Ellen Mcduff (that kooky waitress in Maximum Overdrive) who's the star performer as the heartless Madam Lucy. She's fantastic. Another good performance is Amanda Goodwin (Whore) one of the younger, fiesty, and more popular workers, Dawn, who Lucy rides a lot, but our independent Dawn dishes it back, one scene provoking Lucy to slap her. I love it. It's the characters of the tricks that make the movie work, some of them wanting some really weird requests. We have one character, Fantasy Fred, a big burly guy, again, ordinary looking type, who sees all the new girls, like Molly. Here, Molly plays the blind virgin, and Fantasy Fred, is the one who can cure her blindless-follow. We have a sixties client/lawyer, another of Molly's fans who wants to get together on the outside. He, a valued client, likes dominatrix. They have a special room, called the jungle room. While being tied down and whipped, right in the middle of it, he interrupts the middle of the show by asking the time. Nearly all of the film takes place in the apartment, save for a couple of scenes that has Molly out, buying a heavy inventory of contraceptives, etc. The male pharmacist, saying "You don't take any chances, do ya?". Another scene has her spying on her lesbian's daughter, in the playground of her kindergarten. Then it's back to work. We really get to be part of the story with these girls, even sharing a rushed lunch hour for em'. We even celebrate a worker's fiftieth birthday, as well as meet a new girl starting, the second best looking, to Gina. One of her first jobs has her making out with Molly, which she's phobic about, and it isn't soon before this young lass is packing her bags. We have madam Lucy out at lunch with her boyfriend, married of course, who has to rush back as the phones are kept putting on hold. She's goes absolutely ape. This woman really doesn't give a s..t about her girls, just money and jewellery as it so happens. After being drained with clients and considering an offer from the latter of em', it's great how Molly finally confronts her at the end, before quitting, you almost want to be there with her. The end is very much like the start with Molly cycling home, hypnotic music again (a great New York night shot, stopping on the way to by some flowers. What I love about Working Girls, is it doesn't try to be something it isn't with flashy sets, big stars, or larger that life characters. What we have here is real life. And if you can't accept that, you're probably not gonna like this. Highly recommended.