Working Girls
January 2008 Reviewed by: Mischa Hayek Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

In 1987, Lizzie Borden’s Working Girls received a Special Jury Prize for Drama at the Sundance Film Festival, and upon its theatrical release it garnered accolades from several prominent film critics and historians. Working Girls tells the story of several New York City prostitutes by showing a typical day in an upscale brothel -- essentially a condo with a doorman on the take -- run by an aging southern belle (Ellen McElduff).

Director Lizzie Borden (whose real name was Linda Elizabeth Borden prior to adopting the moniker of the famous "acquitted" axe-murderer of the early 1900s) conducted almost six months of interviews with real-life prostitutes prior to scripting and directing Working Girls. One can believe this because many phrases and short conversations could only come from original source material. Unfortunately, the events taking place in Working Girls seem so contrived that these original lines lose all their potency. Borden’s script seems constructed purely for the purpose of setting up these snippets of dialogue that she found so compelling. Couple that with bad acting -- really bad acting -- and poor production values, and one has a film that fails to deliver the messages and findings intended.

Borden does depict several of the paying customers in truthful fashion. Each one believes that he is actually involved in a meaningful relationship with the prostitute. Several of the "Johns" ask to see the girls outside of the brothel. I am sure that this is not to save money but to facilitate the illusion that the hookers are their girlfriends and not paid performers. These behaviors are true, I have no doubt, but are they really revelations, even in 1987?

In trying to reconcile my own opinion with the clearly contradicting views of the jury at the Sundance Film Festival and other noted critics, I believe that Borden’s Working Girls was praised largely because it broached a taboo subject and showed plenty of nudity, which was uncharacteristic of a mainstream film. I would not be surprised to find those same critics diving for cover today when it is revealed that they praised this film 20 years ago.

The picture quality is not very good on this DVD transfer either, partially because Working Girls is an older low-budget film, but also because not much care was taken. Many digital artifacts show up, such as "swimming colors" and strange motion effects. It’s the kind of thing seen in the early DVD transfers in the ‘90s. Sound quality is marginally better, but it isn’t very good either. Here this is mainly because of the nature of the low-budget source material. At least the dialogue is clear enough to understand.

This DVD release comes with only a few extra features: an audio commentary with Lizzie Borden, director of photography Julie Irola and actress Amanda Goodwin; a theatrical trailer; and stills of the actresses. The audio commentary is worthwhile. All three commentators add considerable insight into the filmmaking from several different viewpoints.

It is evident that Borden tried to create something unique, to dispel common myths about prostitutes, and to show that prostitution was a choice for many women, that they were in charge of their lives. For those efforts, I applaud her work.

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