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Working Girls

1986
Unrated
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A day in the life of several prostitutes in an upscale Manhattan whore house. The film is a stark portrayal of the women prostitutes, the male customers and the motivations of both. Watch as the madam manipulates her "girls". Watch as she answers the phone by saying "Hello John, what's new and different?" Watch as the "johns" try to manipulate the "girls". Part nudie exploitation, part sociological thesis.

A lesbian college graduate, trying to bankroll her own photography business, works as a high-priced New York City escort.

See production info at IMDbPro

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Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 1:16

Trailer

Photos64

+ 58

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Top Cast31

Louise Smith

Molly

Ellen McElduff

Lucy

Amanda Goodwin

Dawn

Deborah Banks

Diane

Liz Caldwell

Marusia Zach

Gina

Boomer Tibbs

Eli Hasson

Voice of Hasid

Tony Whiting

Voice of Gina’s Client

Richard M. Davidson

Jerry
(as Richard Davidson)

Ronald Willoughby

John

Paul Slimak

Frederick Neumann

Fantasy Fred
(as Fred Neumann)

Patience Pierce

Kathy

Grant Wheaton

Robert

Richard Leacock

Joseph

Martin Haber

Carla-Maria Sorey

Debbie

Director
- Lizzie Borden
Writers
- Lizzie Borden
- Sandra Kay
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews24

6.82.6K

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Featured reviews

Musicianmagic7

Interesting more than Entertaining

This is basically a day-in-the-life of a prostitute and the house she works in. Given it’s honest portrayal of the subject matter there is nudity & some sex but it is usually very brief, not explicit or erotic.

I originally bought this on VHS tape and now DVD. It is not that this movie is that good. At times it does drag on almost painfully so. It is just very engaging when it doesn’t drag on.

Louise Smith who plays Molly the main character is very good. Most of the cast is good to very good except Ellen McElduff who plays Lucy the Madame who overplayed her role and was just very annoying in every scene she is in.

It is very interesting to see. The issue is some scenes while a part of the story of these women & their day just are far from interesting. There is enough to keep my interest but when it gets slow it is painfully slow.

mwittier9

Bongo wants to take a show.

Working Girls (not to be confused with the singular and singularly awful Mike Nichols movie that features Melanie Griffith vacuuming a carpet, nakedly) is an easily underestimated accomplishment, and despite the rampant nudity and unblinking depictions of adult sexuality, a guaranteed sex-deterrent.

It’s hilarious, embarrassing, grim, deeply disturbing, cynical, touching, clinical and creepily locker-room-intimate, all at the same time.

There will be those people who can’t make it past the low budget vibe that (admittedly) permeates the whole movie, but anyone who criticizes its occasionally stilted acting (and it’s an easy target) misses the point: it’s PROSTITUTION. Which is to say that paid sex is possibly the root source of all bad acting. Even having said that, the performances are deceptively understated in their squirmy, quasi-nude ease.

The characters of Lucy and Dawn especially, are horrifically too-true. I walked around mimicking Lucy’s idiotic “What’s new and different?” for weeks. Dawn’s gum-snapping hostility, and her impromptu James Brown imitation (“Good God, Mollie- you’re a whoooore!”) are as grating as they are winning. Singling these two actresses out is unfair though; their characters are especially dynamic, given that they’re essentially opposing ends of the same spectrum of self absorption.

Even the least likely supporting roles are realized with unexpected complexity. Witness Lucy, the house’s madam, reprimanding Mary, a mousy new ‘girl’ for her unappealing wardrobe choice on her first night on the job. When Lucy reminds her condescendingly that she is to dress as though she “just came from lunch with her mother, and is on her way to meet her boyfriend for drinks”, Mary replies in a small voice, with a discomfiting mixture of stubborness and shame, “This is what I wore.”

Possibly the most remarkable aspect of this movie is the realization that prostitution, at least at this elevated level (the ‘girls’ work in a clean, modern apartment, and schedule ‘appointments’ through phone ads listed mostly in upscale skin magazines) is just another daily grind, a job, plain and simple. Ellen McElduff’s Lucy is every thoughtless, self-absorbed boss you’ve ever wanted to throttle; the difference is that she’s seen you naked, and can talk about your sex life with no legal repercussions.

That’s glib, of course; each of the ‘girls’ is seen to struggle with the work, and what it means in a larger sense, politically and personally. Finally though, just as it seems uncompromisingly grim, the film sneaks in a remarkable twist. It’s essential to watch to the very end of the closing credits though, or you might miss a moment that offers a lovely moment of reassurance, and tender domesticity.

BrandonJ-2436

Interesting

I am not sure how accurate this film is, it put down high priced escort in the description here. I doubt that, but it was made in the 80s so maybe. The main protagonist was told that she was paid about 50 dollars. The reason why I say this is not to judge any sex worker, the pay is fine. It is more about realism, the majority of this type of sex worker does not have a water cooler style work place. It is like a play, which is fine. I am not sure it is a realistic portrayal of sex workers, maybe it is, it did not feel like it from my own experience and knowledge. Perhaps that was on purpose, it is not stereotypical. The film was okay, but I would not call it classic just because it is older.

filmbuff19749

Surprisingly engaging and unbiased .

Molly is an over educated lesbian who works as a prostitute in order to save up enough money to start her own business. Her coworker prostitutes she works with have various other reasons for getting into this line of work. The johns are mostly upscale and have their own individual idiosyncrasies that are for the most part amusing. The director of the film is a feminist named Lizzie Borden. I expected a very biased treatment of this subject because of her gender politics but she was surprisingly fair and unbiased in her treatment. Despite some average acting the characters are so fascinating and dialog so engaging that the film had my attention all throughout which says much because there are many higher budgeted films with very large budgets and top talent that covered the same subject and not nearly as well. Working Girls is a good film and well worth a look.

preppy-37

Interesting

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.

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Related interests

Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network (2010)

Docudrama

Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Workplace Drama

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

Drama

Storyline

A day in the life of several prostitutes in an upscale Manhattan whore house. The film is a stark portrayal of the women prostitutes, the male customers and the motivations of both. Watch as the madam manipulates her “girls”. Watch as she answers the phone by saying “Hello John, what’s new and different?” Watch as the “johns” try to manipulate the “girls”. Part nudie exploitation, part sociological thesis.—Mark Logan <marklo@west.sun.com>

TaglinesSex. Money. Kinky Customers. Lunch. For These Girls, It’s All In A Day’s Work.
Genre
- Drama
Certificate
- Unrated
Parents guide

Did you know

TriviaThe MPAA objected strongly to the scene where Molly is trying to insert her diaphragm but the scene was kept in as the film ultimately went out unrated.