Girl 6

Lee's follow-up to She's Gotta Have It has been a long time coming, but this freewheeling comic celebration of an independent New York City gal fits the bill: it even starts with Judy (Randle) auditioning with a monologue from the earlier film. When the director (Tarantino) insists she strip, she quits, and her acting career appears to be over until she lands a job as a phone-sex operator. Although her friend Jimmy (Lee) is appalled, in many ways 'Girl 6' is a liberating, therapeutic role: sexually she's always in control, she's well paid, and there's no colour barrier. But is Judy hung-up on Girl 6? If this synopsis suggests a plot, Lee must have had other things on his mind. Instead, the film's eclectic, New Wave-ish pick'n'mix of fantasy, parody and pastiche sets the stage for star cameos à go-go. Randle changes her look with every scene, throws in faultless impersonations of Dorothy Dandridge and Pam Grier, and almost holds it all together. After this role, she should never have to audition again. There's something refreshing about the film's reckless proximity to anarchy, the stylishly imaginative cinematography and lusciously exorbitant Prince soundtrack, even if it does ring hollow when Lee tries to get serious on us.