Think of the film less as a cohesive story and more of a window into a world you probably wouldn’t want to visit for too long.
Alexander Perlman’s documentary, Lot Lizard, follows the lives of several people who have worked or are currently working as truck-stop sex workers. The title of the film comes from the nickname given to them by truckers.
Perlman focuses on the stories of three women, but will occasionally move away from them to chronicle other characters on the periphery of the truck stop. Although each of the women come from different backgrounds, their lives as prostitutes are strikingly similar. They’re addicted to drugs, have left the profession only to come back to it, and they reject the term “prostitute.” They see themselves as working girls doing what they need to survive. But survival means different things to each of the women.
Betty is a crack-addicted sex worker who claims she doesn’t do drugs for the pleasant feeling. She does crack because it’s like drinking a beer to her. Jennifer has recently left the sex trade but his having trouble finding work in the “normal” world. Her young daughter is disappointed when she finds out her mother is lying about her drug use. Monica lives in a motel room with her boyfriend, Bobby. They argue constantly and then do drugs together, presumably bought with the money earned on the lot.
Perlman attempts to give the film some context by interviewing truckers and using title cards with statistics about the plight of sex workers. Unfortunately, one of the graphics has a spelling error that says the female prostitutes have a “40% higher morality rate” instead of “mortality rate.” This mistake undercuts the seriousness of the accounts of rape, kidnapping, and assault that follow.
Lot Lizard is grungy and unpleasant but never takes a voyeuristic route. Aside from some drug use and strong language, nothing graphic is depicted on-screen. This isn’t meant to be titillating stuff. If there’s a message here, it’s a cautionary one. Although some of the sex workers claim they can make more money in one night than they can in a week at a minimum wage job, they’re clearly not living in luxury.
A film like Lot Lizard is bound to be disappointing for some since its unscripted encounters don’t always have a clear cut resolution. Think of the film less as a cohesive story and more of a window into a world you probably wouldn’t want to visit for too long.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
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