By 1996 Spike Lee had long been known as a provocateur, but 15 years ago the acclaimed director pushed the limits even further with his phone sex-based comedy-drama, Girl 6.

The film, the first not to be penned by Lee himself, examined the life of a struggling actress (played by Theresa Randle) who turned to moonlighting as a phone-sex operator in order to pay the bills.

Ultimately, Randle’s character, “Judy,” becomes too engrossed with her new life and soon loses touch with reality.

Despite nods to Randle for her performance and praise for Prince's score, multiple critics slammed Lee, branding Girl 6 as underwhelming and its message about the dangers of fantasy, sanctimonious.

Though Girl 6 garnered mixed reviews, fans of the film celebrate it for its impressive supporting cast (Jenifer Lewis, Isaiah Washington and Michael Imperioli) and bevy of all-star cameos (Madonna, Naomi Campbell, Quentin Tarantino, John Turturo).

Still, Girl 6 remains Spike Lee’s least successful film, netting only $4,903,000 at the box office.

(Photo: Courtesy of Fox Searchlight)