khallidmaston
The 1976 film Car Wash follows a group of black employees at a white owned car wash. After seeing all the reviews and fan praise for this so called black classic, I am quite sure that everyone who liked this movie are on crack. This movie was terrible, I found no humor or entertainment in it at all. Yes this movie was before my time, but I have went back and watched a lot of black movies from the past. Movies like "Dolemite" and "Cooley High" are some of my favorites in fact. Car wash defies the laws of how movies are made. There is no main character, there is no clear antagonist, no real conflict, no climax, no resolution, and it isn't even funny. People say this is Richard Pryor's funniest movie. How? Pryor was only in the movie for 5 minutes, and during that time he didn't really say anything funny. There was no real story, conflict, or any real attempt at character development. They basically stayed at the car wash all day. This movie was basically like going to a car wash, and just observing the atmosphere until it closed, and even that might be more entertaining than this movie. I give this movie a 1 out of 10, and the 1 is for the soundtrack(the only good thing in the film). If you want to watch a funny movie about a car wash, watch the 2001 remake "The Wash", with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. "The Wash" was pretty funny (much, much more than Car wash) and had a real story(including main characters, antagonist, main conflict, and all the basic elements that a professional made film should have). And unlike "Car Wash", The Wash is a black owned car wash with mostly black employees, and actually showed them in real conflict and interaction on and off the car wash property. The truth is the truth, someone has to tell it; and despite the false praise it has been given, Car Wash is not a very good movie. Get off the crack people. I have not been this disappointed after watching a film since I watched the un-humorous and regurgitated film "Anchorman 2", and even that had all the basic story elements that professional movies are suppose to have. Car Wash a classic black film? Have you all lost your damn minds?
ElMaruecan82
From the first time I watched "Car Wash" as a kid, on an ordinary Saturday night, it instantly became one of my favorite cinematic pleasures and not in a guilty way. The film drew the 70's in my mind and made me realize that a time existed before I was born, where life had a certain quality cruelly missing in our cynical years: something flamboyant, lively … funky! "Car Wash" is an exhilarating journey driven by J.B, the deejay of the fictional radio station KGYS providing the musical background, the soul of the film. No pun intended since the soundtrack includes disco, funk and R&B ballads, the unique sound of Afro-American music encapsulating the 70's. The cast is multiracial with an Afro-American predominance but there's something refreshing in the way some serious issues are tackled in "Car Wash" despite the cheerful mood.Take Lindy's character, remarkably played by Antonio Fargas. It's extremely challenging to see a homo drag played with such sophistication. When confronted to Duane aka Abdullah, Bill Duke as the, no pun intended again, 'straight man' of the film, Lindly proudly delivers one of my favorite movie lines : "Honey, I'm more a man than you'll ever be, and more a woman than you'll ever get". The comedic aspect never deserts the film, neither does the social commentary. The tormented Abdullah sounds on the surface as the group's killjoy, but he mirrors the confusion of a community in quest for identity, an issue the running gag involving his name humorously deal with. Abdullah's resentments are echoed by Lonnie, Ivan Dixon as the cigar-smoking respected veteran of the group."Car Wash" opens on a summer Friday morning where we discover the group inside the locker room. With his inseparable radio, there's Hippo, whose name gives a subtle hint about his size, Lloyd and Floyd, the two James Brown-wannabe with a priceless musical entrance. T.C. aka The Fly, is another engaging character in love with Mona, the beautiful waitress of the neighboring restaurant. To invite Mona to JB's Disco Dance Show, he must get the tickets by calling KGYS whenever he hears 'Disco Dance'. His buzzing around about his gigantic afro haircut, his secret identity, and his mission will provide some of the film's funniest moments.The rest of the team involves Chuco, the Latino guy, whom you may remember as the ill-fated Angel Fernandez from "Scarface". With Goody, the Native with the most memorable cinematic pig-eared hat ever, they share an amusing complicity whether they tease each other or take their revenge on Earl, the foreman, the one who 'doesn't get wet' as he proudly declares. And to complete the gallery, Ray Vitte is Geronimo whose weird outfit equals the worthlessness of the marital advices he gives to Jack Kehoe as Scruggs, the man from "The Sting" and "Serpico" with a cowboy hat. Hats and haircuts are the character's trademarks while the orange uniform is Dee Luxe Car Wash' signature besides its hilarious motto "We're not responsible of you car" ... which speaks a lot about the company's work ethics.These characters create a childish mood that Abdullah described as 'clown show'. His opinion is demonstrated by the constant interventions of Mr. B. who sounds mostly like a playground monitor with his classic "Wash the caahs!" a cigar clenched between his teeth. Mr. B. played by Sully Boyar, is the fatherly type of boss keeping an eye on his workers, on his Maoist pot-smoker, but genuinely sympathetic son Irwin, who wants to be part of the working class, and occasionally an eye on the feminine assets of Marsha, the sexy cash register employee, the only staff member who calls him Leon."Car Wash" is driven by the dynamics between the characters, an ingenuity of Joel Schumacher's script, where we get to know people from the nature of their relationships. And at the end, the character's arcs are unequally complete, but the day changed one thing or two for the better, like Mr B. giving a chance to Lonnie to submit his ideas to improve the service, one of the films' nicest touches. But more than a car wash, the place seems like a converging point in Los Angeles for the strangest visitors. As Hippo said: "Boy, there's been some weird people".Weird is the word. A bandaged man, a hysterical Lorraine Gary as 'Ms. Beverly Hills', the woman whose carsick son puking all over her made me laugh to tears, a pooping dog, a mad pop bottle bomber hiding a no less disgusting stuff in his 'weapon', Calvin the skate-boarding brat, and of course, Richard Pryor as the TV evangelist 'Daddy Rich', an ambiguous character whose message is exaggeratedly revered to highlight its excesses. Still, his cameo is an occasion to appreciate the Pointers aka Wilson Sisters's "Believe" song. The whole movie is a tribute to American Black culture, incarnated by Snapper, the wise shoeshine man, played by Clarence Muse –and I learned that- the first Black American to star in a film. A fitting symbol.And the romantic touch of the film is poetically incarnated by 'Marlene', the quiet hooker who stiffs a taxi driver, played by George Carlin, and starts looking for an ex-client named Joe, while Carlin spends all the day asking people if they saw a 'big, tall, blonde, black chick?' The female cast is delicately treated with the three M : Marlene looking for her charming prince, Mona, the waitress who finally accepts T.C.'s date, and Marsha who gets a date with a Redford look-alike, so stereotypical it's hilarious.But these stereotypes are never intended to mock but to display the everyday working class with a humorous social commentary. The plot-less concept was risky but it worked because the film is so genuinely funny, and the characters so endearing, it immediately impacts your memories, to forever associate "Car Wash" with an iconic disco song, a sunny color orange, and the delirious spirit of the 70's!
