My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writer:

Hanif Kureishi (written by)

Release Date:

April 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

An ambitious Asian Briton and his white lover strive for success and hope, when they open up a glamorous laundromat.

Plot Keywords:

Laundromat | London England | Thatcher | Indo Pak | Mistress

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Saeed Jaffrey	...	Nasser Hussein
Roshan Seth	...	Ali Hussein
Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Johnny (as Daniel Day Lewis)
Gordon Warnecke	...	Omar Hussein
Derrick Branche	...	Salim N. Hussein
Rita Wolf	...	Tania N. Hussein
Souad Faress	...	Cherry N. Hussein
Richard Graham	...	Genghis
Shirley Anne Field	...	Rachel
Winston Graham	...	Jamaican One
Charu Bala Chokshi	...	Bilquis (as Charu Bala Choksi)
Dudley Thomas	...	Jamaican Two
Garry Cooper	...	Squatter
Neil Cunningham	...	Englishman
Persis Maravala	...	Nasser's Elder Daughter

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Urdu

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

245 Queenstown Road, Battersea, London, England, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) and A Room with a View (1985) both opened in New York on the same day, March 7, 1986. Both movies featured Daniel Day-Lewis in prominent and very different roles: in A Room with a View, he played a repressed, snobbish Edwardian upperclassman, while in Laundrette, he played a lower-class gay ex-skinhead in love with an ambitious Pakistani businessman in Thatcher's London. When American critics saw Day-Lewis, who was then virtually unknown in the US, in two such different roles on the same day, many (including Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times and Vincent Canby of The New York Times) raved about the talent it must have taken him to play such vastly different characters.

Quotes:

Nasser: [Nasser bursts into the room where Johnny and Omar made love just moments before] What the hell are you doing? Sunbathing?
Omar: Asleep, Uncle. We were shagged out.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ha-Buah (2006)

Quirky Comedy-Drama Is Excellent

"My Beautiful Laundrette" manages to do the difficult task of presenting important social issues without sacrificing entertainment value. It is also one of the few modern films that embraces realism without ever looking amateurish. The movie is about two friends (the son of a Pakistani couple and a white punk) who try to turn a rundown Laundromat into a financially successful business. Naturally, their ethnic backgrounds create a lot problems for both young men. Racial tension is one of the film's main themes, but director Frears never allows this aspect of the story spoil the fun. The movie deals with serious issues, but events are presented in a serious-humorous manner. The film is indeed quite funny, even though it is obvious that Frears is trying to make a serious social commentary. Daniel Day-Lewis is excellent in one of his first starring roles, but the film belongs to Gordon Warneke, who gives a moving, gentle performance. It is a modest production, but it is has a big heart. A true 'sleeper' and a triumph for Frears and company.