My Beautiful Laundrette (1986)

heartwarming

The film covers a short period of time in the life of Omar, a young Pakistani living in London in the 80's. His father is a brilliant, well educated socialist who was famous back home but is a nobody there, so he has taken to his bed with a bottle of vodka. His hope is in Omar, and he expects him to go to college to understand the evils of society. Meanwhile, though they need cash and he calls on his successful brother, Nassar to give Omar a summer job in one of his many businesses.

We watch Omar as he gains favor with Nassar and gets to manage one of his run down laundrettes in a poor area of the city. He wants to follow in his uncle's footsteps and make a lot of money. The plot thickens as he runs into an old childhood friend, Johnny, a lower class native Brit who has turned into a petty criminal and hangs out with a group of racist skinhead types. We follow Omar as he deals with the various personalities in the extended family, including a female cousin who has her eye on him.

Omar persuades Johnny to help him turn the laundrette into something spectacular and the project gives the film its center. We see squalor turned into beauty as the two boys realize their dream and meanwhile we see them fall in love with each other. It's not a simple success story, though, and they have to contend with enemies in both groups--the Pakistani family and the skinheads.

There is so much richness in this small, unpretentious, made for TV film...themes of class distinction, political views, sexuality, roles of women as well as race. The film just tells the story without preaching at us. I found myself rooting for each of them, at one time or another, with the exception of the totally vile Salim. The acting is terrific and Daniel Day Lewis will grab your heart. And even though there is plenty to worry us as the plot unfolds, I found myself feeling good at the end. A very human film. August 9, 2008

Ramble about life

I suppose people either love this film or hate it....

The basic plot was a guy trying to do something in his life in a somewhat confusing world not to his favor. Omar, a son of Pakistani immigrant, who up until the start of the movie, didn't have any direction in life. We don't know his history, but it'll unfold in the movie. We learned he is gay, and was a troublemaker when he was younger.

Anyways, I suppose some people don't like how this movie rambles. I for one, hate it when I sense the author of a book (or in this case, filmmaker) can't seem to make up his/her mind, but I don't think in this movie the direction was lost (it actually works for some odd reason). The movie is sort of a snapshot of someone's life going through a phase. This is realism. I suppose it won't satisfy people who like a grand plot that's meticulously devised.

Also keep in mind the movie was from 80's when most movies' plots were thin like paper. There are some dialogues that don't connect too well, but in general, it's pretty good if you put the era into perspective.

Memorable characters.... This is a very difficult thing to do in a movie or a book. I like how real the characters seem to be. Not fake, not exaggerated malevolent or godly benign. They have their own self interests, and not a lot of political agenda in characters' dialogue (e.g., let's beautify gay people, or let's do an anti-discrimination theme). No, they are just real people. They don't speak words directly to the audience and feed us ideas. They won our affection for being themselves, but not through "I am gay and Pakistani, so you owe me something." If you want melodrama, look elsewhere. (and people say I am melodramatic... ;-))

I love the ending. Very cute and affectionate. Leave an imprint on me without shock value or sensual eroticism. You'd think after Johnny (Daniel Day Lewis) got beaten up, you'd hear some grunt about life and injustice in general. No..., we are rewarded with a scene where Omar try to clean Johnny's wound and they ended up not "I'm sorry, but let's have sex" but two guys, very innocently splash water at each other. That's very original (though I sensed Lewis was about to take his pants off...). I challenge you to write a scene like that.

Life moves on, you know. I am happy the movie doesn't give a self-pity, wound-licking ending. (and I apologize for being so unprofessional in this review. LOL!) October 25, 2007

good flick

The acting is great and Daniel Day was great; Omar is awesome. The movie is very sensual. The story is well told and interesting. July 25, 2007

My Beautiful Laundrette

Originally made for the BBC, and scripted by half-Pakistani writer Hanif Kureishi, Frears's endearing, intelligent "Laundrette" is a dramatic and often humorous study of bigotry, sexuality, and social mobility in Thatcher-era Britain. Warnecke and Day-Lewis are convincing as distinct social types in eighties London--the striving immigrant under pressure to acculturate on one hand and marry a family acquaintance on the other; and the skinhead who turns on his mates to pursue a friendship with a loathsome "Paki." Coaxing fine support from his multiracial cast, Frears handles it all with tenderness, insight, and unpredictable tonal shifts. July 9, 2007

my beautiful launderette

the sound was difficult especialy with the english axcent. good story.skiped around a bit but was well acted i thought. glad i saw it June 1, 2007

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