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My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 18
Fresh: 18
Rotten:0
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, directed by Stephen Frears, is a highly innovative and fantastical exploration of marginalized cultures in Thatcher-era London. Set in the Pakistani community of South... MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, directed by Stephen Frears, is a highly innovative and fantastical exploration of marginalized cultures in Thatcher-era London. Set in the Pakistani community of South London in the 1980s, the film focuses on two youths, friends from schooldays. Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a working-class white whose friends belong to the National Front, a fascist group whose members extol "white power" and bash immigrants. Omar (Gordon Warnecke), a homosexual Pakistani, lives with his leftist father who spends most of his time in bed drinking. Omar's wealthy uncle, Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey), is determined to give one of the family a (small) step up, and at first gives him a lowly garage job, and then hands Omar a rundown laundrette. Omar and Johnny become lovers and decide to convert the laundrette into "a Ritz among laundrettes," a gaudy, neon-lit storefront called "Powders" complete with aquarium, video games, potted plants and piped classical muzak. Johnny looks upon the laundrette as a lifeline on which to salvage his self-respect, while Omar sees it as just the beginning step on the long road toriches. A thoughtful and innovative portrait of modern contrasts in class, race, and sex, this film defined a generation of Londoners. [More]
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Gordon Warnecke
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Gordon Warnecke
Director: Stephen Frears
Director: Stephen Frears
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Reviews for My Beautiful Laundrette
When it works, it’s a sophisticated and modestly ambitious attempt to cast a glance at a minority culture struggling to gain a foothold in a troubling time and place.
A gritty and imaginative English film offering a grim portrait of societal disintegration during the 1980s in a country rife with racial tensions and a thriving underground economy.
While Personal Best and Making Love have faded into obscurity as The Celluloid Closet footnotes, My Beautiful Laundrette has become a benchmark in the 80s new queer cinema.
Kureishi's script brims with terrific lines that are expertly delivered by the entire cast, while the story's romance still seems powerful, fresh and honest.
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