Customer Reviews

My Beautiful Laundrette

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have been griping for over a year about "the powers that be" putting this incredible classic on DVD, and finally here it is -the British dramedy "My Beautiful Laundrette" is more than just a love story where the love is between two men; this film will make you laugh, make your eyes well with tears, and make you angry as it explores the working classes of England, as well as the racial tensions that exist between white and Pakistani people there. It's touching, funny, romantic, charming, and full of heart. Most of all, it's very real; many people today may freak at the sight of a young, punkish Daniel Day Lewis passionately (and I mean PASSIONATELY) kissing/making love with another man (the beautiful Gordon Warnecke), but if you can get past that, you nearly forget you are watching a movie - the characters are that real, your ability to care for them that real.

For gay or gay-friendly folks who want to see a good, simple, character-driven kind of filmmaking, with no special effects or explosions or heavy prosthetic makeup to compensate for the lack of script, "My Beautiful Laundrette" is true art not to be missed.

I love MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDERETTE. I saw it ages ago in a local art house, and have never forgotten some of the scenes and the dialogue or the story line. The tale was written by a young Asian playwright of English birth and is somewhat autobiographical. It is a coming of age and love story rolled into one. Although the film is jam-packed with fine Asian actors, some of whom have very familiar faces, the most memorable character from my perspective is "Johnny" played by Daniel Day Lewis.

Johnny bears a strong resemblance to various young EAST ENDERS, to Sid Vicious as portrayed by Gary Oldman in the film SID AND NANCY (physical build and demeanor, Johnny isn't as violent), and some of the youths in various Mike Leigh films. If you see this film along with other DDL films such as MY LEFT FOOT, LAST OF THE MOHICANS, THE BOXER, THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, THE CRUCIBLE, and THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING, you will realize why Daniel Day Lewis is the greatest living actor in the Enlish-speaking world. When LAUNDERETTE becomes available I plan to add it to my nearly complete collection of DDL films. DDL was very young when he made this film--near the time he made THE BOUNTY in which he plays Mr. Frye, and ROOM WITH A VIEW in which he plays Cecil. He's just incredible.

At the beginning of the tale, Johnny like many of his English friends is semi-hostile toward the Pakistani settlers in London. He feels they are somehow implicated in his predicament which is to be an unemployed school dropout with no future in Margaret Thatcher's England. Johnny offends the Asians with anti-immigrant behaviour--marching in a "parade" through the Asian sector of town to protest the presence of the Pakistanis in England.

Some time later Johnny and the young Pakistani boy who is the protagonist of LAUNDERETTE (undoubtedly the author) become reacquainted. The young man is attempting to become independent from his overbearing relatives and establish himself as a London businessman by opening a launderette. He succeds, and manages to open his launderette, and he hires Johnny as his assistant. Soon Johnny becomes more than an employee, he becomes a lover. Obviously, given that the Asian boy's family would prefer that he retain his culture and allow them to arrange a marriage Johnny is a problem. They had not imagined their son and nephew would link up with Johnny--the lower class skinhead who is white and homosexual. Many awkward and funny moments ensue.

The film is filled with humor, strife, growing up, ties of family, racism, religion, homoerotic love, and the struggle to become acculturated in a new society. The DVD is worth the price just to see Daniel Day Lewis with a peroxide blonde crewcut, his head covered with a baseball cap, his mouth filled with chewing gum, and naked. He is priceless.

Hey! You!

You say you want a "can't fail" way to get into that new man's heart/pants? Invite him over for dinner and a double-bill of My Beautiful Laundrette and Maurice. If he doesn't dissolve into a mushy romantic mess from these two, check his pulse.

I love this movie (though reserve judgment on the DVD) because of all the things it is not. It is not another shitty "I'm coming out of the closet and my life is totally fucked up!" kind of movie. It's characters have problems based on something besides their queerness. It has a mostly happy ending I could honestly believe.

The best thing is that it is about people. Not just the two handsome gentlemen who are at the nexus of the film. Omar's tit-flashing cousin is as vividly drawn as is are his other relatives. Omar's uncle has a lovely mistress who is practically indelible.

Sure, you'll want to be the sweat between the protagonists. But I wanted to live in the world this film created just to meet and spend more time with the fascinating characters.

Ante up the $15 bucks, slap it in the ol' DVD player and enjoy!

People made a huge deal out of this movie because of the gay content. It's really very minimal (two kisses, a lick on the neck and one very tasteful yet erotic scene and another little kiss later) Maybe a total of 3 or 4 minutes of the film (ok, though that turned into a half hour by all the replaying I did of those scenes - and yes, I'm a straight girl and still can't get enough of DDL's passionate kisses) It's very touching because it's so natural and a complete non-issue. No one dies of AIDS, no one makes a big drama scene about coming out of the closet, no one demands attention and acceptance for being gay(though *of course* gay people should be accepted) the film just really goes out of its way to show there's *nothing* deviant or strange to homosexuality. You could even see it as a symbolic point, that it's the one thing Omar and Johnny share that does not fit into either of their cultural equations.

My two other favorite characters were Omar's father and Tanya. This Pakistani family reminded me of my family. I am not Pakistani but the issues are the same. The dad was very poignant in the way he wanted better for his son, how he couldn't let go of his upper class background and how he looked down on the Johnny's sort but was kind and wanted better for him too. He reminded me of my grandparents. And then there was Tanya. I loved how she sort of bonded with Johnny in their way. What a great performance she gave. This film has so many threads and nuances and Omar's character balances it all with so much grace, respecting his culture and keeping close to his family but being true to himself at the same time by staying involved with Johnny.

I *love* Daniel Day Lewis!

I've been waiting a very long time to be able to add Stephen Frears' wonderful, independent film "My Beautiful Laundrette" to my DVD collection. I'm overjoyed to once again view this well written, 'slice of life' comedy/drama. The movie casts a sharp and critical, socio-political, eye on Margret Thatcher's England of the 1980's.In the film we meet Omar (Gordon Warnecke) a young man, who is a poor relation to a wealthy Pakistani family, living in England.Omar's rather unscrupulous, Uncle (Saeed Jaffrey)decides to do him a favor and take him into the family business.He allows Omar to make a go of an old, broken down, laundrette, which is blithley described as a "toilet".At first Omar seems quiet, polite and attenative. But as the film goes on we find out, that he is quite a character. He isn't one to just push a broom around and watch the laundrette fail.He has big dreams for both the establishment and his financial future.Omar enlists the help of his white, working class, pal and gay lover, Johnny (brilliantly played by a young, Daniel Day-Lewis)to make the future happen now.Together the two craftily (and illegally) finance and fix up, what can only be described as the 'Disneyland' of Laundrettes.Director,Stephen Frear's movie humoursly presents Omar's speedy rise into the business world.But it is also rather melancholic in tone and touches on a variety of serious subjects, which includes everything from politics to race relations to economic policy. The cast of the movie is fantastic and the standouts include Saeed Jaffrey as Omar's amoral, Uncle Nasser and Roshan Seth as his socialist, alcholic father. Daniel Day-Lewis is superb in his star making, nuanced performance as a gay, working class, tough guy.The DVD remaster of the film is adequate, but has little in extras. It is a movie that is just begging for a director's commentary!"My Beautiful Laundrette" is a wonderfully entertaining film, which leaves the viewer with plenty to think about. Highly recommended!

Originally intended only as a television feature film, MBL is one of the quietest but stirring movies you will see.

The story is about one Pakistani man (Warnecke) and a long time Englishman friend (Day-Lewis) who both live on the wrong side of the tracks as they grope for success in a world replete with multiple forms of discrimination -- racism, sexism, groupism, homophobia, cultural elitism, snobbery, reverse colonialism, neocolonialism and fascism -- which they successfully grapple and topple in the form of their launderette with the power of economic enterprise.

These squabbling goblins are left to each others excesses as economic success lifts them up and out of these, but many questions remain: will they subsist? Would others succeed; What does luck have to do with it?

Kureshi had [upset] all groups who find themselves part of this smashing satire, prime among them the identity conscious confused second/third generation subcontinental British kids, the same contingency that staunchly supported the Rushdie fatwa (the kind also sharply profiled in "My son, the fanatic").

Brilliant.

Reading the names of lists that "My Beautiful Laundrette" is listed on it struck me how everyone notices this movie because it has 2 gay characters... Most of the titles were something like "Must-own gay movies" "Good starts to your [gay] movie collection"....
By making "MBL" into purely a "gay" movie, these people take all the complexities of the movie that goes beyond the sexualities of the characters. There are so many themes within "MBL": 1980's London, the social friction and racism, the failling economy, the corrupt business practices, the consequences of Pakistanis (or any immigrants I suppose) trying to either become British or keep their heritage.....
This movie isnt a chronicle of Johnny and Omar's relationship. Their relationship is merely one thread in the movie. The characters within this movie can't be labeled into general groups so the actual movie thatt contains them should be seen same way. Lay off the generalizations and just enjoy the show....

Stephen Frears has made some of the best films of our time, from high art like Dangerous Liasons to his tales of working class England. "My Beautiful Laundrette" is one of my absolute favorite films. I particularly enjoy seeing some of India's finest actors (the father and the uncle). Check out "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid" as well, which is a collaboration with the same screenwriter.

I've seen few films with such intensity, humour and heartache all rolled into one. The scenes flowed onto each other seamlessly, the plot complex yet perfectly led, and the Acting was just superb.

Daniel Day Lewis was unforgettable as the rough street punk Johnny, while Gordon Warnecke was equally engaging as Omar, the Pakistani boy with big ambitions. Another stand-out was Roshan Seth, playing a drunken disgruntled Pakistani father, with no hope, no future, and little life left in his alcohol weakened body. Seth stole the scene wherever he appeared, and not just because of the hair, seriously.

The fact that this film is partly about the relationship between two men had absolutely no influence on me as an audience. To the people watching, it is as natural to them as it is for the two main characters on the silver screen.

At times, it is heartbreaking to watch the hatred and misunderstanding between two races living on the same land. But what do 2 boys with a beautiful laundrette care anyway, for them, each day is a brand new day isn't it?

I just watched this movie twice in the last twelve hours, and as I couldn't stop thinking about it, I thought I would write a review. For me the thing that makes "My Beautiful Laundrette" so memorable is the intentional ambiguity of the film. When you have finished watching it, you're not sure what exactly the director is trying to say to you - this is not a shallow Hollywood creation. The movie paints stunning portraits of race relations between the Pakistani and English denizens of London, the conflict between women and men, between the working and middle classes, between fascists and communists, the independent-minded, and the family-oriented, the straight and the gay. But the movie doesn't focus on any of one of these issues and presents, instead, a collage that is more composed of questions than answers.
Also amazing is the movie's depiction of a gay relationship - the film doesn't dwell on the sexual orientation of its characters, it simply presents them as they are, with no commentary of any sort - there is no coming out, no discussing "the relationship", and no tears. Nor do words like gay or queer even appear in the film. The boys' physicality acts instead as a backdrop to the other events and thoughts in the movie, complicating matters further. Scenes depicting emotion are beautifully written and filmed, as is everything else in the movie, but "My Beautiful Laundrette" seems to have been able to show something Hollywood has yet to: that The Relationship is not always the focus of life, wether it be straight, gay, or indifferent.