1976 Directed by Michael Schultz
This day-in-the-life cult comedy focuses on a group of friends working at Sully Boyar's Car Wash in the Los Angeles ghetto. The team meets dozens of eccentric customers -- including a smooth-talking preacher, a wacky cab driver and an ex-convict -- while cracking politically incorrect jokes to a constant soundtrack of disco and funk. Some of the workers find romance as the day moves along, but most are just happy to get through another shift.
Ivan Dixon DeWayne Jessie Bill Duke Franklyn Ajaye Sully Boyar Melanie Mayron June Pointer Bonnie Pointer Anita Pointer Ruth Pointer Lauren Jones Richard Brestoff Tracy Reed Antonio Fargas James Spinks Clarence Muse Darrow Igus Leon Pinkney Ren Woods Jack Kehoe Raymond Vitte Pepe Serna Henry Kingi Leonard Jackson Michael Fennell George Carlin Irwin Corey Garrett Morris Arthur French Show All…
Robert L. Hoyt Dennis C. Salcedo Roger Sword Roger Heman Jr. Willie D. Burton Peter Berkos Earl Madery
Retkes verdák rémei
Song and dance Crude humor and satire Relationship comedy Underdogs and coming of age musical, songs, singing, comedy or funny band, songs, concert, musician or lyrics singing, musical, songs, tune or dancing funny, comedy, humor, jokes or hilarious dancing, choreography, songs, tune or musical Show All…
conceived as a high concept riff on nashville by a music biz pr man, given soul by norman whitfield, jokes by joel schumacher, and feeling and movement by milwaukee's own michael schultz, to say nothing of the ridiculous cast, the film was largely unappreciated in its time except by the french, who screened it in competition at cannes for a jury headed by rossellini, and extremely under-appreciated after its time, relegated to the dvd bargain bin as soundtracksploitation, except the time schultz took it to the 1985 moscow film festival where the late-soviet audience appreciated its sharp commentary on class, race, and capitalism. not just one of the great comedies of the 1970s but one of the great movies, period,…
A film that seems almost forgotten even though its legacy persists to this day. Although it is likely that films of this nature, with multiple characters and plotlines that converge in one place, have been done before none were exploited as much by this point. Films like Friday and Barbershop, to name just a few, clearly share its inspiration. It would be remiss of me not to talk about the super hit song, "Car Wash", which spun off from this movie and still in many ways remains a classic. The most bizarre thing, however, is the fact that Schumacher (yes Joel Schumacher) was the screenwriter of this movie.
In terms of the film itself, these films often play out as…
a day-in-the-life soundtracksploitation hangout joint that richard linklater ought to study like his bible. the ins and outs of labor, friendship and cutting to music. the malaise of the failed revolutionaries from 8 years prior, the individualist bootstrap mentality counteracting that, and did i mention the music? we talked about car wash alongside henry: portrait of a serial killer on this week's extended clip with our old friend eric marsh aka marshlands
soundcloud.com/extendedclip/98-the-lachi-cultural-exchange-program-w-eric-marsh
Meta/sub/text note(s): The last screen role of Ivan Dixon and the first screen role of Bill Duke, a passing of the baton... Dixon, the trailblazer of postwar black cinema and theater whose contributions from Nothing But a Man to The Spook Who Sat by the Door and appearing on a shit load of television were a major reason Schultz wanted to cast him as Lonnie, the gruff cigar chomping “seen it all” former radical and ex-con from Car Wash in the first place, and in fact had to be coaxed out of retirement to do so while he was pivoting, like Schultz later would, to becoming a prolific director of TV after running into problems with the FBI and the…
For a film with such a fire, soulfully flavorful soundtrack, Car Wash is painfully pedestrian. This can be attributed primarily to the script, which, apart from being unbearably banal and shockingly humorless save for a few bits here and there, comes off as lampoonishly dated. (This is supposed to be a comedy, right?)
Carlin and Pryor are tragically wasted. Bill Duke shines per usual, but is weighed down playing what’s essentially a one-dimensional caricature, until the end that is, which leads me to the only fellow out of all these dramatis personae I felt had any actual depth on the whole—and whom I genuinely cared for—Lonnie (Ivan Dixon), but given the mosaical nature of the film that was trendy in the 70s,…
When people talk about Richard Linklater's supremely overrated films they usually, in defense of his inability to write plots, say that they are "hang-out" films. Perhaps the most hackneyed critical descriptor currently going. I don't find Linklater's films worth hanging out in, so I have never really appreciated what people were trying to say, however after seeing Car Wash, which is a real hang-out film, I can see the appeal. Just not with Linklater, who is really rubbish.
Car Wash is a mixture of episodic jokes and scenes, that are hung together with songs, an inter-changing cast of characters and an irreverent political playfulness. It is the kind of film that can have a character wearing a Mao shirt, pulling…
not to be dramatic but pretty sure watching this a million times as a kid formed my entire belief system
Car Wash is one of these movies that follows a bunch of people over a short period of time. It reminded me of films like American Graffiti or Clerks. As the title suggests it takes place at a car wash that is located in sunny Los Angeles. The team of workers is big which allows the viewers to experience multiple situations, stories, and emotions.
All the characters are unique and interesting. For example: one of them is an ex-prison-inmate who tries to find grip in his new way of life, another is a young student who explores the teachings of Mao, and then there is T.C. who dreams of being the first black superhero "The Fly". It's a fine array…
"I know I'm not crazy.
But every day I have to come here...and watch this clown show, man."
It had its moments but I found all the high-spirited goofery more amusing than funny. The dramatic beats, though fewer in number, resonated a lot more. And when that line above hit, I finally got what I think the point was. The whole movie functions like a microcosm of our world, with all these disparate characters - slackers, strivers, dreamers, schemers, the delusional and the realists - all motivated by unique desires and value systems and often talking past one another, yet forced to interact within the same physical space day after day. It's exhausting enough to drive anyone up the wall, save for those precious moments of real human connection.
It's 3 degrees F (-16 C) out right now and the trolley to work broke down; bout as good a time for the dog days of summer in disco LA as I can reckon.
Joel schumacher wrote this?
“She’s just another example of how the system is destroying our men.”
"Honey, I'm more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get."
.
Music is the medium. So much that Nate Whitfield (one of the kings of Motown) would actually go on to compose the score before filming even commenced. This is mighty evident while watching, as camera movements, character movements, and scene transitions are perfectly cued up to each tune. Anyone hoping to compose a score should take note of what Whitfield accomplished here. The way it plays out is immaculate.
The music is 100% the highlight of the film, hence why I mentioned it first. Aside from the amazing soundtrack and musical cues,…
This self-described "clown show" is way more sophisticated than you might think. To be discussed on tomorrow's Filmspotting as the final movie in our 7 From 76 series.
