Car Wash (film)

"Car Wash" redirects here. For other uses, see Car wash (disambiguation).

Car Wash
The poster for the film
Directed by	Michael Schultz
Produced by	Art Linson Gary Stromberg
Written by	Joel Schumacher
Starring	Franklyn Ajaye Bill Duke George Carlin Irwin Corey Ivan Dixon Antonio Fargas Jack Kehoe Clarence Muse Lorraine Gary The Pointer Sisters Richard Pryor
Music by	Norman Whitfield
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	October 22, 1976 (1976-10-22)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Car Wash is a 1976 American comedy film released by Universal Pictures. The Art Linson Production was directed by Michael Schultz from a screenplay by Joel Schumacher. Starring Franklyn Ajaye, Bill Duke, George Carlin, Irwin Corey, Ivan Dixon, Antonio Fargas, Jack Kehoe, Clarence Muse, Lorraine Gary, The Pointer Sisters and Richard Pryor, Car Wash is an episodic comedy about a day in the lives of the employees and the owner, Mr. B (Sully Boyar), of a Los Angeles, California car wash (filmed at a Westlake car wash at the corner of Rampart Blvd. and 6th Street). Car Wash is a broad and scabrous comedy, in which African American working class and gay characters are depicted in a more forthright manner than was common at the time the film was made.

Overview

Originally conceived as a musical, Car Wash deals with the exploits of a close-knit, multiracial group of employees at a Los Angeles car wash. In an episodic fashion, the film covers a full day, during which all manner of strange visitors make appearances, including Lorraine Gary as a hysterical wealthy woman from Beverly Hills dealing with a young carsick son, Richard Pryor as a hustling, flamboyant, money-hungry evangelist whose pseudo-gospel of financial prosperity is loved by most (including his female entourage, played by The Pointer Sisters) but loathed by one (the one being Abdullah (Bill Duke), a young and frustrated Black Power revolutionary); there's also a man ("Professor" Irwin Corey) whose strange actions and dress fit the profile of the notorious "pop bottle bomber" being sought that day by the police, causing all the employees, customers and Mr. B to fear for their lives, but the strange man's pop bottle "bomb" is none other than a urine sample as he is on his way to the hospital.

Mr B's son Irwin (Richard Brestoff), a left-wing college student who smokes pot in the men's restroom and carries around a copy of Quotations from Chairman Mao, insists on spending a day with the "working class" employees, since he considers them "brothers" in the "struggle", but as he's the boss's son, they give him the first "human car wash" as a joke, which he takes in a good-natured (if pot-induced) stride. Additionally, George Carlin appears as a taxi driver searching for a prostitute who stiffed him for a fare; the prostitute, Marlene, has her own hopes shattered as a customer (unseen) that she apparently has fallen in love with has given her a false telephone number. Lonnie (Ivan Dixon) is an older employee who tries to mentor Abdullah while struggling to raise two young children on the meager salary paid by Mr. B, as well as fending off his parole officer (Jason Bernard). Abdullah has a confrontation with Lindy (Antonio Fargas) and sharply criticizes Lindy's transvestite status, to which Lindy coolly replies, "I'm more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get".

Cast (in alphabetical order)

• Franklyn Ajaye as T.C.
• Sully Boyar as Leon 'Mr B.' Barrow
• Richard Brestoff as Irwin Barrow
• George Carlin as the Taxi Driver
• Irwin Corey as The Mad Bomber
• Ivan Dixon as Lonnie
• Bill Duke as Duane - Abdullah
• Antonio Fargas as Lindy
• Michael Fennell as Calvin
• Arthur French as Charlie
• Lorraine Gary as the Hysterical Lady
• Darrow Igus as Floyd
• Leonard Jackson as Earl
• Otis Day (credited as DeWayne Jessie) as Lloyd
• Jack Kehoe as Scruggs
• Henry Kingi as Goody
• Melanie Mayron as Marsha
• Garrett Morris as Slide
• Clarence Muse as Snapper
• Leon Pinkney as Justin
• The Pointer Sisters as The Wilson Sisters
• Richard Pryor as Daddy Rich
• Tracy Reed as Mona
• Pepe Serna as Chuco
• James Spinks as Hippo
• Ray Vitte as Geronimo
• Renn Woods as Loretta
• Brooke Adams as Terry
• Antonie Becker as Charlene
• Danny DeVito as Joe
• Antar Mubarak as Sonny Fredericks
• Otis Sistrunk as Otis
• Tim Thomerson as Ken

Actors

Other supporting actors included: Richard Brestoff, Michael Fennell (the boy on the skateboard), Arthur French, Lorraine Gary, Leonard Jackson, Rick Fellen, DeWayne Jessie, Jack Kehoe, Henry Kingi, Clarence Muse, Garrett Morris, Leon Pinkney, Pepe Serna, Melanie Mayron, James Spinks, Ray Vitte, Ren Woods, Antonie Becker, Erin Blunt, Otis Sistrunk, Tim Thomerson and Jason Bernard. (Actors Danny DeVito and Brooke Adams also appeared in the movie - though they had speaking roles in the version edited for television, the scenes were deleted in the theater version and they are only seen in the background.) The film also featured the vocals of local L.A. disc jockeys Jay Butler, J.J. Jackson, Rod McGrew, Sarina C. Grant, and Cleveland's Billy Bass, all heard in the background of the film on the fictional "KGYS" radio station. The film also featured The Pointer Sisters performing their song "You Gotta Believe". The song also appeared on the soundtrack.

Reception

When the film was originally released, it received mediocre reviews and was not considered a major success. Since its initial release, however, it has had a small but constant following which continues today as a cult film, some notable disciples including Michael Bay and Sandford Bay.^{[citation needed]} The film won the Best Music Award and the Technical Grand Prize at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival plus a nomination for Golden Palm. In the same year it was nominated for Golden Globe, plus it won a Grammy for Best Album of Original Score written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.

Gay film historian Vito Russo cites the character Lindy, played by Antonio Fargas, as being both funny and challenging through his gay militancy. Russo deems Lindy's response to the militant Abdullah as being potentially revolutionary had it not been placed strictly within a comedic context. African American cultural critic Angela Nelson identifies Lindy as a "sophisticated sissy" characterization. The "sophisticated sissy" characterization is often used as an easy contrast to the "appropriate" masculine behaviour that (ostensibly) heterosexual black male characters are expected to display.

Soundtrack

Car Wash: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, recorded by Rose Royce, was a major success, yielding three Billboard R&B Top Ten singles, "Car Wash", "I Wanna Get Next to You", and "I'm Going Down". The "Car Wash" title track, written and produced by Norman Whitfield, was a #1 hit and was one of the biggest hit singles of the Disco era.

Versions

As of 2010, most commercially available DVD and VHS versions of this movie are of the original theatrical release and not the revised TV broadcast version. When first broadcast for television in the early 1980s, along with the standard dubbing of strong language, much of the scenes that were deemed more mature were cut. These were mostly scenes that included the gay character Lindy (Joel Schumacher, who wrote the screenplay, was himself openly gay throughout most of his career).

References

• Means Coleman, Robin R. (1998). African American Viewers and the Black Situation Comedy: Situating Racial Humor. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0815331258.
• Russo, Vito (1987). The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies (rev. ed.). New York, Harper & Row. ISBN 0060961325.

External links

• Car Wash at the Internet Movie Database
• Car Wash at AllRovi
• Car Wash at Rotten Tomatoes