Customer Reviews

My Beautiful Laundrette

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

 

 

I did not believe in the characters. Even Daniel Day-Lewis is not at his best. Surely not as good as I thought it would be.

Bought this DVD after reading the reviews on it, which all were four and five stars at the time. Maybe, when it was release in, I think 1985, it might have been revolutionnary, maybe? This is an MGM film? I wonder where they did it? I think I recognize Toronto's city hall and the blvd in front of it?

Mgm tried to reproduce the British and Pakistanian accent, but failed ignominiously, thus making it hard to understand. Shorts scene after shorts scene, saying nothing, really, follows. Starting nowhere and going no where. I found the scene where the daughter is jumping in front of the window, barebreast, rather yuck and out of place, the cousin's reaction is almost non existant, except for one raised eyebrow and a crooked smile. Don't know what it did in there? If they were trying to show us that Omar was not interested, what about the scene after? Nothing is really clear during the whole one hour and thirty eight minutes.

In 1985 I live near Toronto, where there was a large influx of Pakistan emigrants. I must say that the majority were quiet, soft voice, even if some of them were somewhat on the shady side. They certainly were not the loud mouth, obnoxious people portrait in this film. Pakies was a name use, by certain people at that time, same as WOP was use to describe Italian emigrants and Frogs to describe French from Quebec. Discrimination was rampant, even in Canada, at the time. Enough of that band wagon.

Back to the film, do I blame the actors or the director? The whole thing, in my opinion, was shallow, badly done and an insult to my intelligence. The fight, at the end with the gang members was unbelievable. They look like bellerinas when the were smashing the car, and the hand to hand fighting was,,,,,?

I put this film in the same bracket as a previous DVD I bought, "Long Term Relationship". Now I have two to get rid of or should I say recycle. I could have found one person I don't like to give LTR to, but now I've got another one to give away.

Ghislain Desjardins

A classic film in my book, My Beautiful Laundrette is the story of Omar, a young restless Asian man caring for his alcoholic father in Thatcherite London. Escape comes in the form of his uncles many and varied business ventures,...

Anyone who experienced anything of life in '80's Britain will recognise the craving for instant financial success. Similarly I am sure Asian viewers will recognise the struggles inherent in finding an identity in a country which is your home but which can never feel quite like your real home.

Omar dreams of success so works to achieve it...along the way he meets up with old school-friend Johnny, who has betrayed him by falling in with a group of neo-nazi's. Omar soon has Johnny working for him and his uncle. Turning the tables on him as he is made to rely on the very people he has been taught to hate. The chemistry between Omar and Johnny is palpable and their relationship handled totally matter-of-factly. About the only part of the film not trying to score any political points is the gay relationship. There is a "so-what" attitude and no-one comes out at any point. And why should they?

Tension in the film is far more the result of socio-economic and racial inequalities. The whole thing is handled with grace, charm and wit. Anyone remotely familier with British film in particular will note the starry casting of supporting roles, though Danial Day Lewis is - now - the biggest star of the show. Here he shows the real substance behind his fame - more so than in any other film of his seen to date. The cast is universally excellent and the unique shooting, pacing and dialogue, quite quite brilliant.

Some of the shots in this film could be used as a template for brilliance...An unexpected kiss in a dark alley is easily the most erotic single shot I have seen in a film.

Despite a few reviews I have read claiming otherwise, I don't believe you need to be gay or Asian to get something out of this picture. Living in Britain may help, though it's a lot less than essential.......

And hey! Wouldn't you love to throw your knickers into the washing machines of a neon-lit music-filled laudrette from heaven run by two insatiably young and energetic lovers?

Well I would anyway! Pass the detergent this way please!

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?

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 think ¡§My Beautiful Launderette¡Â is a pretty satiric movie. Back in 1980s, Pakistan people were being discriminated by the British. However in the movie, Nasser, a Pakistan businessman, owned a launderette which earns money from the British instead of the other way round. Satirically, Nasser also has a mistress, named Rachel, who is a British instead of a Pakistan. Tanya, daughter of Nasser who later on found out Rachel , tell Rachel that she does not mind her father having a mistress and use her father¡Âs money.

Omar, niece of Nasser, who worked in the launderette as a manager, met Johnny one night when he was being disturbed by a group of racist gang. Johnny is a British young man who actually belongs to the gang, he knew Omar because they were old school friends. Omar asked Johnny to help in the launderette. The most satiric part of the movie is that Omar and Johnny are homosexual lovers. Homosexuality was considered to be unacceptable in those days. Other than that Omar and Johnny are different in race.

The film shows the audiences two groups of people. First is the people who reject the British community, second is the people who accept the British community. The first group of people have traditional, conservative, and stubborn mind. Omar¡Âs father belongs to this group. He is a journalist and political activist. He thinks that he doesn¡Ât belong to Britain and he hated Britain. He lives in poverty and lie on the bed all day doing nothing.

Nasser and Omar belong to the second group. Nasser adapted himself into the British society and learned to live with it. He then became a successful businessman who owned a launderette and a car cleaning service company. Omar chose to follow Nasser to involve in the business field instead of being what his father wanted him to be, which was to get into college. He convinced Nasser to let him redecorate the launderette and he succeeded in attracting more customers.

I think ¡§My Beautiful Launderette¡ is a pretty satiric movie. Back in 1980s, Pakistan people were being discriminated by the British. However in the movie, Nasser, a Pakistan businessman, owned a launderette which earns money from the British instead of the other way round. Satirically, Nasser also has a mistress, named Rachel, who is a British instead of a Pakistan. Tanya, daughter of Nasser who later on found out Rachel , tell Rachel that she does not mind her father having a mistress and use her father¡s money.

Omar, niece of Nasser, who worked in the launderette as a manager, met Johnny one night when he was being disturbed by a group of racist gang. Johnny is a British young man who actually belongs to the gang, he knew Omar because they were old school friends. Omar asked Johnny to help in the launderette. The most satiric part of the movie is that Omar and Johnny are homosexual lovers. Homosexuality was considered to be unacceptable in those days. Other than that Omar and Johnny are different in race.

The film shows the audiences two groups of people. First is the people who reject the British community, second is the people who accept the British community. The first group of people have traditional, conservative, and stubborn mind. Omar¡s father belongs to this group. He is a journalist and political activist. He thinks that he doesn¡t belong to Britain and he hated Britain. He lives in poverty and lie on the bed all day doing nothing.

Nasser and Omar belong to the second group. Nasser adapted himself into the British society and learned to live with it. He then became a successful businessman who owned a launderette and a car cleaning service company. Omar chose to follow Nasser to involve in the business field instead of being what his father wanted him to be, which was to get into college. He convinced Nasser to let him redecorate the launderette and he succeeded in attracting more customers.

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....

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.