My Beautiful Laundrette
by Stephen Frears
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Derrick Branche, Gordon Warnecke, Roshan Seth, Saeed JaffreyDirector: Stephen Frears
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-03
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of My Beautiful Laundrette
Movie Review: Ramble about life
Summary: 4 Stars
I suppose people either love this film or hate it....
The basic plot was a guy trying to do something in his life in a somewhat confusing world not to his favor. Omar, a son of Pakistani immigrant, who up until the start of the movie, didn't have any direction in life. We don't know his history, but it'll unfold in the movie. We learned he is gay, and was a troublemaker when he was younger.
Anyways, I suppose some people don't like how this movie rambles. I for one, hate it when I sense the author of a book (or in this case, filmmaker) can't seem to make up his/her mind, but I don't think in this movie the direction was lost (it actually works for some odd reason). The movie is sort of a snapshot of someone's life going through a phase. This is realism. I suppose it won't satisfy people who like a grand plot that's meticulously devised.
Also keep in mind the movie was from 80's when most movies' plots were thin like paper. There are some dialogues that don't connect too well, but in general, it's pretty good if you put the era into perspective.
Memorable characters.... This is a very difficult thing to do in a movie or a book. I like how real the characters seem to be. Not fake, not exaggerated malevolent or godly benign. They have their own self interests, and not a lot of political agenda in characters' dialogue (e.g., let's beautify gay people, or let's do an anti-discrimination theme). No, they are just real people. They don't speak words directly to the audience and feed us ideas. They won our affection for being themselves, but not through "I am gay and Pakistani, so you owe me something." If you want melodrama, look elsewhere. (and people say I am melodramatic... ;-))
I love the ending. Very cute and affectionate. Leave an imprint on me without shock value or sensual eroticism. You'd think after Johnny (Daniel Day Lewis) got beaten up, you'd hear some grunt about life and injustice in general. No..., we are rewarded with a scene where Omar try to clean Johnny's wound and they ended up not "I'm sorry, but let's have sex" but two guys, very innocently splash water at each other. That's very original (though I sensed Lewis was about to take his pants off...). I challenge you to write a scene like that.
Life moves on, you know. I am happy the movie doesn't give a self-pity, wound-licking ending. (and I apologize for being so unprofessional in this review. LOL!)
Summary of My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette, Stephen Frears's low-budget realization of Hanif Kureishi's subversively critical play, captures the contradictions of mid-'80s Thatcherism in a way that's as fresh today as when it was new. Wheeler-dealer Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey) sums it up when he says, "In this damn country, which we hate and love, you can get anything you want." He sets up his nephew Omar (Gordon Warnecke) with a rundown laundrette and the instruction to make it a success, which Omar temporarily does, with the help of his childhood friend Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis). When the film was first released, it was the gay content that dominated the conversation, whereas now it seems a sensitive and multifaceted summation of its decade, exploring social, ethnic, and sexual issues and contradictions. Bringing together two such different characters as Omar--Asian, ambitious, for whom success is defined by wealth--and former childhood friend Johnny--white trash, ex-National Front--was inspired. Watching their friendship develop into love, and the ensuing bitterness and misunderstanding that they suffer from friends and family, is very poignant. All the lead roles are well taken, the contradictory character of Nasser in particular. By turns, funny, touching and anger-inducing, My Beautiful Laundrette wears its age lightly and its era proudly. --Harriet SmithWith its "extraordinary cast" (Los Angeles Times) including Oscar? winner* Daniel Day Lewis and "riveting visual style" (Newsweek) this "warm compassionate and feisty" film (The Hollywood Reporter) about a young Pakistani man coming of age in London is "a fascinating eccentric [and] very personal movie" (The New York Times)!Living on the dole with his alcoholic father in a shabby South London flat Omar is a bright-eyed Pakistani teenager who wants to make something of himself. And as his papa drowns deeper in vodka and self-pity Omar turns to his unscrupulous wheeling-and-dealing Uncle Nasser to show him the key to success. But when Nasser hires Omar as manager of a seedy dilapidated laundromat Omar is forced to choose between running a squeaky-clean establishment or conducting some very dirty business!*1989: Actor My Left FootSystem Requirements:Running Time: 98 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 027616869326 Manufacturer No: 1002734
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