1985 / 97m - UK
Drama
2.0*/5.0*
My Beautiful Laundrette poster

Watches

March 05, 2023

2.0*/5.0*

Somewhat pedestrian drama. I'm sure some of the themes were a bit more eye-opening back then (the culture shock, the LGBTQ angle), take that away and there's not all that much left. Frear's direction is way too functional and the performances are a bit too stilted for a drama, but it's not the worst classic either.

Omar is a young Pakistani boy. His uncle is giving him the opportunity to run his laundrette. Omar is excited and hires Johnny to clean up the place. Johnny is somewhat of an outcast, who doesn't fit in with either the white and Asian communities in London. Omar doesn't care though, and he develops a crush on Johnny.

The characters are pretty nice, the pacing is decent and the film isn't too depressing. On the other hand, the drama didn't really move me, the direction is bland and the film lacks any truly memorable scenes. Not all that great, but it's better than Frear's American films I've seen, so that's at least something.