Car Wash (1976) Universal/Comedy RT: 97 minutes Rated PG (language, some suggestive material, drug use) Director: Michael Schultz Screenplay: Joel Schumacher Music: Rose Royce and Norman Whitfield (composer) Cinematography: Frank Stanley Release date: September 3, 1976 (US) Cast: Richard Pryor, Franklyn Ajaye, Sully Boyar, Richard Brestoff, George Carlin, Professor Irwin Corey, De Wayne Jessie, Ivan Dixon, Bill Duke, Michael Fennell, Arthur French, Antonio Fargas, Lorraine Gary, Darrow Igus, Leonard Jackson, Lauren Jones, Jack Kehoe, Henry Kingi, Melanie Mayron, Garrett Morris, Clarence Muse, Leon Pinkney, The Pointer Sisters, Tracy Reed, Pepe Serna, James Spinks, Ray Vitte, Ren Woods, Jason Bernard, Tim Thomerson, Erin Blunt, Janine Williams, Ricky Fellen, Carmine Caridi, John Linson, Derek Schultz, Jackie Toles. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ****
It’s safe to assume we’ve all worked someplace that seems to attract only weirdos. I don’t just mean customers; I’m also referring to the employees. I worked at a supermarket in my teens and it was more of an asylum than anything else. I came across some real loo-loos there. I could tell you some stories you wouldn’t believe. I’ll bet you have a few tales of your own to offer in return. We could potentially be here all day.
What I said in the preceding paragraph definitely applies to the business establishment depicted in Car Wash, a hilarious day-in-the-life comedy set at the fictional DeLuxe Car Wash in downtown L.A. Directed by Michael Schultz (Cooley High) and written by Joel Schumacher (D.C. Cab), it boasts a powerhouse cast of comedic talent that includes Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Franklyn Ajaye (love that Afro!), Garrett Morris, Antonio Fargas and Professor Irwin Corey. It also features a funky soundtrack by Rose Royce. Two of the songs, “Car Wash” and “I Wanna Get Next to You”, still get significant airplay.
The best way to describe Car Wash is episodic. It’s comprised of several little subplots centered on the staff of an inner-city car wash. It’s impossible to say who’s crazier, the customers or the people that work there. As for the latter, they’re quite the collection of colorful characters, none more so than Lindy (Fargas, Starsky & Hutch), a drag queen with a sharp wit and even sharper tongue.
T.C. (Ajaye, Convoy), creator of a comic book featuring black superhero The Fly, is determined to win a pair of concert tickets from a radio call-in contest. He’s also trying to convince his ex-girlfriend, diner waitress Mona (Reed, A Piece of the Action), to give him a second chance. Singers Floyd (Igus) and Lloyd (Jessie, D.C. Cab) spend the day rehearsing their act for an audition at the end of their shift. Militant black Muslim Duane (Duke, Predator), who demands to be called Abdullah, spends more time shooting off his mouth than washing cars. Parolee Lonnie (Dixon, Hogan’s Heroes) tries to be a mentor to the others.
The boss is Mr. B (Boyar, Dog Day Afternoon), a grouchy sort who looks on in exasperation at his employee’s shenanigans. He’s always worried about losing customers to the competition a few miles down the road, but doesn’t seem willing to do anything about it due to being a cheapskate. On this particular day, Mr. B brings his college grad son Irwin (Brestoff, Fast Break) to work with him. Irwin isn’t what you’d call a chip off the old block. He’s a left-wing sort who keeps his copy of Quotations from Chairman Mao close at hand at all times. He insists on working the front line as a show of solidarity for the workers of the world. Naturally, it doesn’t go like he hopes.
The people that come and go throughout the day tend to be pretty interesting too. People like the cab driver (Carlin) looking for the “big, tall, black, blonde chick” that stiffed him for her fare. She’s Marleen (Jones), a prostitute who uses the ladies facility as her own personal dressing room. There’s a hysterical Beverly Hills mom (Gary, Jaws 1 & 2) with a carsick son (Fellen) and a smart-alecky kid (Fennell) on a skateboard. An eccentric customer (Corey, Stuck on You!) is mistaken for the “Pop Bottle Bomber” who’s been all over the news. Last but certainly not least is Daddy Rich (Pryor), an evangelist/con man who preaches “prosperity theology”. He never goes anywhere without his back-up singers (The Pointer Sisters).
The motley crew is rounded out by Justin (Pinkney, Aaron Loves Angela) who’s having relationship problems with his girlfriend (Woods, Hair), prankster Chuco (Serna, Scarface), Native American Goody (Kingi, Truck Turner), fast-talking Slide (original SNL player Morris), womanizing Geronimo (Vitte, Thank God It’s Friday), hefty black dude Hippo (Spinks, The Big Score), cowboy gas pump jockey Scruggs (Kehoe, Serpico), cashier Marsha (Mayron, thirtysomething), old shoeshine guy Snapper (Muse, Porgy and Bess) and self-proclaimed boss Earl (Jackson, The Color Purple) who “doesn’t get wet”.
WHEW! That’s a lot! It all adds up to a zany, very entertaining 97 minutes. Car Wash is a good-natured comedy with dashes of sweetness and sadness. The latter is found in Marleen’s discovery that the client she’s fallen in love with gave her a fake phone number. He could have been her way out of the lonely life she leads standing on corners looking for customers. Lonnie is actively trying to live a straight life. As foreman, he has ideas on how to save the car wash, but Mr. B keeps putting him off. Adding to his woes is the parole officer (Bernard, Friday Foster) who shows up unannounced to check on him. Sweet is a great way to describe T.C.’s efforts to woo Mona. She looks down on him because he’s too much of a dreamer, but at least he has dreams, big ones at that.
As for the funny, there’s plenty of it in Car Wash. The best line has to be Lindy’s response to Abdullah coming down on him for his sexuality. He says to him, “I’m more man than you’ll ever be and more woman than you’ll ever get!” Damn! You go, girl!
Although imperfect, I absolutely LOVE Car Wash! It wasn’t a hit upon its release in ’76, but it’s developed quite the cult following in its 45+ years of existence. I first saw it on network TV in the early 80s. I liked it even though it had been edited for content. I finally saw the uncut version on video in ’89. That’s when I really became a fan. It’s a great movie. It’s funny, it has a great cast and groovy music, it’s not mean-spirited and it’s a cool throwback to a time and place with different attitudes. Schultz maintains an even balance of humor and pathos, never once laying it on too thick. It has a shaggy quality that makes it feel more true to life. What else can I say? Car Wash is far out, right on and DY-NO-MITE!
