An ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.An ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.An ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 6 wins & 6 nominations total
Daniel Day-Lewis
- Johnny
- (as Daniel Day Lewis)
Charu Bala Chokshi
- Bilquis
- (as Charu Bala Choksi)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film and A Room with a View (1985) both opened in New York on the same day, March 7, 1986. Both movies featured Daniel Day-Lewis in prominent and very different roles: in A Room with a View, he played a repressed, snobbish Edwardian upperclassman, while in Laundrette, he played a lower-class gay ex-skinhead in love with an ambitious Pakistani businessman in Thatcher's London. When American critics saw Day-Lewis, who was then virtually unknown in the US, in two such different roles on the same day, many (including Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times and Sheila Benson of the LA Times) raved about the talent it must have taken him to play such vastly different characters. In his review of My Beautiful Laundrette, Roger Ebert wrote, "A movie like this lives or dies with its performances, and the actors in 'My Beautiful Laundrette' are a fascinating group of unknowns.... The character of Johnny may cause you to blink if you've just seen the wonderful 'A Room with a View.' He is played by Daniel Day-Lewis, the same actor who, in 'Room,' plays the heroine's affected fiancee, Cecil. Seeing these two performances side by side is an affirmation of the miracle of acting: That one man could play these two opposites is astonishing."
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hooray for Holyrood (1986)
Featured review
Want to see a side of London you won't get from any other director? Then watch My Beautiful Launderette... The film opens with a scene in which squatters are forcibly evicted from a derelict building. Londoner viewers will recognize this as a sad yet common event... Immediately, we are attuned to the political bent of the movie. Fortunately for that intent, the dialogue in the film is intelligently written (note: this will not appeal to the lowest common denominator -- it scores low on commercial appeal). Unfortunately, the often "stiff" delivery of that dialogue is a significant impediment. That said, Daniel Day Lewis lends a powerful presence to his role as the punk squatter, Johnny.
The climax of the film aptly integrates the various tensions in the film: political, sexual, and social. We're surprised with a love scene between Johnny and Omar which is well-paced, erotic, and genuine.
The climax of the film aptly integrates the various tensions in the film: political, sexual, and social. We're surprised with a love scene between Johnny and Omar which is well-paced, erotic, and genuine.
- MartinInane
- Jun 5, 2002
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Mein wunderbarer Waschsalon
- Filming locations
- 245 Queenstown Road, Battersea, London, England, UK(papa's flat)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £650,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,451,545
- Gross worldwide
- $2,460,977
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