The entire film takes place over the course of one day at
a car wash (and the area immediately surrounding it) in Los Angeles. It takes
us from the morning just before the car wash opens to the evening just after it
closes. At the beginning, we are quickly introduced to several characters, one
after another. George Carlin says to his passenger, “That’s what I think we need, is more love in the world.” But the
woman – a prostitute – sneaks out of his car without paying when she realizes
she doesn’t have the money. So he goes on a search for her. Richard Pryor is
great as a rich religious huckster who travels in style with the Wilson Sisters
(played by The Pointer Sisters). “And
there’s a good place in this world for money,” he says. “Yessiree, and I know where it is. It’s right
here in my pocket.” One of the few television shows I watched regularly
during high school was Thirtysomething,
a show which featured an impressive and talented cast, including Melanie
Mayron. In Car Wash (which came out a
decade earlier), she is adorable as Marsha, the receptionist and possible love
interest of the owner. But perhaps the most meaningful performance is by Ivan
Dixon as Lonnie, an ex-con who is trying to help Duane/Abdullah and keep him
from possibly making similar mistakes.
In addition to the wonderful ensemble cast, there are
radio DJs who play an important part, acting as constant companions to these
characters and an integral part of the background. Those radio voices remind me
of the announcements in the film M.A.S.H.
And actually there are shots of the speakers, as in M.A.S.H. And like M.A.S.H.,
it’s the location that brings these characters together. There are some funny
bits of set dressing, like the sign that reads, “We give the best hand job in town” (they wash the cars by hand).
The film has a light, loose, bouncy, bright, playful
feel, yet also touches on some serious themes, such as the relationship between
management and employees, and the thought that we’re all simply making the best
of the situations we find ourselves stuck in. And this film contains the line, “Honey, I am more man than you’ll ever be,
and more woman than you’ll ever get.” That line was later ripped off by
that abysmal film Rent. By the way,
at the end the cast is listed by a radio DJ, much like in M.A.S.H., where the cast is given by the camp’s announcer over the
speaker.
Special Features
There are several special features, including an audio
commentary by director Michael Schultz, in which he talks about the music, and
how he wanted three songs written beforehand so that he could play them on set.
He also mentions how there was a tremendous amount of noise on the set, making
it necessary to record the dialogue later in the studio. Surprisingly, he says
that the NAACP was offended by the film, considering the characters to be
stereotypes.
Working At The Car
Wash With Otis Day is an interview, in which Day talks about getting the role,
and about the director and his style. He says he got sick of the “Car Wash”
song. This interview is approximately twelve minutes. Car Wash From Star To Finish With Gary Stromberg is an interview
with producer Gary Stromberg, in which he talks about getting his start in PR.
Geez, his first three clients were Three Dog Night, Steppenwolf and The Doors.
Crazy! He talks a bit about his history with drugs. But of course the bulk of
the interview is about Car Wash, and
he has plenty of interesting stories. He says the idea behind the film was that
it would be driven by the music, and the idea was inspired in part by Robert
Altman’s Nashville. (Clearly, Altman
had a big influence on this movie.) Interestingly, the soundtrack was completed
before they even started to shoot, so they could use the music as playback on
the set. Stromberg also talks about the real person who was used as inspiration
for Richard Pryor’s character, a person who was actually originally cast in the
part as well. And I had no idea that Car
Wash was the official US entry at Cannes. This interview is approximately thirty-four minutes.
The special features also include four radio spots and
the film’s trailer.
Car Wash was
released on June 20, 2017 by Shout! Factory, as part of its Shout Select
series.
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