Car Wash
Encyclopedia
Car Wash is a 1976 American
comedy film
released by Universal Pictures
. The Art Linson
Production was directed by Michael Schultz
from a screenplay by Joel Schumacher
. Starring Franklyn Ajaye
, Bill Duke
, George Carlin
, Irwin Corey, Ivan Dixon
, Antonio Fargas
, Jack Kehoe
, Clarence Muse
, Lorraine Gary
, The Pointer Sisters and Richard Pryor
, Car Wash is an episodic comedy
about a day in the lives of the employees and the owner, Mr. B (Sully Boyar
), of a Los Angeles, California
car wash
(filmed at a Westlake car wash at the corner of Rampart Blvd. and 6th Street). Car Wash is a broad and scabrous comedy, in which African American working class and gay characters are depicted in a more forthright manner than was common at the time the film was made.
car wash
. In an episodic fashion, the film covers a full day, during which all manner of strange visitors make appearances, including Lorraine Gary as a hysterical wealthy woman from Beverly Hills dealing with a young carsick son, Richard Pryor
as a hustling, flamboyant, money-hungry evangelist
whose pseudo-gospel of financial prosperity is loved by most (including his female entourage, played by The Pointer Sisters) but loathed by one (the one being Abdullah (Bill Duke
), a young and frustrated Black Power
revolutionary); there's also a man ("Professor" Irwin Corey) whose strange actions and dress fit the profile of the notorious "pop bottle bomber" being sought that day by the police, causing all the employees, customers and Mr. B to fear for their lives, but the strange man's pop bottle "bomb" is none other than a urine sample as he is on his way to the hospital.
Mr B's son Irwin (Richard Brestoff), a left-wing college student who smokes pot
in the men's restroom and carries around a copy of Quotations from Chairman Mao, insists on spending a day with the "working class" employees, since he considers them "brothers" in the "struggle", but as he's the boss's son, they give him the first "human car wash" as a joke, which he takes in a good-natured (if pot-induced) stride. Additionally, George Carlin
appears as a taxi driver searching for a prostitute who stiffed him for a fare; the prostitute, Marlene, has her own hopes shattered as a customer (unseen) that she apparently has fallen in love with has given her a false telephone number. Lonnie (Ivan Dixon
) is an older employee who tries to mentor Abdullah while struggling to raise two young children on the meager salary paid by Mr. B, as well as fending off his parole officer (Jason Bernard
). Abdullah has a confrontation with Lindy (Antonio Fargas
) and sharply criticizes Lindy's transvestite status, to which Lindy coolly replies, "I'm more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get".
, Lorraine Gary
, Leonard Jackson
,Rick Fellen, DeWayne Jessie
, Jack Kehoe
, Henry Kingi, Clarence Muse
, Garrett Morris
, Leon Pinkney, Pepe Serna
, Melanie Mayron
, James Spinks, Ray Vitte, Ren Woods
, Antonie Becker, Erin Blunt
, Otis Sistrunk
, Tim Thomerson
and Jason Bernard
. (Actors Danny DeVito
and Brooke Adams also appeared in the movie - though they had speaking roles in the version edited for television, the scenes were deleted in the theater version and they are only seen in the background.) The film also featured the vocals of local L.A. disc jockeys Jay Butler, J.J. Jackson, Rod McGrew, Sarina C. Grant, and Cleveland's Billy Bass, all heard in the background of the film on the fictional "KGYS" radio station. The film also featured The Pointer Sisters performing their song "You Gotta Believe". The song also appeared on the soundtrack.
, some notable disciples including Michael Bay and Sandford Bay. The film won the Best Music Award and the Technical Grand Prize at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival
plus a nomination
for Golden Palm. In the same year it was nominated for Golden Globe, plus it won a Grammy for Best Album of Original Score written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.
Gay film historian Vito Russo
cites the character Lindy, played by Antonio Fargas
, as being both funny and challenging through his gay militancy. Russo deems Lindy's response to the militant Abdullah as being potentially revolutionary had it not been placed strictly within a comedic context. African American cultural critic Angela Nelson identifies Lindy as a "sophisticated sissy" characterization. The "sophisticated sissy" characterization is often used as an easy contrast to the "appropriate" masculine behaviour that (ostensibly) heterosexual black male characters are expected to display.
, recorded by Rose Royce
, was a major success, yielding three Billboard R&B Top Ten singles, "Car Wash", "I Wanna Get Next to You", and "I'm Going Down". The "Car Wash
" title track, written and produced by Norman Whitfield
, was a #1 hit and was one of the biggest hit singles of the Disco
era.
and VHS
versions of this movie are of the original theatrical release and not the revised TV broadcast version. When first broadcast for television in the early 1980s, along with the standard dubbing of strong language, much of the scenes that were deemed more mature were cut. These were mostly scenes that included the gay character Lindy (Joel Schumacher, who wrote the screenplay, was himself openly gay throughout most of his career).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
released by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
. The Art Linson
Art Linson
Art Linson is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.He was born in Chicago, Illinois. His directorial debut was the 1980 comedy, Where the Buffalo Roam, which was loosely based on stories by Hunter S. Thompson and starred Bill Murray as the writer...
Production was directed by Michael Schultz
Michael Schultz
Michael Schultz is an American director and producer of film and television.-Life and career:Schultz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Katherine Frances , a factory worker, and Leo Schultz, an insurance salesman...
from a screenplay by Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Schumacher was born in New York City, the son of Marian and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, and his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old...
. Starring Franklyn Ajaye
Franklyn Ajaye
Franklyn Ajaye is an American stand-up comedian. His nickname is "The Jazz Comedian" as he also played jazz for a time earlier in his entertainment career. His name is sometimes alternatively spelled Franklin Ajaye.-Biography:...
, Bill Duke
Bill Duke
William Henry "Bill" Duke, Jr. is an American actor and film director with over 30 years of experience. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke's work frequently dwells within the action/crime and drama genres but also includes comedy.-Early life:Duke was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the...
, George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
, Irwin Corey, Ivan Dixon
Ivan Dixon
Ivan Dixon was an American actor, director, and producer best known for his series role in the 1960s sitcom Hogan's Heroes, for his role in the 1967 telefilm The Final War of Olly Winter, and for directing hundreds of episodes of television series...
, Antonio Fargas
Antonio Fargas
Antonio Juan Fargas is an American actor famous for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation movies, as well as his portrayal of Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky and Hutch.-Biography:...
, Jack Kehoe
Jack Kehoe
Jack Kehoe is an American film actor appearing in a wide variety of films, including the crime dramas Serpico, The Pope of Greenwich Village, and Brian De Palma's 1987 The Untouchables, as well as the 1976 comedy Car Wash, and 1988 cult classic Midnight Run...
, Clarence Muse
Clarence Muse
Clarence Muse was an actor, screenwriter, director, composer, and lawyer. He was inducted in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. Muse was the first African American to "star" in a film. He acted for more than sixty years, and appeared in more than 150 movies.-Life and career:Born in...
, Lorraine Gary
Lorraine Gary
Lorraine Gary is an American actress best known for her role as Ellen Brody in Jaws, Jaws 2, and Jaws: The Revenge...
, The Pointer Sisters and Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
, Car Wash is an episodic comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
about a day in the lives of the employees and the owner, Mr. B (Sully Boyar
Sully Boyar
Irving "Sully" Boyar was an American actor of Russian descent.Boyar was one of seven children, some of whom grew up to become lawyers and businessmen. He also worked as a lawyer before turning to acting...
), of a Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
car wash
Car wash
A car wash or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior and, in some cases, the interior of motor vehicles.- Categories :...
(filmed at a Westlake car wash at the corner of Rampart Blvd. and 6th Street). Car Wash is a broad and scabrous comedy, in which African American working class and gay characters are depicted in a more forthright manner than was common at the time the film was made.
Overview
Originally conceived as a musical, Car Wash deals with the exploits of a close-knit, multiracial group of employees at a Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
car wash
Car wash
A car wash or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior and, in some cases, the interior of motor vehicles.- Categories :...
. In an episodic fashion, the film covers a full day, during which all manner of strange visitors make appearances, including Lorraine Gary as a hysterical wealthy woman from Beverly Hills dealing with a young carsick son, Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
as a hustling, flamboyant, money-hungry evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
whose pseudo-gospel of financial prosperity is loved by most (including his female entourage, played by The Pointer Sisters) but loathed by one (the one being Abdullah (Bill Duke
Bill Duke
William Henry "Bill" Duke, Jr. is an American actor and film director with over 30 years of experience. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke's work frequently dwells within the action/crime and drama genres but also includes comedy.-Early life:Duke was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the...
), a young and frustrated Black Power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
revolutionary); there's also a man ("Professor" Irwin Corey) whose strange actions and dress fit the profile of the notorious "pop bottle bomber" being sought that day by the police, causing all the employees, customers and Mr. B to fear for their lives, but the strange man's pop bottle "bomb" is none other than a urine sample as he is on his way to the hospital.
Mr B's son Irwin (Richard Brestoff), a left-wing college student who smokes pot
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
in the men's restroom and carries around a copy of Quotations from Chairman Mao, insists on spending a day with the "working class" employees, since he considers them "brothers" in the "struggle", but as he's the boss's son, they give him the first "human car wash" as a joke, which he takes in a good-natured (if pot-induced) stride. Additionally, George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
appears as a taxi driver searching for a prostitute who stiffed him for a fare; the prostitute, Marlene, has her own hopes shattered as a customer (unseen) that she apparently has fallen in love with has given her a false telephone number. Lonnie (Ivan Dixon
Ivan Dixon
Ivan Dixon was an American actor, director, and producer best known for his series role in the 1960s sitcom Hogan's Heroes, for his role in the 1967 telefilm The Final War of Olly Winter, and for directing hundreds of episodes of television series...
) is an older employee who tries to mentor Abdullah while struggling to raise two young children on the meager salary paid by Mr. B, as well as fending off his parole officer (Jason Bernard
Jason Bernard
Jason Bernard was an American actor who starred in movies and on television.-Career:Bernard was born in Chicago, Illinois...
). Abdullah has a confrontation with Lindy (Antonio Fargas
Antonio Fargas
Antonio Juan Fargas is an American actor famous for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation movies, as well as his portrayal of Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky and Hutch.-Biography:...
) and sharply criticizes Lindy's transvestite status, to which Lindy coolly replies, "I'm more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get".
Cast (in alphabetical order)
- Franklyn AjayeFranklyn AjayeFranklyn Ajaye is an American stand-up comedian. His nickname is "The Jazz Comedian" as he also played jazz for a time earlier in his entertainment career. His name is sometimes alternatively spelled Franklin Ajaye.-Biography:...
as T.C. - Sully BoyarSully BoyarIrving "Sully" Boyar was an American actor of Russian descent.Boyar was one of seven children, some of whom grew up to become lawyers and businessmen. He also worked as a lawyer before turning to acting...
as Leon 'Mr B.' Barrow - Richard Brestoff as Irwin Barrow
- George CarlinGeorge CarlinGeorge Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
as the Taxi Driver - Irwin Corey as The Mad Bomber
- Ivan DixonIvan DixonIvan Dixon was an American actor, director, and producer best known for his series role in the 1960s sitcom Hogan's Heroes, for his role in the 1967 telefilm The Final War of Olly Winter, and for directing hundreds of episodes of television series...
as Lonnie - Bill DukeBill DukeWilliam Henry "Bill" Duke, Jr. is an American actor and film director with over 30 years of experience. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke's work frequently dwells within the action/crime and drama genres but also includes comedy.-Early life:Duke was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the...
as Duane - Abdullah - Antonio FargasAntonio FargasAntonio Juan Fargas is an American actor famous for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation movies, as well as his portrayal of Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky and Hutch.-Biography:...
as Lindy - Michael Fennell as Calvin
- Arthur FrenchArthur French (actor)Arthur French is an American actor and director best known for his work in the theatre.- Biography :Throughout a career that spans over fifty years, French is best known for his work on the stage. He worked extensively with the Negro Ensemble Company and has played a wide variety of roles...
as Charlie - Lorraine GaryLorraine GaryLorraine Gary is an American actress best known for her role as Ellen Brody in Jaws, Jaws 2, and Jaws: The Revenge...
as the Hysterical Lady - Darrow Igus as Floyd
- Leonard JacksonLeonard JacksonLeonard Jackson was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire from 1877 to 1882.Jackson was born at Holme Hurst in Norton Woodseats, on the border of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. He first played cricket professionally in 1869, for the Breckfield Club in Liverpool...
as Earl - Otis Day (credited as DeWayne Jessie) as Lloyd
- Jack KehoeJack KehoeJack Kehoe is an American film actor appearing in a wide variety of films, including the crime dramas Serpico, The Pope of Greenwich Village, and Brian De Palma's 1987 The Untouchables, as well as the 1976 comedy Car Wash, and 1988 cult classic Midnight Run...
as Scruggs - Henry Kingi as Goody
- Melanie MayronMelanie MayronMelanie Joy Mayron is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for portraying the role of photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama Thirtysomething.-Biography:...
as Marsha - Garrett MorrisGarrett MorrisGarrett Gonzalez Morris is an American comedian and actor from New Orleans. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980.-Early life and career:...
as Slide - Clarence MuseClarence MuseClarence Muse was an actor, screenwriter, director, composer, and lawyer. He was inducted in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. Muse was the first African American to "star" in a film. He acted for more than sixty years, and appeared in more than 150 movies.-Life and career:Born in...
as Snapper - Leon Pinkney as Justin
- The Pointer Sisters as The Wilson Sisters
- Richard PryorRichard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
as Daddy Rich - Tracy Reed as Mona
- Pepe SernaPepe SernaPepe Serna is an American film actor and artist.Serna's first break in movies came in 1970 on the Roger Corman directed film Student Nurses. Over the years Serna has appeared in over 100 films, most notably Car Wash and Scarface directed by Brian De Palma, where he played Montana's friend Angel...
as Chuco - James Spinks as Hippo
- Ray Vitte as Geronimo
- Renn Woods as Loretta
- Brooke Adams as Terry
- Antonie Becker as Charlene
- Danny DeVitoDanny DeVitoDaniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
as Joe - Antar Mubarak as Sonny Fredericks
- Otis SistrunkOtis SistrunkOtis Sistrunk is a former professional football player who played seven seasons as a defensive lineman, from 1972 to 1978. He played his entire National Football League career with the Oakland Raiders. Sistrunk later became a professional wrestler in the National Wrestling Alliance...
as Otis - Tim ThomersonTim ThomersonJoseph Timothy “Tim” Thomerson is an American actor and comedian.Thomerson is most famous for his role as Jack Deth in the Trancers film series and is renowned for his work in numerous low-budget movies and his comedic television roles.-Early life:Tim Thomerson was born in Coronado, California. He...
as Ken
Actors
Other supporting actors included: Richard Brestoff, Michael Fennell (the boy on the skateboard), Arthur FrenchArthur French (actor)
Arthur French is an American actor and director best known for his work in the theatre.- Biography :Throughout a career that spans over fifty years, French is best known for his work on the stage. He worked extensively with the Negro Ensemble Company and has played a wide variety of roles...
, Lorraine Gary
Lorraine Gary
Lorraine Gary is an American actress best known for her role as Ellen Brody in Jaws, Jaws 2, and Jaws: The Revenge...
, Leonard Jackson
Leonard Jackson (actor)
Leonard Jackson is an African-American stage, film, and television actor, perhaps most widely known for his roles in several PBS television series for children as well as his roles in films such as The Brother from Another Planet, Car Wash, and The Color Purple.-Early years and stage...
,Rick Fellen, DeWayne Jessie
DeWayne Jessie
DeWayne Jessie is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Otis Day in National Lampoon's Animal House. In the movie, the songs "Shama Lama Ding Dong" and "Shout" were sung by Lloyd Williams and lip-synched by Jessie...
, Jack Kehoe
Jack Kehoe
Jack Kehoe is an American film actor appearing in a wide variety of films, including the crime dramas Serpico, The Pope of Greenwich Village, and Brian De Palma's 1987 The Untouchables, as well as the 1976 comedy Car Wash, and 1988 cult classic Midnight Run...
, Henry Kingi, Clarence Muse
Clarence Muse
Clarence Muse was an actor, screenwriter, director, composer, and lawyer. He was inducted in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. Muse was the first African American to "star" in a film. He acted for more than sixty years, and appeared in more than 150 movies.-Life and career:Born in...
, Garrett Morris
Garrett Morris
Garrett Gonzalez Morris is an American comedian and actor from New Orleans. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980.-Early life and career:...
, Leon Pinkney, Pepe Serna
Pepe Serna
Pepe Serna is an American film actor and artist.Serna's first break in movies came in 1970 on the Roger Corman directed film Student Nurses. Over the years Serna has appeared in over 100 films, most notably Car Wash and Scarface directed by Brian De Palma, where he played Montana's friend Angel...
, Melanie Mayron
Melanie Mayron
Melanie Joy Mayron is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for portraying the role of photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama Thirtysomething.-Biography:...
, James Spinks, Ray Vitte, Ren Woods
Ren Woods
Ren Woods is an American film and television actress/singer, best known for her role as Fanta in Roots, and also as the girl with flowers in her hair who sang "Aquarius" in the film version of Hair. Ren Woods began her singing career as a child and released two solo albums before returning her...
, Antonie Becker, Erin Blunt
Erin Blunt
Erin Blunt is an American actor best known for his role as Ahmad Abdul-Rahim in The Bad News Bears, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, and The Bad News Bears Go to Japan. He also appeared in numerous episodes of TV shows and films such as Car Wash and A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a...
, Otis Sistrunk
Otis Sistrunk
Otis Sistrunk is a former professional football player who played seven seasons as a defensive lineman, from 1972 to 1978. He played his entire National Football League career with the Oakland Raiders. Sistrunk later became a professional wrestler in the National Wrestling Alliance...
, Tim Thomerson
Tim Thomerson
Joseph Timothy “Tim” Thomerson is an American actor and comedian.Thomerson is most famous for his role as Jack Deth in the Trancers film series and is renowned for his work in numerous low-budget movies and his comedic television roles.-Early life:Tim Thomerson was born in Coronado, California. He...
and Jason Bernard
Jason Bernard
Jason Bernard was an American actor who starred in movies and on television.-Career:Bernard was born in Chicago, Illinois...
. (Actors Danny DeVito
Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
and Brooke Adams also appeared in the movie - though they had speaking roles in the version edited for television, the scenes were deleted in the theater version and they are only seen in the background.) The film also featured the vocals of local L.A. disc jockeys Jay Butler, J.J. Jackson, Rod McGrew, Sarina C. Grant, and Cleveland's Billy Bass, all heard in the background of the film on the fictional "KGYS" radio station. The film also featured The Pointer Sisters performing their song "You Gotta Believe". The song also appeared on the soundtrack.
Reception
When the film was originally released, it received mediocre reviews and was not considered a major success. Since its initial release, however, it has had a small but constant following which continues today as a cult filmCult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
, some notable disciples including Michael Bay and Sandford Bay. The film won the Best Music Award and the Technical Grand Prize at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival
1977 Cannes Film Festival
The 30th Cannes Film Festival was held on May 13-27. A new non-competitive section, 'Le Passé composé', is held at this festival only and focuses on compilations.- Jury :*Roberto Rossellini *N'Sougan Agblemagnon...
plus a nomination
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
for Golden Palm. In the same year it was nominated for Golden Globe, plus it won a Grammy for Best Album of Original Score written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.
Gay film historian Vito Russo
Vito Russo
Vito Russo was an American LGBT activist, film historian and author who is best remembered as the author of the book The Celluloid Closet ....
cites the character Lindy, played by Antonio Fargas
Antonio Fargas
Antonio Juan Fargas is an American actor famous for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation movies, as well as his portrayal of Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky and Hutch.-Biography:...
, as being both funny and challenging through his gay militancy. Russo deems Lindy's response to the militant Abdullah as being potentially revolutionary had it not been placed strictly within a comedic context. African American cultural critic Angela Nelson identifies Lindy as a "sophisticated sissy" characterization. The "sophisticated sissy" characterization is often used as an easy contrast to the "appropriate" masculine behaviour that (ostensibly) heterosexual black male characters are expected to display.
Soundtrack
Car Wash: Original Motion Picture SoundtrackCar Wash: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Car Wash is a soundtrack double album by the Funk band Rose Royce. It is the soundtrack/film score to the 1976 hit comedy Car Wash starring Richard Pryor and George Carlin and also the debut album for Rose Royce...
, recorded by Rose Royce
Rose Royce
Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B band. The group is best known for several hit singles including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "Wishing on a Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "I'm Going Down".-Career:...
, was a major success, yielding three Billboard R&B Top Ten singles, "Car Wash", "I Wanna Get Next to You", and "I'm Going Down". The "Car Wash
Car Wash (song)
"Car Wash" is a 1976 soul music single by Rose Royce for MCA Records, the group's debut single and one of the most notable successes of the disco era. Written and produced by the band's main producer Norman Whitfield, "Car Wash", the theme of the 1976 film Car Wash, was Rose Royce's most successful...
" title track, written and produced by Norman Whitfield
Norman Whitfield
Norman Jesse Whitfield was an American songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown label during the 1960s...
, was a #1 hit and was one of the biggest hit singles of the Disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
era.
Versions
As of 2010, most commercially available DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
versions of this movie are of the original theatrical release and not the revised TV broadcast version. When first broadcast for television in the early 1980s, along with the standard dubbing of strong language, much of the scenes that were deemed more mature were cut. These were mostly scenes that included the gay character Lindy (Joel Schumacher, who wrote the screenplay, was himself openly gay throughout most of his career).