This is one of the worst movies I have ever scene. I cannot comparing this to guts and slasher movies as never watch them. I sort of wish I hadn't seen Carwash. I thought Richard Prior and George Carlin could save this movie. They didn't come close at all. If anyting they contributed to its gawdawfulness. And I am surprised to see it got about a 5 rating. I gave it a one.
shareYes, CAR WASH (1976) is AWFUL... it is AWFUL GOOD.
It is on my 100 top films of all time.
Poster dearmond-1, if you open your mind, you MIGHT see that it is making a lot of social commentary about the urban human condition.
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Ye Olde Sig Line:
Liberals kill with ABORTION.
Conservatives kill with the DEATH PENALTY.
I kill with THOSE and WORDS.
Im 23 and grew up watchin Pryor and Carlin standup and i thought it was soso, couldve been better but not awful. I like the whole "24 hours in the life of these dudes" kind of thing like American Graffiti, Dazed And Confused, Friday etc etc.
Decent flick but couldve been a lot better if there were a few script changes.
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When this movie first came out, I was indifferent to it.
But thanks to television, I was able to view it for free.
Now that I'm in my 50's, I enjoy this movie more with each viewing.
I just watched it again on the Retroflex cable channel today.
I will watch and record the repeat tonight because it seems this version has most, if not all, of the missing scenes that are discussed here.
It is one of my top 5 favorite movies.
One disappointing fact. I recently learned that when this movie was being filmed in Los Angeles, I lived just a few miles away. Had I known about it, I would have visited the actual car wash to watch them film this movie.
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"This is one of the worst movies I have ever scene."
Scene. Good stuff.
I went through the 70s. The first part was great, the second part wasn't (except disco). I am fond of Carlin, I think Richard Pryor is very funny. However, I fail to see how this movie has any redeeming values. If so many people like this movie, it makes wonder which hell our culture is descending into. Sorry guys. I am allowed an opinion.
share@dearmond-2
OH,please, if you think his film was bad, then you have NOT seen enough bad films,flat-out. Like the previous poster said, this is simply a look at a day in the life of regular working class folks living their lives. Redeeming values---hello, how about the scene where one employee talks the other out of robbing the place? If that wasn't a teachable moment, I don't know what the hell is. Talk about redeeming values---well, what damn redeeming values do these so-called fake-as-hell reality T.V. shows have? I mean, one of the cast on JERSEY SHORE got drunk,pregnant and gave birth,THE REAL HOUSEWIVES shows have nothing but rich b*****s who flaunt their material *beep* and these damn Kardashians,whose only claim to fame is that one of them made a sex tape and they're filthy rich white chicks who love them some black men?? I could say the same for garbage like SOUTH PARK and that whole Jackass series.
At least it wasn't your tired-a$$ stereotypical hood flick---it shows black folks as everyday,normal people doing everyday things--which we are,BTW. It's also a reminder that Hollywood had no problem making films about black people all the time because it was making them money--plus it was back them something new, fresh and different. Not like nowadays where the attitude is, "Oh, we don't make black films because they don't make any money," despite the fact that they only make a handful of black films a year, and barely even that. The most recent major studio black film, THINK LIKE A MAN, made 30 million or more at the box office, but I don't see Hollywood scrambling to make the sequel.
I also think Michael Schultz is one of the most underrated directors from that era--he always made movies that showed positive,but realistic portraits of black people, and he did this on a consistent basis. Plus he's still around working today----there's an interview and chapter about him in this book called BLACK DIRECTORS. He's rarely mentioned when the names of directors from the '70's come up, but practically everybody has seen at least some of his films--COOLEY HIGH,THE LAST DRAGON, KRUSH GROOVE,WOMAN,THOU ART LOOSED (I think that's what it's called.) He's long overdue for a retrospective,for real.
It isn't the message that I was referring to. The message is fine. No problems there. As far as the art of movie making goes, it is a total disaster. Schulz might be underrated for a good reason. Cheers.
share"Enough"? What does it mean to not have seen enough bad films? Why would one want to see more bad films than they already have?
shareI like it because I've worked at a car wash when I was young...
My ignore list is much too long for a sig line. Do not assume you are not on it.
I've just flat out loved this movie since the first time I saw it. And when I worked for the Texas prison system teaching a life skills class for inmates about to be released I used it to introduce the Job Finding and Work section of the class.
Oh, Hollywood makes tons of movies about work. That is, professional jobs in offices, banks, hospitals, etc. But this is (and I'm almost 67 and have seen more movies than are good for me) the best movie ever made about blue collar jobs, which are the kind of jobs an individual is most likely to get when they get out of prison.
And I, like probably 90% of the people on the planet, have had my share of "McJobs" when I've been between professional gigs. Heck, it paid pauper wages but the job I loved most of all I've had was working in a convenience store.
The film's theme (IMHO) is Work Is Good. They clown around but they also take care of business. And it presents working as a normal behavior. That's a positive message.
With the benefit of hindsight, that is easy to say.
As the movie tagline says: "Hey, it's a '70s thing!"
Watched in that context, this was a good movie for the times, and the cast was actually a great ensemble cast, many of who were essentially unknowns at the time who went on to long and successful careers. You'd be hard-pressed to find another movie of this sort that had so many good actors and comedians.
Sure it was cheezy and dated and the humor and themes don't hold up well over time, but I assure you at the time, this movie was enjoyable for what it was...and highly popular.
Hey, I was very much alive and and an adult in the 70s. Not only is it cheesy today, it was then, too. The 70s produced some great movies: Blazing Saddles, Son of Frankenstein, MASH, to name a few. Those were the best IMHO. I had never heard of Car Wash at the time. But, come on, this movie can't come close to holding a dim candle to the above mentioned classics. Sure, some of the actors were good. The only reason I rented the movie was to watch Richard Prior. But he had a brief role in the film, almost a cameo. I will admit that didn't win me over to the movie, but I still think it was cheesy. But I will give it accolades in one respect: movies have gotten much worse since then.
shareHey now, I never said Car Wash was high art.
The movies you mentioned are a few of the all-time greats, which isn't really relevant when comparing to Car Wash, nor did I mean to imply as much. There were hundreds of lemons in the 1970's as well, maybe even moreso than today, since they cranked out movies at a much higher volume back then.
But you might be on to something: if you were an ADULT in the 1970's rather than a kid or a pre-teener, particularly one growing up in the hood...well then, you weren't really the target audience for Car Wash, now were you? So it's not surprising that you don't like it now, and you likely wouldn't have liked it then either.
I loved it as a kid, along with some other similarly "black-themed" movies in that era (Which Way Is Up, Uptown Saturday Night, Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars and Motor Kings, Let's Do it Again, Mother Jugs and Speed, and on and on) yet probably couldn't sit thru an entire viewing of Car Wash today.
Hi,
You are making a good point. It was oriented towards kids, which I wasn't. Interesting is the list of movies which you mention above. I never heard of any of them except Mother Jugs. I did see it. There were two funny scenes: one where the woman's carrier gets away with her on it, and the one where the guy's zipper gets stuck. Of course, both scenes are black, and I would never consider it a good movie either.
Thanks for your discussion on this. It has been interesting.
Cheers.
This is one of the worst post I have ever "scene". I cannot comparing this to logic and intellect of a normal human being. I sort of wish I hadn't seen this post. I thought some of the comments could save this thread. They didn't come close at all. If anyting they contributed to its gawdawfulness. And I am surprised to see it got so many replies. So, I gave it a one also.
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