Car Wash is a 1976 American comedy film directed by Michael Schultz from a screenplay by Joel Schumacher, and starring an ensemble cast. Originally conceived as a musical comedy, the film is an episodic comedy about a day in the lives of a close-knit group of employees at a Los Angeles car wash. It features Franklyn Ajaye, George Carlin, Irwin Corey, Ivan Dixon, Bill Duke, Antonio Fargas, Jack Kehoe, Clarence Muse, Lorraine Gary, The Pointer Sisters, Richard Pryor, and Garrett Morris. hoping that the project, if successful, could be adapted as a movie. They pitched the idea to Universal Pictures' then-president Ned Tanen, who persuaded them to make the film version instead. The director Michael Schultz wanted the actors to actually listen to the same music that would later be added in post-production while filming the scenes.
The soundtrack album Car Wash, 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 title track, written and produced by Norman Whitfield, was a #1 hit and was one of the biggest hit singles of the disco era. Meanwhile, the Pointer Sisters' "You Gotta Believe" — which the group performed during their cameo as the Wilson Sisters in the film — was a Top Twenty R&B hit.
The Car Wash soundtrack won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album at the 19th Annual Grammy Awards in 1977.
Reception
The film has a score of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 29 reviews, with an average score of 6.8 out of 10.
Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "a sunny, lively comedy" with a "tremendous sense of life." Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "a cheerful, somewhat vulgar, very cleverly executed comedy," adding, "Nothing terribly dramatic happens, and some of the comedy gets a bit forced, but the wonder of the film is how it manages to succeed so much of the time." Gene Siskel gave the film three stars out of four and called it "quite entertaining" with "plenty of strong performances." Arthur D. Murphy of Variety wrote, "An enormous, and enormously talented, cast is put through its paces masterfully by director Michael Schultz, making the most of Joel Schumacher's zany screenplay." Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times called it "a high-energy, high-entertainment, raucously well-observed slice of life." Sander Vanocur of The Washington Post called it "more than a movie. It's an experience that will make you feel good."
Film historian Vito Russo cited 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 Mohammed Akbar (Bill Duke) 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." The "sophisticated sissy" characterization is often used as an easy contrast to the "appropriate" masculine behavior that heterosexual black male characters are expected to display.
Awards
- 1977: Best Music Award and the Technical Grand Prize at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival (and a Palme d'Or nomination)
- 1977: Nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song at the 34th Golden Globe Awards (for "Car Wash")
- 1977: Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special at the 19th Annual Grammy Awards (won by Norman Whitfield)