Car Wash

marshlandz5.0

conceived as a high concept riff on nashville by a music biz pr man, given soul by norman whitfield, jokes by joel schumacher, and feeling and movement by milwaukee's own michael schultz, to say nothing of the ridiculous cast, the film was largely unappreciated in its time except by the french, who screened it in competition at cannes for a jury headed by rossellini, and extremely under-appreciated after its time, relegated to the dvd bargain bin as soundtracksploitation, except the time schultz took it to the 1985 moscow film festival where the late-soviet audience appreciated its sharp commentary on class, race, and capitalism. not just one of the great comedies of the 1970s but one of the great movies, period, if there ever was an american new wave you're looking at it, a work of such humor and joy and melancholy it could only have been directed by an african-american that worked on the assembly line at american motors in the mid-century, you better believe michael schultz knows what labor is (he also studied theatre under a radical priest that studied under Kazan), and car wash functions not just as breezy entertainment (which it is) but as a NUANCED microcosm of postindustrial urban america, a mournful ode to the failures of 1960s, and a critique of late capitalism that still stings.

Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine3.5

A film that seems almost forgotten even though its legacy persists to this day. Although it is likely that films of this nature, with multiple characters and plotlines that converge in one place, have been done before none were exploited as much by this point. Films like Friday and Barbershop, to name just a few, clearly share its inspiration. It would be remiss of me not to talk about the super hit song, "Car Wash", which spun off from this movie and still in many ways remains a classic. The most bizarre thing, however, is the fact that Schumacher (yes Joel Schumacher) was the screenwriter of this movie.In terms of the film itself, these films often play out as anthology films, and in that regard, some stories and characters manage to stand out more than others. The great thing here is that everyone has something to offer, even the customers. They are like little pieces that, without them, we wouldn't have the whole puzzle. Best of all, you have Bill Duke, George Carlin, Garrett Morris, and Richard Prior in this cast who some bring some of their A games, while others I feel are somewhat misused as Carlin. All in all, while the comedy didn't quite work for me and at times felt too messy or outdated, I would highly recommend check this out.TODAY SCHEDULECooley HighCar WashHouse Party Friday

eddie4.5

a day-in-the-life soundtracksploitation hangout joint that richard linklater ought to study like his bible. the ins and outs of labor, friendship and cutting to music. the malaise of the failed revolutionaries from 8 years prior, the individualist bootstrap mentality counteracting that, and did i mention the music? we talked about car wash alongside henry: portrait of a serial killer on this week's extended clip with our old friend eric marsh aka marshlandssoundcloud.com/extendedclip/98-the-lachi-cultural-exchange-program-w-eric-marsh