Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Blistering performances.

It's a day in the life of Dee-Luxe Car Wash in L.A. It's a group fun loving wacky employees. There's Lonnie in charge, angry Duane actually Muslim Abdullah, T.C. trying to win a radio contest and others. The boss Mr. B is having a fling with the receptionist Marsha. His son is a Maoist who wants to work with the proletariat. There are others like George Carlin as a cabbie, Richard Pryor as the slick Daddy Rich and The Pointer Sisters as his backup singers The Wilson Sisters.The movie struggles to have a plot for 90% of the time. It's just a bunch of guys running around, talking trash and working. There isn't actually a plot. The movie is a mile wide and an inch deep. It's hard to connect with the characters when there are so many of them and none of them is the lead. Everybody is a bit wacky. There are some interesting possibilities like Lonnie, Abdullah and T.C. but they don't expand on their stories. That's why the ending is so abrupt. It turns dark and completely different from the rest of the movie. Richard Pryor often gets headline billing but he only has an unfunny ten minute cameo. The writer needs to cut out a few employees and add an actual plot. The song is really cool though. It's noteworthy that Joel Schumacher is the writer. He's not most noted as a good writer.

"Car Wash" is about a close-knit group of employees who one day have all manner of strange visitors coming onto their forecourt, including Richard Pryor as a preaching 'wonder-man' who is loved by most but loathed by one, and a man who looks like a bomber by the way he is holding his bottle.Dear children of the 1990s, before there was "Empire Records" or "Clerks", there was "Car Wash". If you like watching a group of slackers who run into interesting situations without having to leave their work place, this is the film for you.You should probably be sold on it just because Richard Pryor and George Carlin are in it. But if that is not enough, it is just a fun and funny little picture. Perhaps the theme song is played one too many times, but at least it is one of the better disco songs of the era.

This movie has much in common with American GRAFITEE. Both are time-capsules of a long bygone era, delightfully nostalgic blasts from the past and both movies have great background music of the times. But while American GRAFITEE took place 11 years prior to its 1973 release date, CAR WASH took place in the present (1976).I saw the movie during its theatrical run in 1978 and I loved it! I later rented the video in the early 1980s. And again, I loved it. So I put my money down and bought the DVD because I love this movie.Unfortunately, the packaging is a little misleading, giving the false impression that Richard Prior and George Carlin were the stars while the crew of the car wash were only the co-stars. Richard Prior was hilarious as the Rev. Daddy Rich. And George Carlin was the perfect choice to play the role of the taxi driver. But their characters took up only a small part of the movie. The Rev. Daddy Rich came, he conned and then he was gone. George Carlin's comic genius was limited to little more than that of the ramblings of a stoned-out, laid-back taxi driver as he drove around in his cab.The real stars who made this movie move, were the ones who ran the car wash, from the lowest paid employee on up to the owner, himself, who was dealing with a busted marriage, a car wash that wasn't making enough money and the owner's son who was a pseudo intellectual hippie wannabee who spent his time quoting Chairman Mao and dreaming of becoming a part of the working class.Each day, the crew of the car wash looked forward to quitting time when they could take off, pursue their dreams and enjoy themselves. That didn't mean that work was all drudgery. Well, it was. But that didn't stop them from having a little bit of fun on the job or to interact with each other as well. This was what made this movie so delightful.In this 97 minute piece of craziness and lunacy, some very serious subplots lurked deep within its plot. For example, one employee, an ex-con, trying to make an honest living was trying to stay out of trouble while another employee was out to make as much trouble as possible. This movie is a timepiece that contains a slice of how life was in the 1970s when disco was king and everybody just wanted to have some good times.

Q.Why has this film got such a low rating on IMDb? A.Could it be the world has been taken over by Daddy Rich! This film is priceless because it captures a snapshot of the 1970's. Moreover it portrays a day in the lives of a group of people working in a California Car Wash. Of course it's part soap, part chain of skits, part cameo, but it's all packaged into pure 70's perfection. Feel Good and enjoy.Positives - Funny, Funky Soundtrack, Richard Prior, Pointer Sisters, Superfly (zz zz ..), Mona, Hippo, Ears, pa - iss!Negatives - NoneOverall - Got soul, then get this