Two classic scenes from "Car Wash" (1976)

The Afro signifies the 1970s. And the movie Car Wash, which I saw one afternoon at one of the Journal Square movie palaces in my hometown of Jersey City, is a radical, funny, humane depiction of race and class realities in the funky, urban 1970s, courtesy of a great cast led by Richard Pryor, a genius, and a very underrated Franklin Ajaye, in the romantic lead. But it also had a very solid supporting cast, including George Carlin, Bill Dukes, Ivan Dixon, and a very memorable performance by the always amazing Antonio Fargas (famous for his depiction of the pimpy Huggy Bear in the TV series Starsky and Hutch). As Wikipedia explains,

Car Wash covers the exploits of a close-knit group of employees at a Los Angeles Car Wash. In an episodic fashion, the film covers a full day, during which all manner of strange visitors make appearances, including Richard Pryor as a preaching 'wonder-man' who is loved by most but loathed by one, and a man who fits the profile of an active bomber by the way he is holding his bottle, but it is really his urine sample as he is off to the hospital. Additionally, George Carlin appeared as a Taxi Driver searching for a customer who failed to pay the fare.

Car Wash was also written by Joel Schumacher, who's had a long film career filled with hits and misses; Car Wash is a high point. Yet, in its day, Car Wash seemed to be considered a mere lightweight comedy; However, in retrospect, it is one of the great, unsung comedies of the decade, with a rather substantive populist message (not to mention a disco/funk classic theme song). And how cool is it to see a well made working class, populist comedy from this period with a largely black cast.

Anyway, here are two classic scenes.



I love the way that Ajaye's character, T.C., gets cheered on by the guys at the car wash throughout the film, as he pursues the love of the waitress; we in the audience are cheering, too. And that Afro! Great song, too, by Norman Whitfield and Rose Royce.

Here's a scene in which the film's quasi-Marxist politics come shining through (as they do in so many 70s genre films).



I need to own this movie, and let it sit next to my copy of The Warriors on my video shelf.

UPDATE: Last night, I went into the local Circuit City, looking for a CD case for my car, and picked up a DVD copy of Car Wash for $6.99. I also got a CD/DVD multimedia tower, to keep things organized.