Pride Month Movie - Day Twenty Seven: My Beautiful Laundrette

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

Directed by Stephen Frears

Screenplay by Hanif Kureishi 

Stars: Gordon Warnecke, Daniel Day-Lewis, Roshan Seth, Derrick Branche, Saeed Jaffrey, and Shirley Anne Field

When I was doing this blog-a-thon, people were suggesting that I watch this movie. I don't see what the big fuss is about.

Omar (Warnecke) is a Pakistani young man taking care of his ailing Papa (Seth). One day, his wealthy uncle Nassar (Jaffrey) gives him a laundromat. Omar has an idea to transform the laundromat with his old childhood friend, Johnny (Day-Lewis).

This movie was not what I thought it was going to be. In my eyes, all of the characters are awful people. Most of Omar's family treated him like shit. Why do people love this movie?

The score. I hated the score by Stanley Myers and Hans Zimmer. What the fuck is up with the water droplets? Why? For the love of all that is holy. I can't. I can't with this movie. Sorry, not sorry.

Rating: 1/10

LAMB Acting School 101: Once Bitten

Once Bitten (1985)

Directed by Howard Storm

Story by Dimitri Villard

Screenplay by David Hines & Jeffrey Hause and Jonathan Roberts

Stars: Lauren Hutton, Jim Carrey, Karen Kopins, Cleavon Little, Thomas Ballatore and Skip Lacey

I know! I know. I know. It has been a hot minute since I reviewed a film. I started a new job that had me working crazy hours. Since the last review, the same circumstances happened with a partial power outage. Waiting for the electric company to come, I happened upon Once Bitten. When I was a kid, I loved this film that it was so cheesy. Watching the movie again, I still savor the cheese factor.

Countess (Hutton) is a 300 year old vampire that desires to have the blood of a virgin to stay youthful. Being that she is living in Los Angeles finding a viable virgin would be hard to come by. Countess enlists her flamboyant chauffeur, Sebastian (Little) and her cronies to find a virgin before Halloween. Meanwhile, Mark (Carrey) is frustrated that his girlfriend, Robin (Kopins) is not putting out. Mark's bonehead friends, Jaime and Russ (Ballatore, Lackey) try to get him lead, but they put him in a path to Countess' seductive claws.

Back then, I didn't know that this movie was bad. I thought it was the best movie ever. I was young, I didn't know any better. My taste was not as refined as it is now. Okay. That's a lie. I love shit movies, too. What can I say? Shit movies are funny in its awfulness. The teenagers in the movies were in their mid to late twenties. The plot is ridiculous. Who cares? A female vampire wants to suck the life blood from a virgin's boy inner thigh. Okay. The movie is silly with dream sequences that have to muck of the smoke machine. I love the movie in its awfulness.

My Rating

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)

Directed by Hector Babenco

Screenplay by Leonard Schrader

Based on the novel by Manuel Puig

Stars: William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, José Lewgoy and Milton Gonçalves

I have heard of this movie basically from the Broadway musical version of it. I knew a couple of things about the movie. I knew that one of the characters were gay and that was it. The film was nominated for four Oscars and won the Best Actor for William Hurt. I thought that this movie was disgusting for a gay person to watch.

Detained in a South American prison, the movie focuses on two of the most unlikely cellmates, Luis Molina (Hurt), the flaming homosexual that flails about in kimonos and all that. The other is a political prisoner named Valentin Arregui (Julia). Most of the action takes place in their cell where Luis talks about a Nazi propaganda movies where he talk about the love story in it. The warden (Lewgoy) wants to make a deal with Luis to get him parole that will test his friendship with Valentin.

I thought that the movie would be interesting to me, but it wasn't. I did not understand why this movie was made. Why was the movie nominated for Best Picture? I didn't care about the endless stories Luis was re-interrupting to Valentin. There would be a good story if it focused on the relationship between Valentin and Luis. I didn't care for it. Did I say that already?

When I said that this movie is disgusting for a gay person to see is that in the early 80s, portrayal of gay men were less than flattering. Luis has to be a flaming queen that gets to be called fag or faggot by every character in movie and then he has to die. The fag has to die. It's not a spoiler it was commonplace in the early 80s where a gay man is portrayed as a limp-wristed queen who preys on little boys and spreads disease and should die for his perversion. That is the main reason why I hate this movie so much. It was a waste time. I don't know why William Hurt won the Oscar for this role. I am disgusted with this movie. I'm insulted.

My Rating