My Beautiful Laundrette

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My Beautiful Laundrette

R

1986

1h 37m

Comedy

Drama

LGBTQ+

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

104 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In a seedy corner of London, Omar (Gordon Warnecke), a young Pakistani, is given a run-down laundromat by his uncle (Saeed Jaffrey), who hopes to turn it into a successful business. Soon after, Omar is attacked by a group of racist punks, but defuses the situation when he realizes their leader is his former lover, Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis). The men resume their relationship and rehabilitate the laundromat together, but various social forces threaten to compromise their success.

Critics Consensus

My Beautiful Laundrette is fast and all over the place because it has so much to say, and show, including a highly watchable fresh-faced Daniel Day-Lewis.

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Globe and Mail Staff

Globe and Mail

Oct 13, 2025

Frears has orchestrated Kureishi's script with dexterity that borders on genius.

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Rita Kempley

Washington Post

Oct 10, 2025

It's a little like mixing the white and the dark loads, but somehow it all comes out in the wash and love prevails.

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Mike D'Angelo

AV Club

Oct 10, 2025

B

No matter how clumsy the movie gets, it’s always enjoyable just to spend time with these proud hustlers, who stubbornly refuse to lie down and be marginalized.

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Terry Grimley

Birmingham Mail

Apr 17, 2026

Written by Hanif Kureshi and directed by Stephen Frears, it is a sharp, funny and alarming comedy.

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Tom Birchenough

The Arts Desk

Oct 10, 2025

5/5

Watching it again today brings home just how much broader the film’s concerns are, how writer Hanif Kureishi approached the issue of British identity, his insight coming via the perspective of the country's Pakistani immigrant community.

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Adam Lowes

CineVue

Oct 10, 2025

4/5

It’s the committed turn from Day-Lewis and Hanif Kureishi’s socially-astute, Oscar-nominated screenplay that manages to compensate for the film’s technical shortcomings, alongside the (then) landmark casual representation of a gay relationship on screen

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CodyZamboni Z

@CodyZamboni Sep 1, 2025

Movie is a bit overrated , It's slightly amusing, A nice, off beat slice of life, No real plot, No preaching, Just accepts characters as is, And doesn't shy away from issues like characters need for money, to find acceptance in English society circa 1985.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 4, 2025

Funny pride in 1 hour and 37 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Phil V

@RT66693695 Feb 23, 2025

Way ahead of its time.

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James T

@RT39761270 Nov 11, 2024

I found the movie thoroughly unconvincing and boring. Maybe I was having a bad day. Perhaps you liked it thoroughly, and I would be the last to say you nay. De gustibus non est disputandum.

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David K

@RT61474040 Jun 18, 2024

Interesting film but mainly for the early work of Daniel Day-Lewis. Also, the focus on the Pakistani immigrant experience in England.

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Shioka O

@RT54204327 Dec 5, 2022

This film depict people and social issues in 80s particularly in UK cities. Small, but it hold many problematic contexts within, and not entertaining. Very fresh Daniel Day-Lewis showed compelling performance as a main character. Seems like many British actors emerged in 80s-90s tackled with this type in the early stage of their career. and this is one of the pioneer.

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Stephen Frears

Director

Daniel Day-Lewis

Johnny

Gordon Warnecke

Omar

Saeed Jaffrey

Nasser

Roshan Seth

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Synopsis

In a seedy corner of London, Omar (Gordon Warnecke), a young Pakistani, is given a run-down laundromat by his uncle (Saeed Jaffrey), who hopes to turn it into a successful business. Soon after, Omar is attacked by a group of racist punks, but defuses the situation when he realizes their leader is his former lover, Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis). The men resume their relationship and rehabilitate the laundromat together, but various social forces threaten to compromise their success.

Director: Stephen Frears
Producer: Tim Bevan, Sarah Radclyffe
Screenwriter: Hanif Kureishi
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Production Co: Channel Four Films, Working Title Films
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 7, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 17, 2017
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Mono

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