Car Wash

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Car Wash

PG

1976

1h 37m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

29 Reviews

60%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

This day-in-the-life cult comedy focuses on a group of friends working at Sully Boyar's Car Wash in the Los Angeles ghetto. The team meets dozens of eccentric customers -- including a smooth-talking preacher, a wacky cab driver and an ex-convict -- while cracking politically incorrect jokes to a constant soundtrack of disco and funk. Some of the workers find romance as the day moves along, but most are just happy to get through another shift.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Dec 5, 2023

The picture goes down so fast you don't know you're eating, and yet it supplies the illusion of energy.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Jun 5, 2008

Uses gritty humor to polish clean the souls of a lot of likeable street people.

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Tom Milne

Time Out

Feb 9, 2006

Highly enjoyable.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Aug 11, 2023

It is not a grand film, and it's also not exactly good, but it is an impressive cultural artifact, an unreal doc, at the same time the truth about these actual times. [Full review in Spanish]

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 8, 2021

3/4

A raucous comedy that birthed a smash soundtrack.

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Jun 10, 2021

3.5/4

...a 'clown show,' and far smarter than you might think about being one.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 22, 2026

Car Wash = a *3.5 star Movie!

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Melissa M

@Lisey Jun 22, 2026

George Carlin plays a taxi driver who spends most of the movie looking for Marleen. Who short on change literally a short changes him. Richard Pryor plays daddy rich a fast-talking preacher whose Entourage includes the harmonious Wilson sisters played by The pointer sisters. Car washers have to deal with some colorful characters like mom with the kids who projectile vomits, The invisible Man, gruntal Doberman, & an eccentric customer snarkly named the pee bottle bomber who the employees thought was the pop bottle bomber. Irwin the owners son wants to be part of the working class. TC wants desperately to win a radio contest & Mona's heart. Lonnie is an ex-con struggling to raise 2 kids. Abdullah is a revolutionary who gets fired by Mr b. He becomes disgruntled & decides to Rob Dee-Luxe. Lonnie tells him that crime doesn't pay. Slide played by Garrett Morris is a bookie who later gets booked for unpaid parking tickets. A madcap zany film with an infectious theme song.

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Carlos I

@carlosFibarra May 16, 2026

Car Wash is a vibrant, episodic slice of 1970s Los Angeles culture that channels the energy of a non-stop radio broadcast. It is a silly, gritty comedy that is still effective for midnight fun, the perfect late-night watch, capturing a specific era's charm with infectious energy and unapologetic soul.

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michael C.

@MichaelC2 Mar 18, 2026

Was very entertained by it when I saw it back in the day. Love the soundtrack as well. Someone should make a Broadway musical based on it. Would be really good as a musical.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Jan 5, 2026

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Rami A

@Bunt101 Oct 26, 2023

Fantastic comedy with two of the greatest comedians, Richard Pryor and George Carlin.

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Michael Schultz

Director

Richard Pryor

Daddy Rich

Franklyn Ajaye

T.C.

George Carlin

Taxi driver

Sully Boyar

Mr. B

Richard Brestoff

Irwin

Car Wash: Official Clip - Ripping Off a Cabbie

1:37

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Car Wash: Official Clip - Hippo & the Fly Stop the "Mad Bomber"

3:00

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Car Wash: Official Clip - Duane Pulls a Gun

2:58

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Car Wash: Official Clip - Daddy Rich Arrives

2:22

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Car Wash: Official Clip - Lloyd & "The Fly"

1:01

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Car Wash: Official Clip - When Kenny Met Marsha

1:33

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Car Wash: Official Clip - Lindy Disses Duane

1:16

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Car Wash: Official Clip - Irwin Gets "Washed"

1:49

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Car Wash: Official Clip - Just Like a Pimp

2:58

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Car Wash: Official Clip - "Car Wash" Theme Song

2:53

Now Playing

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Synopsis

This day-in-the-life cult comedy focuses on a group of friends working at Sully Boyar's Car Wash in the Los Angeles ghetto. The team meets dozens of eccentric customers -- including a smooth-talking preacher, a wacky cab driver and an ex-convict -- while cracking politically incorrect jokes to a constant soundtrack of disco and funk. Some of the workers find romance as the day moves along, but most are just happy to get through another shift.

Director: Michael Schultz
Producer: Art Linson, Gary Stromberg
Screenwriter: Joel Schumacher
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 1976, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 8, 2015
Runtime: 1h 37m

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