---
title: "My Beautiful Laundrette"
year: 1985
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/my-beautiful-laundrette"
fi1m_id: "my-beautiful-laundrette"
imdb_id: "tt0091578"
tmdb_id: 11240
wikidata_id: "Q735314"
fi1m_score: 85
critics_score: 83
critics_reviews: 10
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:11.340575+00:00"
region: "CL"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

Directed by Stephen Frears · 1h 38m · Comedy, Drama, Romance

## Identity

My Beautiful Laundrette

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/my-beautiful-laundrette
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** my-beautiful-laundrette
- **IMDb ID:** tt0091578
- **TMDB ID:** 11240
- **Wikidata ID:** Q735314
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091578/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11240, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q735314

**Fi1m score: 85** · Critics 83 from 10 reviews

*In a sentence:* We came for the romance and left with an unreasonable interest in commercial laundry

> Stephen Frears and Hanif Kureishi make a funny, tender romance in which wanting money is as human as wanting love. The crowded subplots occasionally get in the way, but the performances keep the people worth caring about.

## Synopsis

In Thatcher-era South London, Omar Ali (Gordon Warnecke) and Johnny Burfoot (Daniel Day-Lewis) set about turning a rundown laundrette into a business. Their partnership also becomes a romance, conducted amid the tensions between London’s Pakistani community and working-class white youths. As the shop takes shape, questions of race, class, money and sexuality complicate the men’s attempt to make a life together. Saeed Jaffrey and Roshan Seth also star in Stephen Frears’s comedy-drama, written by Hanif Kureishi, about private desires and the pressure to get ahead.

## Review

Stephen Frears makes a warm, prickly social comedy from an unlikely business proposition: two young men turning a rundown laundrette into somewhere people might want to spend time. *My Beautiful Laundrette* is funny, sexy and observant, with a crowded script that occasionally lets its characters talk longer than we want to listen. Hanif Kureishi puts a gay romance among the ambitions and resentments of London’s Pakistani community and working-class whites. Money matters here, and wanting it does not automatically make someone a fool or a villain.

Gordon Warnecke’s Omar Ali has to hold our attention beside Daniel Day-Lewis’s Johnny Burfoot, and the quieter performance is worth watching closely. Warnecke makes the wish to get ahead appealing enough for us to share it, without asking us to approve of everything that comes with it. Day-Lewis brings a restless physical presence, but his attention to Omar is what gives the romance its force. We were moved by their tenderness, because the racial resentment around them makes that affection feel precarious.

Kureishi also gives Saeed Jaffrey’s Nasser Ali room to be funny without reducing him to a joke about money. Jaffrey makes ambition sociable and persuasive, and his pleasure in the character is infectious. The comedy works because no one has to stand outside the story explaining what Thatcher’s Britain has done to the people in it. Frears allows us to enjoy their company while leaving plenty of room to question their behaviour.

Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski’s production design gives the renovation a visible point: the laundrette becomes flashy enough for its owners’ pride to make sense. Oliver Stapleton’s cinematography makes the transformed shop inviting, helping us understand why improving it should become such an absorbing occupation. Its new flashiness can look faintly absurd, which is part of the pleasure. That touch of fantasy suits a film willing to let its characters enjoy themselves despite the hostility surrounding them.

Mick Audsley’s editing keeps the romance and the business scheme closely connected, giving the lovers practical concerns alongside their attraction. There is an appealing bustle to the changes of company and concern, though the competing relationships sometimes make the story feel hurried. Hans Zimmer and Stanley Myers’s music helps sustain the playful mood without making the surrounding hostility disappear. That lightness matters in a film dealing with racism and resentment, where an insistently grave accompaniment could have made the comedy feel unwelcome.

The weakness is Kureishi’s tendency to give several people something important to say at once. Some dialogue sounds written for our benefit, and the subsidiary stories do not all have enough space to develop before attention moves elsewhere. Frears usually gets away with that crowding because the cast give even awkward exchanges some warmth, but there are passages where we want fewer people and more time with them. The 98-minute running time leaves some of those relationships short of room.

As a romance, it is unusually comfortable letting desire exist alongside calculations about work, money and belonging. Omar and Johnny are not required to become exemplary citizens before we are allowed to care about them, and that makes the love story easier to believe. Their attraction remains interesting because the film has given them other things to want, including things we might distrust. See it for the lovers, and allow for a few conversations that could have ended sooner.

*Fi1m score 85, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The consensus is firmly positive, with praise clustering around the performances and the film’s handling of race, class, sexuality and ambition in Thatcher-era Britain. Daniel Day-Lewis receives repeated attention, while Saeed Jaffrey and Gordon Warnecke also earn praise for keeping the characters human amid the satire. The reviews value Kureishi’s script for approaching politics through personal relationships rather than speeches. Frears’ direction is admired for its vitality and for allowing tenderness, resentment and comedy to coexist.

The differences concern emphasis more than verdict: some critics stress the romance’s sensuality, others the sharpness of the social comedy. Reservations are limited but specific, with The AV Club finding the narrative ungainly, the dialogue unnatural and the subplots overstuffed, despite admiring Day-Lewis. The spread remains broadly favourable; even the more qualified responses praise the acting and the vivid portrait of London’s Pakistani community.

## Straight answers

**Is My Beautiful Laundrette worth watching?**

*My Beautiful Laundrette* is worth watching for anyone who likes a romance where wanting money is treated as seriously as wanting love, and we scored it 85. Gordon Warnecke and Daniel Day-Lewis make the tenderness between Omar and Johnny worth caring about. The script crowds in more subplots than 98 minutes can hold, so allow for a few conversations that run long.

**How long is My Beautiful Laundrette, and what is it rated?**

*My Beautiful Laundrette* runs 1h 38m. It is a comedy and drama film.

**Where can I watch My Beautiful Laundrette in Chile?**

*My Beautiful Laundrette* is not on any streaming or rental service in Chile at the moment. It is available in 4 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is My Beautiful Laundrette, and is it suitable for children?**

*My Beautiful Laundrette* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and an R in the US, and it is not a film for children. It is a comedy-drama about a gay romance set amid racial resentment between London's Pakistani community and working-class white youths, with sex and hostility both part of the story. Older teenagers who can take that material will be fine; the squeamish need not worry about gore.

**How does My Beautiful Laundrette compare to Beautiful Thing?**

*My Beautiful Laundrette* is the busier and more ambitious of the two, putting its gay romance among arguments about money, race and class in Thatcher's Britain, while [*Beautiful Thing*](https://film.one/film/beautiful-thing) is a gentler teenage love story about affection surviving cramped surroundings. Frears's film is the richer and sharper; Beautiful Thing is the warmer and easier evening. Both leave their secondary characters short of room.

**What should I watch after My Beautiful Laundrette?**

After *My Beautiful Laundrette*, try [*Beautiful Thing*](https://film.one/film/beautiful-thing) (1996, Fi1m 80): A gentler British gay romance, with affection surviving cramped surroundings and difficult neighbours. Then [*The Wedding Banquet*](https://film.one/film/the-wedding-banquet) (1993, Fi1m 81): Family expectations complicate a gay relationship in another comedy generous towards imperfect people; and [*Ali: Fear Eats the Soul*](https://film.one/film/ali-fear-eats-the-soul) (1974, Fi1m 88): Another romance made difficult by racism, with less room for laughter.

### Reviews we read (11)

- **Radio Times**, Sue Heal (5/5): This seminal 1980s movie is celebrated for launching major careers and cleverly turning Thatcherite values on their head without polemic, thanks to marvellous performances and its importance in British cinema. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-05g6a7/my-beautiful-laundrette/)
- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (90/100, inferred): The film is a startlingly fresh, sensual portrait of South London life among Pakistani immigrants and resentful white youths, defined by a tender yet fraught gay romance. Frears and Kureishi capture the texture of the milieu with instinctive visual and rhythmic flair. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1986/03/10/yes-yes-4)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Sheila Benson (85/100, inferred): Kureishi’s audacious script mixes race, class, sexuality, and politics into an irresistible satirical romance set among London’s Pakistani community. Frears directs with vitality and casts superbly, letting the film’s crisscrossing relationships and performances reverberate. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-13-ca-19855-story.html)
- **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (85/100, inferred): This rude, wise social comedy about Pakistani immigrants in London is the year's first real sleeper, full of vivid characters and eccentric energy. It succeeds through its personal, unforced take on race, class, and ambition in contemporary Britain. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/07/movies/screen-laundrette-social-comedy-sleeper.html)
- **Empire**, William Thomas (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a somber and complex take on cross-cultural romance and British racism in 1980s London, praising its superb acting by Daniel Day-Lewis and Saeed Jaffrey along with skillful direction by Frears. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/beautiful-laundrette-review/)
- **Time Out**, RR (80/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's dual focus on London's Asian community and a gay love story, praising Daniel Day-Lewis's luminous performance and the compassionate, cutting vision of what it means to be Asian and British in Thatcher's Britain. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/my-beautiful-laundrette)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (80/100, inferred): The film is a very good script brought to life by Frears, focusing on two youths navigating race, class, and a budding romance while turning a rundown laundrette into a flashy business. It features interesting characters and fine performances amid Thatcher-era tensions. [Read](https://variety.com/1984/film/reviews/my-beautiful-laundrette-1200426517/)
- **The AV Club**, Mike D'Angelo (B): The critic notes the film's fresh portrait of London’s Pakistani community and praises Daniel Day-Lewis's charismatic performance, while complaining about the ungainly narrative, unnatural dialogue, and overstuffed subplots. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/a-young-daniel-day-lewis-is-one-of-many-pleasures-in-my-1798184495)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (3/4): The film offers a vivid, unsentimental look at Pakistani immigrants and working-class whites in Thatcher-era London, centered on an unlikely romance and entrepreneurial scheme. It stands out for its sharp performances, especially Daniel Day-Lewis, and its insight into modern Britain without forcing a message. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/my-beautiful-laundrette-1986)
- **Slant Magazine**, Eric Henderson: The critic calls the film every bit the landmark gay film it deserves to be, praising its raw sensual realism in portraying homosexuality alongside buoyant fantasy elements and Frears' exploratory direction with flamboyant crane shots. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/my-beautiful-laundrette/)
- **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (80/100, inferred): The film remains highly watchable today as a tender love story and biting comedy that questions Thatcherite values without undermining its characters' ambitions. It features finely judged performances, especially from Gordon Warnecke as Omar and Saeed Jaffrey as Nasser, that keep the story from descending into soap opera. [Read](https://eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/my-beautiful-laundrette-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

## Details

- **Director:** Stephen Frears
- **Director:** Stephen Frears
- **Writer:** Hanif Kureishi
- **Cinematography:** Oliver Stapleton
- **Editor:** Mick Audsley
- **Music:** Hans Zimmer, Stanley Myers
- **Production design:** Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski
- **Costume design:** Lindy Hemming
- **Producer:** Tim Bevan, Sarah Radclyffe
- **Cast:** Gordon Warnecke as Omar Ali; Daniel Day-Lewis as Johnny Burfoot; Roshan Seth as Hussein "Papa" Ali; Saeed Jaffrey as Nasser Ali; Derrick Branche as Salim N. Ali; Rita Wolf as Tania N. Ali; Souad Faress as Cherry N. Ali; Shirley Anne Field as Rachel
- **Runtime:** 1h 38m
- **First release (the UK):** 18 August 1985
- **Genres:** Comedy, Drama, Romance
- **Budget:** $860,000
- **Box office:** $2 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_uVUBcHjzk

## Where to watch in Chile

Not streaming, renting or buying in Chile at the last check.

Also available in: ES, FI, IT, SE. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1987: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Beautiful Thing* (1996), Fi1m 80: A gentler British gay romance, with affection surviving cramped surroundings and difficult neighbours. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/beautiful-thing.md)
- *The Wedding Banquet* (1993), Fi1m 81: Family expectations complicate a gay relationship in another comedy generous towards imperfect people. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-wedding-banquet.md)
- *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* (1974), Fi1m 88: Another romance made difficult by racism, with less room for laughter. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ali-fear-eats-the-soul.md)
- *A Taste of Honey* (1961): Working-class lives and unconventional affection, treated with humour and little patience for respectability.
- *The Lunchbox* (2013), Fi1m 75: Work and ordinary routines make room for affection, with quieter comic pleasures. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lunchbox.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/my-beautiful-laundrette