
4:15pm - Saturday, Jul 26, 2025
My Beautiful Laundrette (40th Anniversary Restoration)
Ain't nothing I can say to make it up to you. There's only things I can do to show you... that I am with you.
A benchmark of both 1980s British and new queer cinema, Stephen Frears' poignant Oscar®-nominated drama MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE celebrates its 40th spin cycle in 2025, and has been beautifully restored in a stunning digital transfer.
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 (a "fresh-faced" Daniel Day-Lewis). The men resume their relationship and rehabilitate the laundromat together, but various social forces threaten to compromise their success.
"It’s an enormous pleasure to see a movie that’s really about something, and that doesn’t lay on any syrupy coating to make the subject go down easily." (The New Yorker)
"A brutally funny social comedy about the racial and social consequences of a Pakistani and an Englishman going into business and becoming lovers." (Detroit Free Press)
"The strength of the film is its vision -- cutting, compassionate and sometimes hilarious -- of what it means to be Asian, and British, in Thatcher's Britain." (Time Out)
"A fascinating, eccentric, very personal movie." (New York Times)
Saturday, July 26
Doors 3:45 pm | Movie 4:15 *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (Stephen Frears, 1985 / PG / 95 mins) An ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.
*Minors OK. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK for any single film only. Please redeem at the door.
*We recommend purchasing your tickets in advance at www.riotheatretickets.ca. If a screening or live event is not sold out, the remaining tickets will be available for purchase at the Rio Theatre’s Box Office prior to showtime (subject to availability).
*Our box office is typically open 30 minutes before showtime. All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats, and time for treats at concession.
*If you are looking to redeem either a Rio Theatre gift certificate or Groupon to any regular Rio Theatre screening: You can either email us in advance and give us a “heads up,” or do it at the box office prior to showtime.
*All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale. No refunds or exchanges.
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