Car Wash was a 1976 film produced by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Michael Schultz from a screenplay by Joel Schumacher.

It starred Franklyn Ajaye, Ivan Dixon, Darrow Ignus, James Sprinks, Bill Duke, and Antonio Fargas as the central employees of boss Sully Boyar and was a comedy about a "day-in-the-life" of a Los Angeles, California car wash. The film featured several unusual customers arriving throughout the course of the film, including Richard Pryor as a greedy preacher, the original Pointer Sisters supporting Richard Pryor's character, George Carlin as a taxi cab driver, and Irwin Corey as the 'mysterious pop bottle bomber'. Richard Pryor's inclusion in the film was a fact that was played on by the promoters in order to get more people to watch the film which has resulted in many miscreditings of Richard Pryor as a star of the movie.

The film received mediocre reviews and was not a major success, though since its initial release it has had a small but constant following. However, its soundtrack album, recorded by Rose Royce, proved very popular. The "Car Wash" title track, written and produced by Norman Whitfield, was a #1 hit and was one of the biggest hit singles of the disco era. In 2004 the song was again featured in a film when it was performed by Christina Aguilera featuring Missy Elliott for the film Shark Tale. Their version was also a substantial hit throughout the world.

Trivia

• The car wash in downtown Los Angeles was demolished in the early 1980s. Until the business closed, a large sign saying that Car Wash had been filmed there, was displayed in front of the business.

• That 70's Show episode Eric's Buddy sees Eric and Buddy leaving the movie. Eric comments, "Who knew working at a car wash could be so much fun?"

1976 films | Comedy films | Cult films | Blaxploitation films | Films directed by Michael Schultz