Dirty Laundry

source: Dirty Laundry

My review was written in July 1987 after watching the film on Sony video cassette. Spurred on by a goofball cast, "Dirty Laundry" is a crazy comedy that provides lots of fun before sputtering to a sentimental, unsatisfying conclusion. Picture is headed for a home video release in fall via Sony. Leigh McCloskey toplines as a rock concert sound man working for corrupt manager Sonny Bono. Bono's involved in a drug deal that goes awry in a drop at a laundry, with McCloskey accidentally walking off with a laundry bag filled with money. Hero is soon on the run, accompanied by dizzy journalist Jeanne O'Brien, with Bono's gangster boss Frankie Valli ordering his henchmen to get them and the money, or else! Among the numerou casting oddities of this feature are, in additon to Valli and Bono at odds with their singer images, Olympic stars Greg Louganis and Carl Lewis who show up respectively as McCloskey's party animal roommate and a spoof of Phillip Michael Thomas' "Miami Vice" character Tubbs. Edy Williams also is on board shaking her moneymakers and wrestler Deanna Booher is typecast as a dominatrix. Stars McCloskey and O'Brien make a pleasant, romantic sparring team and Robbie Rist is fun aas their nerdish helper.

There are a lot of good movies out there made in the past few decades and fortunately there are companies that are going back and saving them from being lost forever. And then there are movies those same companies are resurrecting and you wonder...why? Such is the case with DIRTY LAUNDRY. The film revolves around a group of laundry bags with various items in them that are mixed up among the characters. The main character in the film is Jay (Leigh McCloskey), a happy go lucky sound mixer for a major rock band. Jay doesn't seem to have a care in the world. He takes his laundry to the laundromat where all this takes place. Also there with a bag containing a ton of money is band manager Maurice (Sonny Bono) intended for mob boss "Macho" Marty Benedectine (Frankie Valli). A third bag filled with drugs is owned by two elderly women who deal them. When a scuffle between a man and his wife results in her pushing him through the plate glass window, the police are called. They find the drug bag and the two women draw weapons on them, grabbing their bad and taking off. But the final two bags are mixed up between McCloskey who has no clue what bag he's picked up and mob enforcer Vito (Nicholas Worth). When Worth gets the money to his boss they find the bag full of dirty laundry. Marty goes off on Vito and sends him out to retrieve the loot. At the same time Jay has no clue what was in his bag and tosses it into his car. The story brings in a love interest when Jay meets Trish (Jeanne O'Brien), an eager reporter hoping to get her first scoop on hair metal rock star Ricky Savoy (Johnny B. Frank). Jay is the sound mixer for the concert that night and agrees to try and help her get the story. Before that can happen Vito shows up, shots are fired and the pair head off with Vito on their trail. The film is tame, lame and no one knows who to blame. The acting is bearable but barely. The writing is shameful fueled by jokes that seem to revolve around cop shows like MIAMI VICE. More than anything the film is boring. Most of what happens you can see a mile away. The only saving grace for the film is that it captures the culture of the time in California, the disco dying out scene, hair metal bands, leggings and more. I'm sure this movie was part of a collection of films that were bargained for but it's not something people would seek out or that I can honestly recommend. MVD is making this a part of their Rewind Collection. Extras include a new commentary track with Tony Piluso, Newt Wallen and Crystal Quinn of "Hack the Movies", a new interview with McCloskey, a new interview with actor Robbie Rist who plays McCloskey genius teen neighbor and friend, the original theatrical trailer and a collectible poster.

That would have at least given it some merit. Concert sound man Jay (Leigh McCloskey, fresh off the classic HAMBURGER: THE MOTION PICTURE) finds himself in a pickle after he accidentally picks up a sack of cash during a coke deal (involving two grandmas) at a laundromat. This puts him in the cross-hairs of mobster "Macho" Marty (Frankie Valli), his goon Vito (Nicholas Worth), and music manager Maurice (Sonny Bono). Teaming with music reporter Trish (Jeanne O'Brien) and neighbor kid inventor Oscar (Robbie Rist), Jay runs all over L.A. trying to escape the villains. The only thing worse than this flick is knowing that some loser in his thirties - yours truly - was compelled to watch it based off that cover art. Because we all know this POLICE ACADEMY style drawing means hilarity. Director William Webb has no idea what comedy is with the film falling flat at every turn. To give you an example, Webb's idea of humor is to have two male cops with the last names Betty and Veronica. Or Crockett & Tubbs look-a-likes slipping on a wet floor with a cheap-o Miami Vice riff on the soundtrack. Or the top F.B.I. guy being named Zimbalist and everyone making cracks about it. It is so odd a cast of "legit" folks like Valli and Bono got signed onto this. To be fair, Bono's character completely disappears halfway through and never shows up again. Maybe he was embarrassed and didn't show up for work? Even odder are the brief appearances by two Olympians, Carl Lewis and Greg Louganis. Lewis is one of the Miami VICE cops and Louganis is cast as Jay's womanizing surfer roommate (yeah right!).