"A laundrette as big as the Ritz. Oh yes."
— Johnny
My Beautiful Laundrette is a 1985 film set in 1980s London. Our protagonist, a down on his luck first-generation British Pakistani man, Omar, starts working for his more wealthy uncle and eventually gets offered to run and resurrect one of his laundrettes. Around the same time they have a run-in with a gang, whose leader Johnny turns out to be Omar's former lover. Omar rekindles their bond and offers him a job but they will have to overcome much more hurdles before they can be sure of their happy future together.
This film contains examples of the following tropes:
- The '80s: Unambiguously so.
- Ambiguously Bi: While Johnny only has eyes for Omar, Omar himself doesn't exactly mind flirting with Tanya, even though it remains unclear whether he's genuinely into her or doing it to fit in with his traditional family.
- Ambiguous Ending: The film ends rather abruptly without giving a definite conclusion to anyone's story.
- Armored Closet Gay: A case can be made for Johnny who went as far as joining a far-right street gang and becoming their leader before his accidental run-in with Omar.
- Bait-and-Switch: At first it seems like the encounter with a street gang will end up very badly but then it turns out that not only do Johnny and Omar know each other - they actually used to date.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: The last shot that we see before the credits roll is Omar and Johnny splashing soapy water at each other and laughing.
- Gayngst: Poor Johnny.
- Gayngster: Johnny and Omar (but to a lesser extent).
- Grumpy Old Man: Omar's father.
- Maybe Ever After: The final shot of the film features Johnny and Omar together and happy but doesn't give any outright indications about what their future will be like.
- Morality Kitchen Sink: No one of the characters is 100% good, everyone having their own ulterior motives.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Johnny gets beaten up by his own former friends.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: By the end of the movie Tanya gets sick of all the crime, cheating and lies going on within the family and boards a train with a bunch of suitcases.
- Slice of Life: With an Ambiguous Ending to boot.
- Straight Gay: Both Johnny and Omar. You wouldn't know either of them is gay by just looking at them.
- Twofer Token Minority: Omar is both Pakistani and gay or possibly bi.
- Wham Shot: Tanya at the train station.
