A Review of ‘Dirty Laundry’: An honest drama which asks whether two buddies are all washed up
Two young men who are best friends are compelled to reveal ugly truths about their lives while contemplating starting a business together.
‘Dirty Laundry’: An honest drama which asks whether two buddies are all washed up
Cast: Mitchell Wray, Charlie Shultz, Erika Lewandowski, Ian Cruz, Michelle Snyder, Mark S. Esch, Wake Ritter, Alyssa Davis, Deborah Asante
Critic’s Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5
Director: Rocky Walls
Duration: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Language: English
Release: 2024
What’s it about?
Two young men who are best friends are compelled to reveal ugly truths about their lives while contemplating starting a business together.
Review:
Viewers are in for a pretty entrancing little drama-fantasy in Dirty Laundry. What could have been just another buddy film turns into something more profound and moving as it explores the anatomy of a steadfast friendship. The true nature and strength of a bond can only be ascertained when the persons involved lower their guards, remove their masks and bare their souls. That is essentially the premise of this rewarding cinematic experience. The film's occasionally slow and casual approach is offset with moments of gravitas and poignancy, which make for more than just the price of admission.
Dirty Laundry opens with best friends Kyle (Mitchell Wray) and Eric (Charlie Schultz) anticipating their usual Thursday evening of hanging out together. These weekly rendezvous take place at a laundromat where they develop a business idea while washing clothes, downing pizza and soda and goofing off in the relative solitude of the place. But this is to be a fateful and indeed life-altering evening for both the young men. The imaginative and artistic Kyle is bursting with ideas for their prospective business of decorating theatre stages, weddings and parties. Eric, though not entirely certain about coming on board, entertains his pal’s vision.
Then, a mysterious lady who is inspired by their exuberance is compelled to interject. Getting on in years and seeing much of life, she wishes to share advice with her younger aquaintants. “To go far, go together”, she offers, using a David Blaine-type coin trick to illustrate her point. Just before departing, the charismatic lady adds that Truth and Friendship can’t be separated. Suddenly, the supernatural interrupts by way of an electrical disturbance and the two youngsters discover that they are under a spell. What is its nature? – That they can’t help but tell the truth.
Mystified by this magical occurance, they spend quite some time trying to figure out its limitations and more importantly, its purpose. Here is where the plot thickens and more drama unfolds. Kyle and Eric begin to open up about their respective lives and the pleasures and pitfalls of their relationships with their parents. Each in their own way, feels they have been let down by them and take solace in swapping these experiences and truths. They gradually arrive at the realisation that Life doesn’t go to script, particularly if it is being written by someone other than the individual in question. Then, the tension between the two buddies rises and the stakes increase, leading to a big epiphany at the end.
Writer-director Rocky Walls does a moderately good job at fleshing out his two main characters. While the quality of the dialogue is a tad uneven, Wray and Schultz alternate their chemistry (and animosity) pretty well. Indeed, they pull off their action-and-reaction with a fair measure of credibility, though a bit more levity would have served the film favourably. Still, Walls uses creative segues of laundry and the movie wraps up on an intriguingly inconclusive note - as the two young men grapple with a strange dilemma. Interludes of upbeat rock music and sensibly restrained camera-work make for other plusses. Ultimately, the film poses the compelling question: Can love prevail over all confusion, indecision and fear?
