The premise of a film like Dirty Laundry is so damn fun that early on, you tend to forget the important questions about its setting. Why exactly are these dudes here? Regardless of their circumstance, it’s definitely not common for best friends to meet in a laundromat to talk about business. Much less if they’re teenagers. But then again, the premise. It’s original enough to omit those details.
And then, the most important part of the story is revealed, and you forget everything else. What a beaut!
Dirty Laundry follows Kyle and Eric as they wash their clothes on a laundry night. Each of them comes from a different household, but they’ve been best friends for a long time, and the laundromat is where they usually meet to talk about starting a business together. However, a visitor casts a spell on them, and apparently, for the rest of the night, they must tell the truth—exactly, Liar Liar kind of stuff, only with less raunchy jokes.
However, as the night continues, director Rocky Walls digs a bit deeper and doesn’t force the film to overkill its funny premise. Walls goes for a clever set of flashbacks that will let you know why Eric is the way he is and Kyle acts the way he does. It’s not exactly a powerful reveal, but it gives the movie a strong buildup for where it flows into: An uplifting deconstruction of friendship when love becomes excessively complicated.
I won’t spoil the details, but during their rampage of truth, Kyle reveals his true feelings. But then, so does Eric in a different way. When the film enters its more sober cooldown moment, Walls does something quite out of the ordinary. He doesn’t simplify the ending to end things quickly and appropriately for the film’s setting. He makes the film about more than just two teenagers telling truths. It’s about dealing with that harrowing but fulfilling truth.
This conclusion is beautiful. The script, the performers, and the honest tone of Walls’ direction. He doesn’t tarnish the moments with melodrama or comedy. He decides to introduce optimism in a setting that we wish could be optimistic for the sake of Kyle and Eric’s friendship. It’s not that we want Eric to respond to Kyle the same way. It’s about making their bond stronger in the face of adversity.
It’s sometimes sillier than expected, but Dirty Laundry is spellbinding when it gets serious, and if the sacrifice means having to go through silly jokes about The Princess Bride, then I’m OK with that. That ending was fascinating enough to make me forget the forgettable details and remember the worthy ones, and of those, I got plenty.
It made me feel good, and I couldn’t shake it off for some time. Dirty Laundry is a great piece of indie comedy that cleverly flows into drama because it’s natural for such well-written characters. It’s not always that an independent movie makes you want to see more of a writer/director, but with this one, I just can’t wait.
Film critic. Lover of all things horror. Member of the OFCS. RT Approved Critic.
