How Long Is “Laundromat”?

Based on a 1978 play by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman, The Laundromat was made for cable by acclaimed director Robert Altman. Late in the middle of one night, two women from different backgrounds meet at a laundromat. Alberta (played by Carol Burnett) is a middle-aged ex-school teacher who normally does her wash in the safety of her home. Unfortunately, her washing machine is broken and, self-conscious about what it would mean if her neighbors saw her leaving home to do her laundry, she has traveled across town late at night to clean her clothes. Deedee (played by Amy Madigan) lives down the block from the laundromat. A newlywed, Deedeeis already discovering that her marriage is loveless and her husband is an adulterer. The two women -- one proper and controlled, the other free-spirited -- seem to have little in common, but as the night goes on, they let down their guards and air out their dirty laundry.