Streep, Oldman & Banderas play with dirty money in The Laundromat trailer

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

While there's nothing funny about how the rich continue to get richer thanks to the tireless efforts of the needy, director Steven Soderbergh has managed to find a way to make billionaires hilarious, and one woman's mission to send them to the poor house even funnier.

Today Netflix has debuted a trailer and poster for THE LAUNDROMAT, an upcoming drama starring an all-star cast of greats, including Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, and Antonio Banderas. Based on "Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite" by Jake Bernstein, the film takes a rather comedic approach to a series of very unfortunate events.

Here's the official synopsis for THE LAUNDROMAT:

When her idyllic vacation takes an unthinkable turn, Ellen Martin (Academy Award winner Meryl Streep) begins investigating a fake insurance policy, only to find herself down a rabbit hole of questionable dealings that can be linked to a Panama City law firm and its vested interest in helping the world's wealthiest citizens amass even larger fortunes. The charming – and very well-dressed – founding partners Jürgen Mossack (Academy Award winner Gary Oldman) and Ramón Fonseca (Golden Globe nominee Antonio Banderas) are experts in the seductive ways shell companies and offshore accounts help the rich and powerful prosper. They are about to show us that Ellen's predicament only hints at the tax evasion, bribery and other illicit absurdities that the super wealthy indulge in to support the world's corrupt financial system.

Zipping through a kaleidoscope of comic detours in China, Mexico, Africa (via Los Angeles) and the Caribbean en route to 2016's Panama Papers publication – where journalists revealed the secret, leaked documents of Mossack Fonseca's high-profile patrons – THE LAUNDROMAT boasts a screenplay by THE INFORMANT and CONTAGION writer Scott Z. Burns, who also produced the feature for Netflix alongside Lawrence Grey, Gregory Jacobs, Michael Sugar. Meanwhile, Michael Polaire, Douglas Urbanski, Ben Everard, Michael Bloom, Adam Pincus, and Jake Bernstein all serve as executive producers.

Joining Streep, Oldman, and Banderas as part of the cast are Jeffrey Wright, Melissa Rauch, Jeff Michalski, Jane Morris, Robert Patrick, David Schwimmer, Cristela Alonzo, Larry Clarke, Will Forte, Chris Parnell, Nonso Anozie, Larry Wilmore, Jessica Allain, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Matthias Schoenaerts, Rosalind Chao, Kunjue Li, Ming Lo, with James Cromwell and Sharon Stone.

It's a given that today's financial climate is a hot mess of wavering stocks, struggling private businesses, and unappreciative corporate structures. In some ways, I suppose things haven't changed much since the events of THE LAUNDROMAT took place. At the very least, Soderbergh's movie looks to invite a bit of humor to an exceptionally unfunny state of affairs. 

You can check out the new poster for THE LAUNDROMAT below: