Les Blues Brothers

What is this film about?

It's a love-letter to Chicago, disguised as a road picture. In this case, Dan and John on an almost continuous journey around more Chicago locales than you can count on all of your available digits.

It's a musical. Throughout the "road trip", the film exploits every opportunity to enlist so many musical legends (who find reasons to "break out in song"), that you probably won't be able to keep track of all of them, either.

It's an excuse to throw in a long list of famous comedians, and other celebrities, strewn throughout the movie in bit parts, just for grins. (You should pay attention to almost every character that shows up along the journey, as virtually all of them are someone famous, e.g. even Twiggy shows up at one point.)

It's an excuse to destroy, in unimaginably creative ways, an entire mall, and numerous other buildings, as a result of chases, vendettas, etc., just in case you need an "action fix" to "round out" the movie's musical and comedic experience. (A decent percentage of those destructive activities, perpetrated by Carrie Fisher's character.)

There is a "plot thread" that provides an underlying reason for Dan and John's journey, but it's just there to facilitate all of the craziness. The journey is never boring (there's never time to get bored), and it is an awful lot of fun.

I finally decided to review this, while watching the 2020 4K UHD release (which, as an aside, looks great). I would be remiss not to mention that it's a bit hard to watch the film, and not feel a hint of sadness, based upon the fact that 40 years on, from its original release, so many of the actors, musicians, and comedians it features, are simply not with us anymore. For some, that is simply a consequence of age, but there are far too many others that should have still been with us. The only silver lining is that we get to see why we enjoyed them, while we had them.

I highly recommend this. It successfully melds so many film genres together into a single film, that it's almost impossible not to have fun.

Just as with "Ghostbusters," the characters in this film are so likable and so in your face, you can't help but love it. It also gives us a taste of the blues and its roots. There are songs throughout, including one by Aretha Franklin that will live forever. The choreography is terrific, and, of course, there are only two Blues Brothers, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. It doesn't matter what their reason is for doing what they do. They have determined they are on "a mission from God." Belushi was such a genius, though a troubled performer. Aykroyd was not nearly so gifted but played a very nice straight man to Belushi's insanity. We are slipping away from an era that provided us with some of the most memorable comedians we will ever see. This was a vehicle to bring much of that to fruition.

1/ The music in this film is outstanding, with roles for Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles and more.... that's not really surprising.

2/ One of the finest car chases in cinematic history (The Italian Job and Smokey and the Bandit 2 are the only others that come close)

3/ John Belushi's own brand of comic genius throughout the movie

4/ Mulitiple memorable scenes and one liners

5/ Cameos from Steven Spielberg, Twiggy, Frank Oz, etc.

6/ Carrie Fisher as the psycho love interest intent on revenge.

Nuff said, watch it and love it 10/10

A musical comedy action fantasy should not work, especially when one considers that it is the first SNL skit-to-screen adventure (which, history has shown us, is a decidedly mixed bag). But this one does. Two of the best car chases in cinematic history bookend the film, and in between there are show-stopping musical numbers, raw humor, Illinois Nazis, and a seriously disgruntled ex-fiancee. And it all makes perfect sense in the context of the universe created by Aykroyd (who co-wrote), Landis (who directed), and Belushi (his barely contained zeal provides the battery pack for this film).

Jake (Belushi) and Elwood (Aykroyd) are the former front men of a broken down blues band (actually a stunning collection of blues talent) which disbanded after Jake was arrested several years before. Upon his release, he discovers that his boyhood orphanage home is about to be foreclosed upon for non-payment of property taxes. Beaten up by a nun, sung to by James Brown, and touched by God, Jake sees the light and seeks to put the band together for one last show -- a charity benefit to save the orphanage.

Their journey takes them from James Brown to Aretha Franklin to Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker to Cab Calloway. The movie showcases the overwhelming talent of singers, musicians, and genres long out of vogue with popular musical tastes. Indeed, this movie is a vehicle for giving these performers a chance to shine -- to bring their music back to the masses and ultimately into pop-culture immortality (to go along with their more prestigious musical immortality).

This film is guaranteed to make you tap your feet, laugh out loud, gasp as both a mall and and entire fleet of Chicago police cars are destroyed, and believe in the magical powers of an old cop car. Like I said, it's a musical comedy action fantasy.

And it works.

After John Landis had directed John Belushi in "Animal House", and after John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd had co-starred in "1941", all three collaborated on a movie with which they will forever be associated: "The Blues Brothers". The plot of course has Jake (Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Aykroyd) on "a mission from God" to save the orphanage where they grew up. This necessitates reassembling their blues band and going on tour. By going on tour, I mean making a mess of everything. Whether it's their boorish behavior in a ritzy restaurant, the demolition of a mall, or an infinite number of car crashes, these guys are the bane of orderly society.

Of course, the real star is the music. Making guest appearances are some of the twentieth century's most renowned artists. Ray Charles plays a music store owner, James Brown plays a preacher, Aretha Franklin plays The Soul Food Cafe owner, and there's many more. This movie reminds us why the blues remain an integral part of our national heritage. The big concert is probably the best example (especially with Elwood's crazy dance).

Also appearing are Carrie Fisher as a woman out to kill Jake, John Candy as the police chief chasing them, Henry Gibson as an Illinois Nazi out to get Jake and Elwood after a most unusual encounter, and Steven Spielberg as the Cook County Clerk. All in all, this is one movie that won't disappoint you. Because everybody needs some movie to love (some movie to love/some movie to love). It needs you, you, you...