FilmFanatic.org

Synopsis:
While gathering their old band members together for a fundraising concert, ex-con Jake Blues (John Belushi) and his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) must dodge the police, an angry country-and-western band, and Jake’s jilted fiancee (Carrie Fisher).

• Comedy
• Ex-Cons
• Let’s-Put-On-a-Show!
• Musicians

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this popular “Saturday Night Live” spinoff suffers from a “slim” storyline, one-dimensional lead characters (”their dress is more interesting than their personalities”), and a lack of “good verbal wit”. Indeed, as a comedy, it falls flat nine out of ten times: even supposedly hilarious sequences — such as the Blues Brothers’ former Catholic schoolteacher (Kathleen Freeman) giving the grown siblings grief for their foul language — come across as cheap and unoriginal. As a musical, however, the movie benefits enormously from the talents of renowned blues artists James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and others; their appearances mark the indisputable highlights of the film. Cameos by Carrie Fisher, John Candy, and others are wasted in this inexplicable cult favorite.

P.S. The Blues Brothers was renowned as the most vehicularly destructive film made to date — but a little of this goes a long way.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• James Brown leading his active congregation in a rip-roaring hymn
  
• Belushi['s double] doing a series of excited flips down the aisle of Brown’s church
  
• Aretha Franklin’s sassy waitress singing a song while dissing her husband
  
• The Blues Brothers performing at a country-and-western club behind a protective fence
  

Must See?
Yes, but only for the music, and for its status as a cult favorite. Don’t expect to be amused.

Categories

• Cult Movie

Links:

• IMDb entry
• MRQE (Movie Review Query Engine)
• NY Times Original Review
• Time Out Capsule Review