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Starring: | John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, John Candy, Carrie Fisher |
| Directed by: | John Landis | |
| Written by: | Dan Akroyd & John Landis |
I'm
normally not prone to radical exclamations, but: Sweet baby
Jesus, this film is good. 'Silent' Elwood & 'Joliet' Jake
Blues are the ingenious comedy creations of Dan Akroyd and the
much missed John Belushi. They first appeared on American
television (in a recognisable form) in an episode of Saturday
Night Live in 1978, having already performed as a warm-up act for
the show for more than a year. They soon formed a huge following,
despite the early audience's hesitation over how they should be
reacting - were they enjoying a serious music act, or were they
meant to be laughing at these two comedians on stage? Anyone who
was lucky enough to see them in concert during their
all-too-short tours or who has ever seen this film knows the
truth: You can do either, or both. I strongly recommend the
latter of these, as these two characters have long since
established themselves in both the movie & music halls of
fame. The duo's comic timing & sense of humour was matched
only by their musical abilities. John Belushi in particular
proved to have a strong & versatile voice, performing numbers
as varied as 'Sweet Home Chicago' & 'Guilty'.
Dan Akroyd also contributed strongly, as his rendition of 'Rubber
Biscuit' attests. But I digress.
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You may have picked up from the previous paragraph that I like The Blues Brothers, as indeed I do. This is a film of extremes, from the characters to the car chases. It may not have the most original storyline in existence (sorry fans, but it has to be said: two men rushing to save an orphanage from being closed down? I'd be surprised if Disney hasn't come up with a similar plot at some point), but this film is more than redeemed by its characters, action sequences, comedy (a fantastically dry wit) and of course, its music. |
With appearances
from Arethra Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles & John Lee
Hooker amongst others, singing classics from their repertoires
(my personal favourite: Cab Calloway performing an original
rendition of 'Minnie the Moocher'), you couldn't ask for a
better soundtrack. These are dispersed throughout the film,
either as performances to audiences, or as part of the dialogue
(think 'Grease', but a hell of a lot better). And of
course, Jake & Elwood themselves perform on several
occasions: 'Sweet Home Chicago', 'Everybody Needs Somebody'
and even 'Stand By Your Man' are all rendered faithfully,
and energetically, by this irrepressible pair.
Never let it be
said that the Blues Brothers do things by halves. When something
is attempted in this film, it is taken to extremes. From the car
chase through the mall (bought specially for this film), to the
final escape from the authorities; from Carrie Fisher hunting
down the pair with an impressive arsenal, to Illinois Nazis,
rednecks and even the army after their hides and from Ray
Charles' gun wielding shop owner to Arethra Franklin's
overbearing wife, the audience is overwhelmed by colourful (if
somewhat unbelievable) situations, opponents and allies.
Panned by the
critics, and ignored at the box office, this film slowly but
surely became a cult classic, before being accepted by mainstream
society (as can be seen at fancy dress parties worldwide). As
such, it was not until long after John Belushi's tragic demise
that a sequel was seriously considered, and as such Blues
Brothers 2000 seems somewhat empty without him. However, enjoy
what you can of this fantastic pairing, as regrettably you'll
never see its like again.
| Summary: If somehow, you haven't seen this film (maybe you ran out of gas, you had a flat tyre, you didn't have enough money for a cab fare, your tux didn't comeback from the cleaners, an old friend came back into town, someone stole your car, there was an earthquake, a terrible flood, locusts or something else happened that wasn't your fault), then go rent it now. Or at least buy the CD. |  |
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