BLUES BROTHERS, THE

(June 1980, U.S.)

How many films have they made based on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE skits or characters? Too many? Yes, too fucking many! THE BLUES BROTHERS is the one and only film of that genre that I own. And why not? John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were an incredible team together, and the best of friends when Belushi was alive. This film has the kind of comedy, action, and even music that only director John Landis could once provide. I say "once" because their was a time when he was the king of comedy, with not only THE BLUES BROTHERS, but ANIMAL HOUSE (1978), TRADING PLACES (1983) and COMING TO AMERICA (1988). Sometime after that, his career died, in my opinion.

I was 13 years old when I saw THE BLUES BROTHERS on screen (only my third R-rated movie, by the way). When you're that age, it's like a rite of passage when you can occassionally see a movie with some added raunch and nastiness to it. Part of the comedy of Belushi and Aykroyd playing Jake and Elwood Blues is the subtlty of their actions. Not just in the way they calmly tear up the city of Chicago in their Mount Prospect police car when being chased by the cops (Hey, they HAVE to! They're on a misson from God!), but also in their facial gestures (check out the way they slowly look at each other whenever something out of the ordinary happens to them) and their bodily mannerisms. The two of them can dance, too, but it's still funny to watch even THAT (check out their outrageous moves in the baptist church as James Brown sings his lungs out). Oh, and Carrie Fisher is in this movie, too, as Jake Blues' vengeful ex-girlfriend, in a performance that I have found far more enjoyable than anything she ever did in her three STAR WARS films. Check her out! The girl does wonders with a blow torch and an M16 rifle! Oh, and by the way, just in case you never realized it; the man playing the county clerk at the end of the film is none other than the great Steven Spielberg himself!

It's impossible not to wonder how much more John Belushi could have given us had he not died from a drug overdose in 1982. The man WAS funny!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Elwood Blues: "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses."
Jake Blues: "Hit it."