Director: John Landis
Writer: Dan Aykroyd, John Landis (Screenplay)
Starring: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Carrie Fisher, Aretha Franklin, Henry Gibson
Plot: Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts together his old band to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.
Runtime: 2 Hours 13 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Blues Brothers starts when Joliet Jake (Belushi) gets released from prison picked up by his brother Elwood (Aykroyd) as they look to get back to their old ways, only the life of crime has seen the group split up and with the police hot on their tales, they want to put the band back together.
As the pair try to find something new for the band, they are still looking to make money with their music and now they are building up more enemies than before.
Thoughts on The Blues Brothers
Thoughts – The Blues Brothers follows the two performing brothers and criminals that are always looking to perform and rob, they are always having the police trying to track them down along with a mysterious assassin, as they always find a way to escape. The comedy does seem to miss most of the time, even if the calming approach does add to what is going on. Most of the film does feel like it has dated, while the performances in the film are strong through. Each chase does seem to go on longer than it needs to make it feel like the film is dragging in places, with the idea that each reaction is going well out of control.
Final Thoughts – The Blues Brothers is an outdated comedy that misses more than it hits.
