The Blues Brothers: A Musical from John Landis

The Blues Brothers is a musical, pure and simple. For those of you who cringe at the thought of musicals, you’re much more apt to enjoy this delicious little flick than a Busby Berkley fiasco. Melding elements of blues, star power, shenanigans, missions from God, and great music, director John Landis has crafted a classic.

The movie follows on the heels of two ex-cons named Elwood (Dan Aykryod) and Jake (John Belushi), who decide to save their old orphanage from foreclosure by reuniting their defunct blues band. The quest to recover the members and play the ultimate cash-winning gig brings them into contact with the cops, angry country western singers, and a perpetually violent Carrie Fisher to name a few. The silly premise of the movie helps to bring out a terrific cast of memorable characters and rollicking situations.

The cast is superb, bringing together the talents of blues legends like John Lee Hooker and Ray Charles, as well as top notch actors like Henry Gibson and John Candy. The characters are colorful and hilarious. Gibson leads a faction of Illinois neo-Nazis and Candy is a jovial policeman who enjoys an orange whip on a stakeout. The Blues Brothers perform some of the most over-the-top getaways in the history of film, the most prominent of which involves driving THROUGH a shopping mall to evade the police. All the while, Landis shows off some very elaborate musical numbers in churches, cafes, and music shops.

Forget the stars, the real candy in this movie is the music. A superb soundtrack featuring the best of blues, soul, and R&B accompanies the uncommon heroes throughout their journey in 1970s Chicago. Aretha Franklin belts out a powerhouse of a track in the diner where Jake and Elwood need to recruit two lost bandmates, and James Brown heats up a church with a sliding groove.  Even the Blues Brothers Band churns out some solid hits in the performing climax of the film, bolstered by the talents of guitarist Steve Cropper and singer Cab Calloway.  Your toes will be tapping and your head will be doing things similar to Ray Charles' behind his keyboard, for this is one savvy soundtrack.