This review will have to suffice for everyone considering
I’m on a mission from God to write it. I
had to pull out the staple line of the film immediately before I got into
anything else. The movie is so ridiculous
at times I can never truly value it in its entirety. I get the strange sense that without all the
outrageous events that it could make the movie almost too conformed. Either way I like some of the crazy scenes as
well as feel some are too over the top.
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| How many tickets is that? |
What’s
it about anyway? Jake and Elwood find
out their orphanage is going to be given away if a sum of $5,000 isn’t paid in taxes;
of course it’s always “the man” at the top of it all. They set out to “honestly” raise the money by
bringing their band back together while running into some classic soul
singers. It’s quite an absurd but often
hilarious sequence of almost random events.
Elwood
picks up his brother Jake from prison in a police car which serves as a comical
irony. This car by the way is nigh
indestructible, oh they just don’t make them like they used to. They get into their first car chase fairly
early as Elwood has a suspended license and flees from the law. They go crashing into a mall while the worst
police drivers you’ve ever seen try to pursue.
It’s probably the best chase in the movie considering its surprise
factor so early on. Jake and Elwood
remain very calm while pointing out hotspots inside the mall.
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| She's persistent but unneeded. |
After
getting away, which they always do, they arrive at Elwood’s luxurious hotel for
men. I remember an old man yelling about
cheese wiz and Elwood promptly throw him a can.
Complete randomness, however this moment is above all else for me. The old man snatches that can of cheese wiz
out of the air and slams it on the table then resumes whatever it is he was
doing. Absolutely hilarious for such
simplicity I love it. What is up with
Carrie Fisher? She has a rocket launcher
and blows up everything except Jake and Elwood as they head inside the
hotel. They dust themselves off as if it
is a normal everyday occurrence. They’re
oblivious to her throughout the movie as she shows up with a flamethrower later
to blast their phone booth sky high upon hitting a flammable gas tank. They notice about over $7 in quarters after
that event. It’s a ridiculous running
gag that doesn’t work as much for me, shock events or humor try to make up for
sketchy writing with crazy stuff like that.
If you ask me I’ll be honest, the movie wouldn’t miss a beat if all
scenes involving this unstable woman were removed.
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| Hmm, fried chicken? |
They
stagger from the ruins of the hotel and again in a calming demeanor go on their
way. They get the band back together in
a somewhat comical way but it could have been better. Murph is a pathetic hotel musician so it’s
easy to get him back by using the “Jake went to prison for you guys” sell. The matradee was a bit silly, the scene was
decent but really just kick them out and tell them you’ve moved on. The forced way they got him seemed tacky or
not thought through enough. They couldn’t
even afford to eat there once let alone the three times a day they were
insisting upon. Call the police and be
done with them. Alas their old band mate
had a soft spot and gave into their ridiculous ploy. The café guy, husband to Aretha Franklin, was
better as you get to see her perform.
It’s funny as he says woman know your place.
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| Ray Charles livens up the film. |
I
thought the Ray Charles scene was one of the best in the film. When the kid was trying to steal the guitar
and Ray shot off a few rounds was fantastic!
His performance was golden as well as the feeling of the moment. He says he’ll sell them the piano for $2,000
and throw in the black keys for free, that’s hilarious and I wonder how many
people catch that. It’s truly a great
way to remember Ray Charles. Shake a
tail feather was classic at its best, as far as a musical standpoint is
concerned.
Bob’s
country barn is a funny idea as Jake has no idea what to do for a gig. His lack of vision creates the band to
perform blues to a bunch of cowboys.
It’s not exactly a perfect fit until they play the theme from Raw
Hide. Constant objects being thrown at
the chicken wire surrounding the band is very rowdy of the country folk
indeed. They end up owing some $100 for
beer to Bob and make an escape for it as the Good Old boys show up extremely
late. Everybody left the bar, how late
do the Good Old Boys show up, 2am?
Tardiness that is not mentioned at all which is to be overlooked thanks
to another car chase. The Good Old Boys
crash into a police car and that’s about it.
 |
| The Great Cab Calloway |
The
Blues Brothers are set to play at a big venue in which Cab Calloway performs
Minnie the Moocher as he is stalling for Jake and Elwood. It’s the best scene in the movie and old Cab
steals it right from the Blue Brothers.
Calloway performs very well and works the crowd amazingly. I enjoyed it rather much myself. The changing of their outfits and stage setup
is classic. Jake and Elwood show up late
perform a couple songs and take off to avoid the police. The world’s most incompetent law men are
assigned to pursue them luckily for Jake and Elwood. Could a policeman watch this movie in its
entirety without shooting the screen?
Police are such a popular target in the movie biz I often wonder what
they think. I’d probably hate this movie
for it if I was one, ha-ha!
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| My dream pizza delivery car. |
The
finale gives some of the most extreme vehicle chases ever. Have you heard of a video game called
Burnout? That’s what the ending is with
all the car pile ups. The army, police
and even Nazis are after them. The Nazi
involvement is something that could be left out completely without missing a
beat. It’s an added element that really
extends the movie longer than it should be.
The Nazi’s do fly off a bridge in their car after falling from as absurd
height. It’s part of that obvious goofy
element that I consider too much. It
manages to be funny at times while others it’s just filler space regarding the
Nazi’s. The Blues Brothers manage to
flip their car in wild fashion doing flips to avoid the Nazis at one point,
that’s so nuts it’s actually funny. It’s
like a cartoon in live action.
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| See you in Ghostbusters 3! |
They
reach their destination and barricade door after door in a very silly,
semi-comical way. As they get their
receipt for paying the taxes they get handcuffed with some 100 lawmen aiming
guns at them in the office. Really? I guess it may as well stay consistent in
ridiculous scenes at this juncture. They
fittingly end while playing Jailhouse Rock in prison. I can understand people absolutely loving
this movie based on its humor, that late Belushi and it being a SNL skit
originally. The over the top parts of it
I didn’t go for as much but it’s still watchable. If you’re in a mood to not focus so much at
what you’re watching this will do just fine.
The labels just below can link you to similar posts about this one so check them out!
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