What happened to John Landis? This guy directed two of the most influential comedies of the last thirty years, Michael Jackson’s greatest video, and a really great horror film. He then seemingly fell off the face of the Earth. Well OK, Coming to America has its moments, but it’s nowhere near as good as his best stuff and don’t even mention Blues Brother 2000 in the same breath with the original. Animal House is the Citizen Kane of Trashy Comedies, The Blues Brothers is the best film based on Saturday Night Live characters ever, and to tell you the truth it may be the best Musical of the last thirty years, and An American Werewolf in London is just a great Horror film. To have a chance to see any of these three is a special occasion, so when the prospect of screening The Blues Brothers was presented, I didn’t hesitate long for very long. To get to see the film on the big screen is to go back to a time from my childhood. The Blues Brothers was a very important film in shaping my taste in comedies and even at some of the music I like to listen to. There was a time in high school that I was actually able to arrange a performance of my senior class doing a rendition The Rawhide Theme from this movie. Ah, those were the days…
So anyway, I got home at 8:00 PM and called my crew, Shaun Stidham and Bryan “the Godmaniac” Godman, which would be joining me for the evening. They showed up shortly after and we were on our way to the big show. It was 22 miles to the theater, we had a half a tank of gas, a half a pack of cigarettes, it was dark, but we decided to forgo sunglasses as to not look ridiculous. We arrived about 30 minutes early to get a good seat and procure out tickets. Unfortunately, as we arrived in the theater, the audio for the film was already playing with the usual “please leave your trash in specified containers” graphics that movie theaters usually display.
To make matters worse, a question and answer session with Dan Aykroyd, John Landis, James Brown, Steve ‘The Colonel’ Cropper, Henry Gibson, and the film’s producer Thom Mount was scheduled to begin at 9:30 PM, but when that time rolled around, the audio for the film was still rolling. The Audience was beginning to grow restless as the film’s soundtrack turned to elevator music, and then to a very loud rendition of Brooks and Dunn’s Boot Scootin’ Boogie, all the while Aykroyd could have been telling the greatest joke of his career. If he had, we would have totally missed it.
After 20 minutes of going back and fourth from Brooks and Dunn and the usual Regal Cinemas muzak, “riot” kind of became the buzz word among the 30-40 patrons that had made it out to see the show. At 9:50 the correct audio kicked in finally, quelling the ascending mob’s fury. The interview itself wasn’t much more then the usual promotion fluff, but there were some nice anecdotes. The best came from Aykroyd himself as he told a story of a night shoot where John Belushi had wandered off the set. The crew searched for the actor for hours until he turned up at a local man’s house. Belushi had apparently raided the man’s fridge and crashed on the man’s couch, where he still was. James Brown also had some unintentional laughs as every word out of the man’s mouth was completely unintelligible. The years haven’t been kind to Mr. Brown.
After the interviews, a 10 minute intermission took place before the film. Funny thing is, Aykroyd’s mic seemed to still be live for the next few moments. The audience waited in anticipation of the actor slipping up and giving up some real dirt, but none came before the mic was apparently turned off.
Finally, at 10:30 PM, the film started. “And here they are back from their tour of Europe, Scandinavia and the sub continent…The Blues Brothers
!” The rest of my thoughts on the evening are below.
1. Does watching The Blue Brothers on the big screen add to the experience, or is it the type of movie that has the same look and feel on any size screen?
It was awesome getting to see The Blue Brothers on the big screen. As the film begins, you really notice how great the cinematography for the picture really is. The doors open and Jake is released from prison, and the shot is absolutely stunning. You really see how talented Landis was and it’s awful how much of that just simply went no where. While the sequel was terrible, Landis really needs to get back on the horse and start making great movies again.
2. How has the movie held up, would you still consider it a classic? Did you ever?
Absolutely it has held up. The deadpan performances of the two leads are absolutely amazing. Nothing beats seeing these two having a high speed chase through a mall with two squad cars while musing about how early the Oldsmobile’s were released that year. The Blue Brothers is a great American comedy, with two comedians that were near or at their peak.
3. When was the first time you saw this movie?
It’s hard to tell the first time I saw the movie. It ran on cable a lot when I was a kid and I’ve always been a huge fan of classic Saturday Night Live. I do wish the film included a rendition of Soul Man, as their performance on the show may be the best musical segment in the history of the long running series. It’s at least my favorite performance.
4. Compared to movies of today, which sometimes mix comedy and music, though to a lesser degree, do you think The Blues Brothers still comes out ahead?
The Blue Brothers comes out way ahead. While musical segments in comedies such as Anchorman and The 40 Year Old Virgin are hilarious, nothing beats the soundtrack here. On top of having really funny segments involving music (Rawhide, Jailhouse Rock), the rest of the soundtrack is filled with a tremendous roster of Rhythm and Blues. From Jake and Elwood doing Sweet Home Chicago to Cab Calloway’s immortal Minnie the Moocher to classics from Sam and Dave and John Lee Hooker, the music is just beautiful. I think a lot of people forget what a great Musical this film is, because the comedy is so prominent, but it’s a wonderful music experience. Just like James Brown, this movie’s got soul and its super bad.
5. Do the jokes still work in the movie to the point where laughing out loud is a constant thing, or is it more just enjoying it for what it was, with a content smile on your face throughout?
It kind of fluctuates. The Blue Brothers was never a wall to wall comedy like Airplane! or The Naked Gun. The film just has this great charm to it and its highly quotable the way Ghostbusters is. Everyone from top to bottom is fantastic from Belushi and Aykroyd, to John Candy, Henry Gibson’s Nazi Leader. Then again, the last 30 minutes of this film is a nonstop barrage of comedy as the film goes completely insane from the point the car chase starts.
5. If The Blues Brothers were to be released this coming week, for the first time, do you think it would do as well? (Note: Think first, and remember The Blues Brothers 2000)
I would certainly hope so. I know The Blues Brothers 2000 did poorly, but it was missing a big piece of the original’s puzzle right from the outset. Without John Belushi’s spontaneity as a comedian, The Blues Brothers wouldn’t have been the success that it was. It would be like Wedding Crashers without having Vince Vaughn in it. There’s just no replacing Belushi.
6. What changes would you make to it in order for it to be more marketable to the audiences of today?
The film might have to be a bit crasser to relate to audiences, but that might make the film lose some of its charm. There’s really nothing in the film that’s a detriment to its quality. Perhaps today’s audience wouldn’t be able to relate to the music in the film as much, but the soundtrack is so great, to change it would be a real travesty.
7. Again, along the same lines, if a remake of the movie were being done, who would you cast in the lead roles?
It’s hard to think of anyone being able to replace Belushi. I’d have to go with a combo of “Frat Pack” alums for this one. For Jake I’d maybe go with Vince Vaughn, just because right now he really seems in the zone. He can go from zero to zany in a matter of seconds and his comic timing has never been better. For Elwood I’m thinking maybe Ferrell or Luke Wilson would be a good fit. Elwood has to be the straight man to Jake’s shenanigans. What’s great about the duo is that so much is said about their characters without saying anything about their backgrounds. Jake has just been paroled, but the details are sketchy as to why he was in prison. We know he left Carrie Fisher’s Mystery Woman at the alter, but we don’t know many details about their relationship, just that she’s trying to kill him. We know Elwood has kind of hit hard times during Jake’s incarceration. He’s sold their old car and lives in a glorified closet. He seems kind of lonely, but not outwardly looking for a relationship or anything. It breaks your heart to see Elwood have to leave Twiggy waiting for him at the local motel toward film’s end. I’m just not sure anyone today could get these characters across in the way these two did.
8. What were you feeling when you left the theatre after watching the movie on the big screen?
It was pure joy and a little exhaustion as with the interview and movie, the entire evening almost took 3½ hours. Still it was fun times all around. We listened to the soundtrack all the way home and just talked about how crazy the film was. We also talked about how radiant Carrie Fisher looks in the film as she’s trying to kill Jake. It seemed like all of us used to have a huge crush on Fisher, but it’s not like we were alone in this.
9. What would you say to anyone who hasn’t seen the movie before in order to convince them to want to see it?
This is a toughie as you seem to either get The Blues Brothers or you don’t. If the person was a lover of Rhythm and Blues, that would be a huge portion of the film I would emphasize. If they were a lover of car chases, the one contained in this film is absolutely insane. Last but certainly not least, I would glorify the dead pan comedy. Could there be a team with better chemistry then Jake and Elwood? This film is also probably the second most important in the mythos of John Belushi. Animal House is the masterpiece, but The Blues Brothers is not far off. John may actually better in this picture, as his performance is more subtle in places, only letting his “Bluto” persona out in small doses.
10. First thing that comes to mind when you think of The Blues Brothers?
The biggest thing about the film is the all-encompassing coolness of Jake and Elwood. Nothing seems to fade them at all. Anytime they’re out of character it’s a way to con someone else, such as when Jake is “really excited” to be at Bob’s Country Bunker, and when he’s begging Carrie Fisher for his life at gun point. Moment’s later the real Jake show’s up. The only real time we see emotion from the duo is when they receive their “Mission from God.” Everything about the duo is a part of their inner coolness from the black suits to the “Bluesmobile”.
After that, I think about the music and the film’s climactic chase. Honestly, the film has my favorite car chase ever. For the final half hour of the film, The Blues Brothers turns into an orgy of destruction as police car after police car chases them down the highway. I’d actually like to get the statistics on how many cars were wrecked in this film. I’d put the number around fifty, but judging crashes in this film is like trying to estimate the deaths by gun fire in a John Woo picture.
Seeing The Blues Brothers again was absolutely amazing. The film has stood the test of time quite nicely. Belushi seems as fresh today as he ever was. You could really see on display how comedians like Chris Farley and Horatio Sanz took much of their style from Belushi. I wish this type of thing would happen more often as I’d love to see some of my favorite pictures on the big screen. It’s nice that Universal has gone to such lengths to promote The Blues Brothers. I can only hope this is the first in a long line of films that get another trip to the big screen.
Picture Credits: filmmagic.com, bluesbrotherscentral.com
