Car crash chaos, and toe-tapping rhythm and blues, all feature in The Blues Brothers, a men-on-a-mission movie filled with memorable gags and a surprising religious heart to its grungy streetwise exterior.
The Blues Brothers is a movie about a quest, divinely inspired and with a charitable heart. The crusaders in this quest are an unlikely duo, which makes sense since this is an unlikely religious movie. It follows the exploits of two brothers from Chicago – tall and lanky Ellwood (Dan Aykroyd), and short and scruffy Jake (John Belushi) – who led a life of petty crime and dress like “Hasidic diamond merchants”. They also love classic rhythm and blues to such a degree that they have their own band, in which they are lead vocalists.
When Jake completes his prison term for armed robbery, both he and Ellwood are saddened to learn that there Catholic orphanage, in which they were raised by the intimidating Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman), is set to be demolished, unless an exorbitant tax bill is paid. Quickly this news becomes a “mission from God”, when the Almighty himself gives it his divine blessing and a clear instruction: get the band back together.
As directed by John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), what follows next is a series of misadventures and musical numbers, as the Blues Brothers make their way to a large concert where the proceeds will save the orphanage, ala the classic Judy Davis/Mickey Rooney/MGM musicals of the ‘40s.
Along the way, the brothers make a number of enemies, ranging from Illinois Nazis, a vengeful country and western band, and every law enforcement officer in the Illinois area. Music performances are featured from the likes of James Brown, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin, resulting in one of the best jukebox soundtracks of all time.
Landis blends the films’ diverse elements – musical, comedy, action adventure – to make for a unique and non-stop entertaining multi-genre showcase. Both Aykroyd and Belushi are fantastic, taking these characters that they created for legendary sketch TV show Saturday Night Live, and transition them into iconic movie characters.
While the Blues Brothers themselves are hardly virtues of purity, there is no denying that these saints of Chicago are men of good intent, willing to risk life and freedom to rescue a holy place of charity. Divine intervention sees them survive all matter of explosion, gun violence, and car crashes of Armageddon proportions, but a good heart inspired the pair to plough through all matter of obstacle to accomplish their God given quest.
It all results in a film that is incredibly unique in approach, execution, and spirit, an entertaining and fascinating fantastical tale of two men of soul and passion willing to go where the good Lord leads them. The Blues Brothers is indeed a one of a kind, a film of devotion, sacrifice, and redemption, as well as some sweet, toe-tapping, soul stirring blues.
