The Blues Brothers "I have seen the light!!!!!"

OK, post revisitational time....yes I need to start writing new fresh posts I know!

However...this is another post for a film I have just recently re-watched on Netflix and that film is of course the hit musical comedy, The Blues Brothers starring the late, great John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the titular Blues Brothers. So, here I will do the usual re-write although this post has a fair bit of detail to it already, so I might add masses more to it!

And after 38 years, how does The Blues Brothers fair????  Well, let's suit up, put on those shades and find out....

And yep of course, there is the usual warning coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So the film begins with "Joliet" Jakes Blues (John Belushi) being released from prison having served a three year sentence for armed robbery.  Jake is picked up outside the prison by his brother, Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) in a battered police car, which is their Blues mobile.  Shortly after they stop off and visit their former childhood home, an orphange where they meet with Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman) who tells them that the orphanage is due to close down unless they pay a property tax of $5,000.  Jake says they can get they money quickly, however the Sister refuses to accept any money they would rip off from anyone, and she chastises them when they start cursing and tells them to get out and not come back until they redeem themselves.

Jake and Elwood then meet with Curtis (Cab Calloway) who also helps out at the home and has known the brothers since their childhood, and he tells them to go to church.  And they both reluctantly go to an evangelical church where they listen to a music sermon lead by Rev Cleophus James (James Brown).  During the sermon, Jake has a revelation that they can get the money they need by getting their band back together.

Elwood afterward that night is pulled over by the police for failing to stop at a red signal, and the two police troopers check his licence and see that it is currently suspended and when they officers ask him to step out the car, he speeds off.  Elwood then in an effort to escape the police crashes through a shopping mall and eventually shakes them off and arrives at his temporary abode, which is a broken down motel, when all of a sudden a mysterious woman (Carrie Fisher) fires a rocket launcher at them both and drives off, they both survive unscathed and enter the hotel.  The next morning the woman comes back and sets off explosives which destroy the building but again the brothers are left not injured they simply leave to locate their band members.

And enroute they stop off at different places to recruit the band, which includes Trombonist, Tom "Bones" Malone, the drummer Willie "Too Big" Hall, rythyhm guitarist Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, bass player Donald "Duck" Dunn, trumpeter Alan Rubin, "Blue Lou" Marina the saxophinist, and lastly Matt "Murph" Murphy the lead guitarist.

However as they progress they begin to make more enemies, not just the police, but also a group of Illinois Nazis.  The Brothers and the band then play in a country bar, posing as the country and western group "The Good Ole Boys" only to be later confronted by the real band when they leave, lead by Tucker McElroy (Charles Napier).  Jake and Elwood hightail it and drive off leaving the owner, Bob (Jeff Morris) without paying the beer tab, who with Tucker go after Jake and Elwood only to collide with the two police officers that pulled over Elwood earlier on.   

Next up Jake and Elwood meet up with Maurie Sline (Steve Lawrence) their old booking agent and they manage to persuade him to book a gig for them at the Palace Hotel ballroom, near Chicago.  However as the brothers go around the city advertising the gig, they run out of gas and they eventually get there late and perform their set, after a slow start they win over the audience.

However the venue is also filled with police officers waiting to arrest Jake and Elwood and during their set the two of them dance off the stage, where a record producer waits for them and offers them a recording contract deal and $10,000 upfront, which they accept as it will be more than enough to pay the debt for the orphanage, and they both leave quietly, leaving the band to play on.

And from here Jake and Elwood have a massive challenge ahead of them in trying to get to the Cook county assessor's office to hand in the money as they chased by the Illinois Nazis, the Good Ole Boys, and dozens of police cars in an effort to apprehend them.....

THOUGHTS 

The Blues Brothers still to this day is a very entertaining comedy and for me is one of the very few musical comedies that works really well and the tracks don't annoy or interfere with the pacing of the film, but its also helped by the fact the choice of blues song are excellent.  The characters themselves originally appeared in the Saturday night live show as a musical sketch.  The film itself was a moderate commerical success on its release although it was critically well received and later gained a cult following, especially when it was released on VHS video.

It was also up to that point in time one of the most expensive films ever made as well as the budget was in excess of 30 million dollars, which is certainly shown in the film's hectic car chase scenes where Elwood wrecks a shopping mall and where an army of police and military hunt down the brothers toward the end of the film.  However part of this cost was also attributed to Belushi's partying and drug abuse, which caused significant delays in filming when the actor would spend hours partying and on cocaine, resulting in many hours and days wasted in the schedule.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!)

Performance wise The Blues Brothers is very good overall with a strong cast all in fine form.

Starting with the late John Belushi providing his career defining role as "Joliet" Jake Blues, the charismatic conman, who get's his band back together to help raise the money to save the orphanage.

Belushi has plenty of good scenes in the film, such as the first scene where Elwood picks up Jake from prison and the two of them drive off in Elwood's Dodge Sedan police car. So, in the scene, Jake irritably asks Elwood "What the hell is this?!" and Elwood asks "What?" and Jake angrily says "This car!  This stupid car!".  So, Jake then asks "Where's the Cadillac?!  The Caddy?  Where's the Caddy?!" and Elwood says "I traded it" and Jake asks "You traded the Blues mobile for this?!" and Elwood says "No, for a microphone" and Jake takes a moment and sarcastically says "OK. I can see that!".  Jake then asks re: the car "What the hell is this?" and Elwood says "This was a bargain. I picked it up at the Mount Prospect city police auction last spring. It's an old Mount Prospect police car. They were practically giving 'em away!".  Jake then angrily says "Well, thank you, pal! The day I get out of prison, my own brother picks me up in a POLICE car!". 

Then there is the scene where Jake and Elwood arrive at the orphanage and Jake asks "What are we doing here??" Elwood says to him "You told the Penguin you'd visit her, the day you got out" and Jake says "Yeah, so I lied to her" and Elwood says "You can't lie to a nun.  We gotta go in there and visit the Penguin." and Jake defiantly says "No fucking way!".  However, Elwood decisively get's out of the car to go in, leaving Jake little choice but to follow him.

Another good scene is when Jake is at the gospel church and Rev Cleophus asks him "Do you see the light?!" as a holy light bathes the church and covers Jake and he remembers the band and he says to himself "The band!".  And as the Rev repeats the question "Do you see the light?!" Jake yells "YES! YES! JESUS H. TAPDANCING CHRIST I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!!!" and he proceeds to somersault his way to the front of the church and dances with the choir members and somersaults back to Elwood shouts "The band, Elwood!  The band!!!".  And Elwood looks at Jake for a moment and he too has the same revelation and he shouts "The band!" and the Rev shouts "Praise the Lord!" and Elwood shouts out "And God bless the United States of America!".  

And then we have the scene where Jake and Elwood track down the rythym section of their band, who have now formed their own band, Murph and Magic Tones, which J and E find in a club playing some cheesy Spanish music. So, afterward, they meet with Jake and Elwood and Jake tells them "You were the backbone of a great rythym and blues band.  You can make that band live, breathe and jump again!".  Jake then mockingly says "Murph and the Magic Tones?!  Look at you in those candy-ass uniforms!".  And as the drummer, Willie "Too Big" Hall says to Jake and Elwood that they will never get ahold of Matt "Guitar" Murphy and Mr Big, the trumpeter, Jake says "Oh yeah?  Well, me and the Lord, we have an understanding!". 

Then we have the scene where Jake and Elwood turn up at a fancy restaurant where Mr Big, their former band trumpeter, is now the maitre'd who they try and get back.  And Jake turns to the table next to theirs as he spies a wealthy family and he teases the snobbish father by saying "How much for the little girl? How much for your children! Sell me you're daughters!". Mr Big then comes in pushes Jake away from them and Jake tries to persuade Mr Big to join the band again but he refuses. So, Jake says to him "If you say no, Elwood and I will come here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week!". Elwood then takes a large piece of doughy bread and thrusts it into his mouth and Mr Big finally gives in and says "OK!  OK!  I'll play!  You got me!" so Jake and Elwood, satisfied, then leave. 

And then we ge to the scene where Jake finally faces Carrie Fisher's character, the un-named Mystery Woman, who was a bride he jilted at the altar in the muddy tunnel after they leave the Palace Hotel ballroom gig.  So, as the woman has Jake in her sights with her M16, Jake get's down on his knees and begs "OH PLEASE DON'T KILL US!!!  PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T KILL US!! It wasn't my fault! I had a flat tyre, my car ran out of gas, there was an earthquake!  A terrible flood!  Locusts! Look it wasn't my fault I swear to GOD!!!".  And he takes off his shades for the first time in the film and woos the woman into kissing him but after they kiss, Jake casually drops her into the mud and says to Elwood "Let's go!" and they scarper! 

Dan Aykroyd is also excellent as Elwood Blues, Jake's cool headed brother who get's Jake into a heap load of trouble by getting the entire Chicago police force on their asses, after failing to stop at a red light and also for trashing a shopping mall.

Aykroyd shares the limelight with Belushi and he too has his share of highlights such as the scene where Elwood picks up Jake from prison and Jake clealy doesn't like the new car. So, Elwood asks "You don't like it?" and Jake looks at him and says "No, I don't like it".  So, Elwood then revs the car and drives it over an open drawbridge and it lands safely on the other side. Jake then changes his mind and says "Car's got a lot of pick up".  Elwood then tells Jake "It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?". Jake then lights a cigarette with his lighter and says "Fix the cigarette lighter" (which Jake had thrown away) and they both smile. 

Then there is of course that scene where Elwood goes through a red light (or rather a yellow light going red) and is spotted by two police troopers, who tail them.  And as Elwood notices the troopers in his rear view, he and Jake share a brief but classic exchange:

Elwood: Shit!
Jake: What?
Elwood: Rollers!
Jake: No!
Elwood: Yeah!
Jake: Shit!

This is then followed by the moment where the cops, pull over Elwood and he asks one of them, Trooper Daniel who comes over "What did I do?" and Daniel says "You failed to stop at a red signal" and Elwood says "The light was yellow, sir".  So, the trooper takes Elwood's licence and registration away to run a check on it, and afterward, Jake exclaims "Goddamn it!!" and Elwood tells him "Man, I haven't been pulled over for six months".  Elwood then says "I bet those cops have got SCMODS" and Jake, puzzled, asks "SCMODS?" and Elwood explains the abbrevation "State County Municipal Offender Data System".  And as the troopers sees that Elwood has a whole load of traffic tickets and parking violations on him, the trooper goes back to his car and says "Elwood, we see you licence is your currently on suspension. Step out of the car please" but Elwood instead drives away, which begins their chase with the cops.

And as Jake says to Elwood "First, you trade the Cadillac for a microphone, the you lie to me about the band...now you're gonna put me right back in the joint!". However, Elwood then says his often repeated line in the film "They're not gonna catch us!  We're on a mission from God!" but Jake looks angrily at him and says "Elwood!".   

Another good scene is when Jake and Elwood evade the cops and make it back to the motel where Elwood stays and they narrowly avoid being blown up by the mystery woman outside the front entrance! So, they go upstairs to Elwood's room and Jake sits on Elwood's bed and he asks Elwood "How are you gonna get the band back together, Mr Hotrodder?!  Those cops have got your name, your address...".  Elwood however corrects him and says "No, they haven't got my address.  I falsified my renewal!  I put 1060, West Addison" and Jake asks "1060, West Addison? That's Wrigley Field!" and Elwood smiles and nods.  Elwood then says "I gotta hit the sack..." however he sees that Jake has already fallen asleep on his bed and Elwood shouts at him "Hey, you sleaze!  That's my bed!" but he relents and covers over Jake and he sleeps in his chair instead.

Also during the sequence where they advertised the Palace Hotel ballroom gig whilst driving out in their car and he says over a megaphone, which is strapped to the hood of their car "You on the motorcycle!  You two girls!  Tell your friends!".  And of course Elwood drives the car down by the beach and they are surrounded by girls in skimpy bikinis and Elwood speaking through the megaphone announces "And of course its ladies night tonight at the Palace Hotel ballroom!".  

Then there is of course the scene where Jake and Elwood finally take to the stage at the ballroom infront of a large crowd, they leap onto the stage but the crowd look unimpressed and silent, so Jake nervously tells the band to start anyway.

So, as the band begin to play Wilson Picket's version of "Everybody needs somebody to love" Elwood addresses the crowd on the mic "We're so glad to see so many of you lovely people here tonight. And we would especially like to welcome all the representatives of Illinois's law enforcement community that have chosen to join us here in the Palace Hotel Ballroom at this time. We certainly hope you all enjoy the show. And remember, people, that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive, there're still some things that makes us all the same. You. Me. Them. Everybody. Everybody!".  

Dan also has a funny line after so many attempts on their life by the mystery woman, where she confronts them in the muddy tunnel he finally asks Jake "Who IS that girl???".  And after Jake manages to prevent the mystery woman from killing himself and Elwood, Jake kisses her and then drops her in the mud and says to Elwood "Let's go!" and Elwood walks past and says "Take it easy!" and he runs after Jake.   

And last of all is the scene where Jake and Elwood sneak out of the gig back to their car as they preapre for their trip to Chicago with the money for the orphanage.  So, Elwood says to Jake "Its 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, its dark and we're wearing sun glasses" and Jake says "Hit it!" and Elwood drives off out of a tunnel, which knocks off the loud megaphone that was attached to the car. 

And in addition to the various musicians in the film, which I will get to I will also mention a few of the supporting performers such as John Candy, who is as good as ever in his role as Elwood's parole officer, Burton Mercer.

And John has a couple of good scenes I will mention such as the one where Mercer takes the two cops, Officer Mount and Trooper Daniel (who chased the brothers the night befre) to the motel where Elwood is actually staying with Jake.  So, Mercer tells them "This gentleman is the elegant abode of one Elwood Blues" and Office Mount says "Thank you for your help" and Mercer says to him "You know, I kinda like the Wrigley field bit!" and Mount angrily says "Yeah, real cute!". 

Then there is the scene where Mercer, who rides along with Mount and Daniel, who pursue Jake and Elwood on the road but they end up crashing the car into a passing truck.  So, we see that Mount has his police hat torn and Daniel is lying on the car floor.  So, Mercer asks for the mic, which Daniel passes him and Mercer speaks into the mic and says "This is um...what number are we?" and a deadpan Mount says "55!".  So Mercer smiles and says into the mic "This is car 55! Um...we're in a truck!!".

Carrie Fisher also puts in an amusing performance as Jake's crazed bride to be whom he left at the altar, and her repeated attempts to kill the brothers are hilarious, which include her using a flamethrower which sets fire to and ignites a fuel tank next to the call booth Jake and Elwood are in, which sends the booth sky high!

And in her last scene with Jake she explains the situation and says to Jake "I remained celibate for you. I stood at the back of a cathedral, waiting, in celibacy, for you, with three hundred friends and relatives in attendance! My uncle hired the best Romanian caterers in the state! To obtain the seven limousines for the wedding party, my father used up his last favor with Mad Pete Trullo! So for me, for my mother, my grandmother, my father, my uncle, and for the common good, I must now kill you, and your brother!".  But then as Jake makes his impassioned plea to save his life, he takes off his glasses in a list ditch attempt to woo her and it works as the woman smiles and says "Oh, Jake!  Jake, honey!".  So, Jake then takes her in his arms and kisses her only to drop her in the mud in a moment later and she angrily get's up after them and once they drive off, the woman opens fire with her M16 but misses the car completely.  

Henry Gibson is also great in his part as the leader of the Neo-Nazi party and he has two scenes worth mentioning. Starting with the one where the Nazi leader addresses a large, angry crowd as they do their demonstration.  And the leader addresses the crowd using a megaphone "White men! White women! The swastika is calling you. The sacred and ancient symbol of your race, since the beginning of time. The Jew is using The Black as muscle against you. And you are left there helpless. Well, what are you going to do about it, Whitey? Just sit there? Of course not! You are going to join with us. The members of the American Socialist White Peoples' Party. An organization of decent, law abiding white folk. Just like you!".

However, as Jake and Elwood as a policeman what is going on, the cop tells them "Those bums won their court case today, so they're marching" and Jake asks "Who are marching?" and the cop says "The fucking Nazi party!". Elwood shakes his head and says "Illinois Nazis!" and Jake says "I hate Illinois Nazis!" and Elwood starts up the car and drives over the bridge where the Nazis are, forcing them to jump over the bridge into the water.  So, after that, the soaked leader shouts to his sub-bordinate "Gruppenfuhrer!  Get that car's licence plate number!  We're gonna kill that son of a bitch!".

And then there is the scene where the Nazis turn up outside Wrigley field (which is a baseball stadium and also the address Elwood gave on his renewal). So, the Nazi leader addresses his men "Anybody with that kind of record is gonna make a mistake. I want all party members in the tri-state district to monitor the city, county and state police on their CBs. Mr. Blues is gonna fuck up, and when he does... he better pray the police get to him before we do!".

Charles Napier is also funny in his brief role as the leader of the Good Ole Boys, Tucker McElroy and I will quickly mention two of his scenes, starting with the one where Jake pretends to be music rep to distract Tucker and the band.

So, Jake says to Tucker "My name is Jacob Stein. I'm from the American Federation of Music. I've been sent to see if you gentlemen are carrying your permits" and Tucker asks "Our what?" and Jake says "Your union cards. May I see your cards pleases?".  So, Tucker smiles in disbelief and says "Well, suppose we ain't got no union cards and go in there and start playin' anyway? Whatcha gonna do about that? You gonna stop us, Stein? Ha. You're gonna look pretty funny tryin' to eat corn on the cob with no fuckin' teeth!".

And lastly there is the scene where after Jake and Elwood flee the concert at the Palace hotel ballroom, they are pursued by the cops, the Nazis and also of course, Tucker and the country club owner, Bob.  However, Tucker ends up accidentally driving his truck into a lake and the men are all soaking wet and Bob looks at a furious Tucker, who warns him "Don't you say a fuckin' word!".

And lastly Twiggy, the model and singer who rose to fame in the 1980s also provides a brief but noteworthy role as a girl who stops off at the garage where Elwood and Jake are waiting for fuel to be delivered, and he chats her up, and even offers her to meet up at a nearby motel, when she considers and later on waits for Elwood at the motel, as he sighs impatiently.

Jeff Morris is also pretty good in his role as Bob, the country club owner, who has some good moments in the film.

And I will mention two of his scenes where after the gig, Bob impressed with the band says "Shit, I wanna tell you, that's some of the best goddam music we've had... at the Country Bunker in a long time!".  So, after Jake asks about the money for the gig "That's right. Two hundred dollars... and you boys drank $300 worth of beer". Elwood then says "Well, we just figured that beer was complimentary" but Bob shakes his head and says "No, uh-uh!".  So, Jake after a pause "Well, I'll take up a collection from the boys" and Bob says "Yeah, well I sure would appreciate it".

And then there is the scene just after where Jake and Elwood hightail it from Bob's bar and distract the real "Good ole boys" band. So, after they drive off, Tucker runs up to Bob and asks "Where they guys from?  The union?!" and Bob angrily says "What the hell, ''union''? Those boys skipped out of here owing me a lot of money for beer!".  Bob then looks at Tucker and his band in their country outfits "What the hell are you guys all dressed up for?!" and Tucker tells him "We're the Good ole boys!" and Bob looks at them in disbelief asks "YOU'RE the Good Ole Boys???!". 

Kathleen Freeman next is also good in her role as Sister Mary Stigmata, aka the Penguin, who tasks Jake and Elwood to get the money to save the orphanage where they were raised.

And Kathleen has some good moments in her main scene where she tells Jake and Elwood about her plight and she needs $5000 for the orphanage. And Jake tells her "Five grand? No problem! We'll get it for you by the morning! Let's go, Elwood!" however the Sister angrily stops him from going and shouts "No, no!! I will not take your filthy stolen money!". So, Jake says "Well then, I guess you're really up shit creek" and the Sister hits Jake with her stick and he cries out in pain.  The Sister than calmly asks Jake "I beg your pardon, what did you say?".  So, Jake says "I offered to help you..." and the Sister politely says "Mmm hmm" and Jake continues "...you refused to take our money..." and she says "Mmm hmm" again and Jake says "...and I said "I guess you're really up shit creek".

So, the Sister hits Jake again, who cries out and Elwood pitches in and says "Christ, Jake, take it easy!" but the Penguin then hits Elwood and he shouts "Oww shit!" and as she hits the two men as they keep swearing at her until Elwood suddenly shouts "Oww, you fat penguin!" and she breaks her stick on Elwood's head, who runs out.  The Sister, however keeps on hitting Jake with another stick as he tries to shuffle out the room, still in his seat, but he soon falls down the stairs and the seat breaks on impact and Jake and Elwood look up at the Sister, who looks disapprovingly at them from the top of the stairs.

And the Sister tells them both "You are such a disappointing pair. I prayed so hard for you. It saddens and hurts me that the two young men whom I raised to believe in the Ten Commandments have returned to me as two thieves, with filthy mouths and bad attitudes. Get out, and don't come back until you've redeemed yourselves!". The Sister then glides back into her office and the door magically slams shut behind her! 

And last of all on the "actor" cast front is Steve Lawrence as Maury Sline, a booking agent who arranges for Jake and Elwood to play their gig at the Palace Hotel ballroom to raise the money they need for the orphanage. 

So, in the scene, Jake and Elwood are in a sauna, chatting with Maury and Jake tells "Come on, Maury. We need 5000 bucks fast!" and Maury laughs and asks "5000?! Who do you think you are the Beatles?!".  And as Jake has a thought, he asks Maury "Say...how is Mrs Sline? I have some information she might like to know..." and Maury smiles and asks "Are you blackmailing me, Jake?" and Jake says "If you wanna put it that way..." and he says urgently "Maury, we NEED this gig!".  So, Maury says to him "Okay. I'll get you the Palace Hotel. I'll print up show bills. I'll make the place look real pretty, okay? I don't think you guys are gonna gross dollar one. But if you do, I want a taste of the gig, okay?". Jake then says "Thanks, Maury" and then he says "Let's go, boys!" and we see the whole band are in the sauna room aswell, all wearing towels around their waists!

As for the film's soundtrack and star musicians they provide a key part of the film's success and appeal starting with James Brown who provides a charismatic turn as the Rev. Cleophus James and a catchy number in the gospel church scene.  And he shouts to Jake, when he is bathed in holy light from the skies that goes through into the church "Do you see the light?!" and Jake has his revelation and says "The band!" and James shouts "Have you seen the light?!" and Jake yells "YES!  YES!  JESUS TAP DANCING, CHRIST!  I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!".

Ray Charles also provides a good cameo as himself, as well as the owner of a music exchange store and he has a funny moment where he fires a gun near a young boy trying to sneakily grab a Fender Stratocaster off the wall, and he says "Breaks my heart, a boy that young goin bad!".  And later after he plays the music number "Shake a tail feather" Jake says to Ray "OK, man. We'll take these axes" and Ray says "Naturally. And as usual, I gotta take an IOU!".

Aretha Franklin also puts in a really good performance as the wife of Matt Murphy who owns a diner, as she has Matt under her thumb and she warns Matt to "Think" about the consequences of his actions if he leaves to play with the band again.  In fact I think its safe to say that Aretha gives perhaps the best performance out of the guest artists in the film. 

So, in the scene, Mrs Murphy says to Matt after she has taken Jake and Elwood's order "We got two honkies out there dressed like Hasidic diamond merchants!" and Matt says "Say what?!" and she tells him "They look like they from the CIA or somethin!". Matt, curious, asks "What do they want to eat?" and Mrs Murphy tells him "The tall one wants white bread, toasted, dry, with nothing on it" and Matt suddenly looks excited and says to himself "Elwood".  Mrs Murphy then says "And the other one wants four whole fried chickens and a coke!" and Matt suddenly twigs who it is and he exclaims "That's Jake!  Shit!  The Blues Brothers!" and he goes out to see them.

However, Mrs Murphy is now willing to let Matt go as she tells Jake and Elwood "You ain't goin' back on the road no more, and you ain't playin' them ol' two-bit sleazy dives! You're livin' with me now, and you not gonna go slidin' around witcho ol' white hoodlum friends!".  Matt however tries to reason with her "But babies, this is Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers!" and Mrs Murphy looks at them in disbelief and exclaims "The BLUES BROTHERS??!! Shit! They still owe you money, fool!".

Mrs Murphy then berates Jake and Elwood when Elwood mentions they are on a mission from God and she shouts at them "Don't you blasphemy in here!  Don't you blasphemy in here!  This is my man, this is my restaurant, and you two are just gonna walk right out that door without your dry white toast, without your four fried chickens, and WITHOUT Matt 'Guitar' Murphy!".  Matt however says to her "Listen, I love you, but I am the woman and you are the woman and I will make the decisions regarding my life!".  Mrs Murphy then warns him "You better think about what you're doing! You better think about the consequences of your actions!" but Matt tells her "Oh, shut up, woman!" and she then breaks into the song "Think".

However at the end of the song, Matt decides to leave with Jake and Elwood and he says to them "Let's boogie!" and they walk out and Blue Lou (the saxophonist) who also works at the diner, looks to Mrs Murphy, who gives in and says to him "Well, go on, damn it!".  So, Blue Lou runs out after the others, leaving a very frustrated Mrs Murphy, who says to herself "Shit!".   

John Lee Hooker provides a catchy number as he puts in a brief cameo and plays his own track "Boom boom" however despite this he has no other lines of dialogue in the actual film.   

And last but not least is Cab Calloway who provides an excellent performance as Curtis and he has some good scenes, particularly his first scene where he tells Jake and Elwood after the Penguin tells them to get out.  So, Curtis says to Jake and Elwood "Boys, you're gonna have to learn not to talk to nuns that way!" and they both get up and shake his hand warmly. 

And in the next scene, Curtis tells him about how things are bad with the orphanage and says "Boys, things are bad. They gonna sell this place to the Board of Education... and I'll be out on the street. That money's got to be in the Cook County Assessor's Offiice within 11 days".  Jake asks Curtis "They wouldn't turn you out would they??" and Curtis says "Shit!  What's one more old nigger to the board of education!".  And then Curtis tells them "You know the sister is right. You boys sure could use a little churching" but Jake refuses and says "Curits, I don't wanna hear no jive-ass preacher talking to me about heaven and hell!" but Curtis insists "Jake, you get wise!  You go to church!".  

Then there is of course the scene where at the Palace hotel ballroom gig, the audience grow impatient as the Blues Brothers are yet to show up.  So, Curtis has an idea "Hey, you guys know "Minnie the Moocher?" and Murph says "I once knew a hooker named Minnie Mazola!" however Curits then says "No!  The SONG "Minnie the Moocher"!".  Steve Cropper, the guitarist then asks "Yeah, so what?" and Curtis shouts "Hit it!" and it cuts to the band playing the song all in fancy suits as Curits wears a white suit and he wins over the audience with his performance and scat singing. 

And lastly I will quickly mention the Blues Brothers band as they also get some good moments in the film such as Wille Hall, the band's drummer first meets with the brothers he says to Jake "So you're, you're free, you're rehabilitated?  So what's happenning?  What are you gonna do?  You got the money you owe us, motherfucker?!".

Murphy Dunne also does pretty well in his role as the band's keyboardist and his most notable scene is his first where the band are playing some cheesy Spanish lounge music. So, Murphy addresses the virtually non-existant crowd "Thank you. You're marvellous. Thank you. I'm Murph, and these are the Magic Tones. Steve ''The Colonel'' Cropper, Donald ''Duck'' Dunn... Willie ''Too Big'' Hall and Tom ''Bones'' Malone.We'll be back with the Magic Tones for the Armada Room's... two-hour disco swing party after this short break. Till then, don't you go changing!".

Alan Rubin as Mr Big also has some good moments such as when he speaks to Jake and Elwood at the restaurant and says to them "Come on guys, seriously the food is really expensive.  The soup is fucking ten dollars!" and later when they arrive at the Palace Hotel ballroom he says "its a fucking barn, we'll never fill it!".

Donald Dunn, the bass player also provides some funny and bizzare lines such as "Jake ain't lying, though. We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline!".  And later on after the band play the country bar gig, Willie says to the others "I say we give the Blues Brothers just one more chance" and Donald says "Why not?  If the shit fits, wear it!". 

Steve Cropper, the band's rythym guitar player, probably gives the smallest performance in the film out of the band members, so he has very little to say or do other than play guitar!  Well actually that award might go to Tom "Bones" Malone as the band's trombonist, as I'm not even sure if he has any lines of dialogue in the film!

And last of all is "Blue Lou" Marini as the band's saxophonist, who does actually a couple of noteworthy lines, such as the one where the band arrive at the country bar and they see a chicken wire fence up over the stage and Lou asks "Chicken wire???!".  And later as the band start their soul set, the country audience throw their beer bottles at the stage and boo at the band and Bob, turns off the lights.  So, as Matt suggests "Maybe they blew a fuse!" Lou tells him "I don't think so, man. Those lights are off on purpose!".    

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

Moving onto the direction, John Landis does a fine job with the film, although it was a rather turbulent production due to the problems with John Belushi's drug abuse and heavy partying, which partly conrtibuted toward the film going way overbudget from $17.5 million up to £30 million, as the production schedule suffered as a result.  But Landis nonetheless handles the film's comedy and musical sequences very well and it remains one of the best films from his career.  

The film's soundtrack is also terrific as you would expect for a blues musical, and there many tracks from different artists such as Aretha Franklin's "Think", Sam and Dave's "Hold on, I'm coming", "Shake a tailfather" featuring Ray Charles, "Peter Gunn Theme" performed by the Blues Brother's band.  As well as tracks performed by the band and sung by the brothers themselves such as "Everbody needs somebody to love", "Jailhouse rock" and "Sweet home Chicago".

FLAWS (Warning: some plot spoilers might be in here!)

As for The Blues Brother's flaws does it have any at all???? Yep it does, although because the film is such a fantasy based musical comedy you can almost forgive them.

But yes it has to be said the film is ridiculously preposterous and one thing that struck me right away is how the police never pulled up Elwood for driving a police car in the first place!  Surely the authorities would have spotted that before he even did any speeding!  Or perhaps people can just drive police cars for their own personal use in the US (well wouldn't surprise me!).

The car chases themselves while they are skillfully shot they also last a bit too long and feel a bit drawn out and its only really where the Blues Brothers trash the shopping mall that adds any new dimension to something that is mundane as can be in a film anyway, as car chase scenes in films, tend to be pretty boring.

And let's not forget about how daft and how much Elwood's driving skills are as he can defy the laws of gravity by making his car do a backflip and fly over a bridge as well as jump a big gap in a drawbridge.  Its fun but it really is pretty daft and the physics of it all is pretty well impossible I'm sure!  But hey, it is just a comedy film.  

I also wondered what happened with the band at the end of the film as they perform the "Jailhouse rock" number, are they prisoners aswell?  Or did they just dress up in prison clothes for the number???  Perhaps the band are held as accomplices to what the brothers are doing, but that's hardly right as they were kept largely in the dark about what they were brought back together for in the first place.  But again it is a comedy so logic and common sense go out the window I guess.

Its also beyond preposterous how Jake and Elwood are able to survive the attempts on their lives by the mystery woman, as they attacked outside Elwood's motel and later the motel is destroyed by explosives, set by the woman.  This is of course the most ridiculous one of them all as Jake and Elwood somehow manage to emerge, completely unharmed from the rubble (as you do!) but the actual chances of surviving that are virtually nil!

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, The Blues Brothers after nearly 40 years (Can't believe its that long!) is still a highly entertaining comedy that features some really funny moments and spectacular car chases, not to mention some ridiculously over the top stunts. It also of course features two excellent performances from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, who are both great in their respective roles as the brothers.

And for me, it remains one of those rare musicals that actually works very well (as I really don't care for them myself) which is in part thanks to it having a really good soundtrack that doesn't feature so much soppy love songs etc.  So, its definitely ones of the best musical comedies and certainly one of John Landis's best films of his career aswell as Aykroyd's and Belushi's, which is still well worth a look.

OK, that's it for now and I will return with a new post next time with new content for a change (honest!).  In fact my next post, might potentially be my review of The Disaster Artist, the acclaimed comedy film based on the acclaimed book that detailed the production of cult film, The Room, so I'll look forward to that one. 

So, till then its bye for now!