Film of the Week: The blues Brothers and Blues Brothers 2000

I don’t think you can get a better car chase than the one in The Blues Brothers. When Jake Blues has just been released out of prison, his brother, Elwood, takes him to see the Penguin who explains that if she does not pay the $5000 tax within the next few days, she will be forced to close the orphanage in which Jake and Elwood grew up in. The story then sees the two brothers reuniting their old band together to secure the money to pay the tax. Along the way, they make plenty of enemies, most notably the Police who will do anything to make sure the two brothers are behind bars, but the Police won’t catch them because they’re on a mission from God.

One epic car chase after an awesome song after epic car chase after an awesome song, this film has a high level of feel-good vibe throughout.

The Blues Brothers first appearance was during an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1978. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, along with their blues band, blew the audience away with their version of Soul Man. From then on, the popularity of the Blues Brothers grew practically overnight and in 1980, the film was released. The first draft was written by Dan, but it was so long that it had to be cut down, which is what John Landis did. Of course, the film can be as long as it wants and I’ll never get bored of it. The car chases are addicting, and the songs are catchy, and completely unforgettable.

But of course, the film, nor the band, will be complete without the fellow musicians playing the instruments. Considered legends in their field of work: Steve “The Colonel” Cropper on lead guitar, rhythm guitar and vocals; “Blue Lou” Marini on alto saxophone and tenor saxophone, and backing vocals; Donald “Duck” Dunn on the Bass guitar; Matt Murphy on lead guitar; Willi “Too Big” Hall on the drums and percussions; Tom “Bones” Malone on the trombone, tenor saxophone, and backing vocals; “Mr Fabulous” Alan Rubin on the trumpet, percussion, and backing vocals; and Murphy Dunne “Murph” playing the keyboards.

At the time of filming, it also broke the world record of number of cars wrecked during filming. A total of 103 cars were destroyed, and it would keep that record until the second film, Blues Brothers 2000, which destroyed 104 cars.

Every time I watch it, I know perfectly why this film has gained a cult status among fans. If, at any time, you want to gather the family for an evening’s entertainment, or you would just like some time to yourself, then this film should be at the top of both lists. It’s certainly at the top of mine.

Now, as the title of this article says, I will also be talking about the sequel to The Blues Brothers, Blues Brothers 2000. This ramps up the comedy more than the previous, but the car chases and the music is still there. Strictly speaking, this shouldn’t be taken as a sequel, but instead as a tribute to those that unfortunately passed away in between films: John Belushi, Cab Calloway, and John Candy.

Set 18 years later, when Elwood is released from prison, he learns of the death of his brother, Jake, and later learns of the death of his father-figure, Curtis, who was played by Cab Calloway. Elwood sets about reuniting his old band once more to venture on another mission from God. Along the way, he teams up with three new people, John Goodman as Might Mack Mcteer as the new lead vocals; Joe Morton as Commander Cabel Chamberlain/Cab Blues as the new lead vocals; and J. Evan Bonifant as Buster Blues as vocals and harmonica.

The second film didn’t get as much praise as the first, but you can blame Universal Studios for that because they were the ones that forced certain aspects of the film into the production – and it’s pretty obvious that the Witch wouldn’t have been in the final product if it was left up to Dan and John. A lot can be said regarding the quality of the sequel, but at the end of the day, it still has that feel-good vibe throughout. The Blues Brothers are all about the music – the story is there to keep it from jumping from one performance to the other, potentially making it a boring film to watch.

One of the great things I like about this film is that all the original cast members that were able to return, reprised the roles they had in the previous film. So not only are the characters 18 years older, but so are the actors and actresses playing them, which gives a sense of depth to each character, with a small amount of nostalgia as you remember them from the previous film. This time round, however, we’ve been given the enormous pleasure of seeing even more musical legends come together. The Louisiana Gator Boys (a blues supergroup) is comprised of many famous names, not limited to: B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Bo Diddly, Billy Preston, and Steve Winwood.

So whilst Blues Brothers 2000 could be better in some parts, just don’t forget that the music never drops a beat, the car chases are plenty, and the chemistry between the band is exactly the same.

Whenever someone says that they chose not to watch the sequel, I do respect their decision, but that always reminds me of the motivational speech that Elwood gives to the rest of the band. I like to think of it as a speech that breaks the forth wall.

“You may go if you wish. But remember this: Walk away now and you walk away from your crafts, your skills, your vocations; leaving the next generation with nothing by recycled, digitally-sampled techno-grooves, quasi-synth rhythms, pseudo-songs of violence-laden gangsta-rap, acid pop, and simpering, saccharine, soulless slush. Depart now and you forever separate yourselves from the vital American legacies or Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed, Memphis Slim, Blind Boy Fuller, Louie Jorden, Little Walter, Big Walter, Sonnyboy Williamson 1 and 2, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Elivis Presley, Lieber and Stoller, and Robert K. Wiess.”

When Donald “Duck” Dunn asks the band who Robert K. Wiess is and they shrug because they don’t know, that’s because Robert isn’t actually a musician. He is the producer of the two Blues Brothers films, and the person responsible for convincing Dan and Jon to not quit the project after Universal Studios forced certain changes to the production.

Elwood then continues with his speech by saying: “Turn your backs now and you snuff you the fragile candles of Blues, R&B and Soul, and when those flames flicker and expire, the light of the world is extinguished because the music which has moved mankind through seven decades leading to the millennium will whiter and die on the vine of abandonment and neglect.”

I don’t know about you, but that speech always makes me want to keep watching just for the music.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)