'We're on a mission from God.' — "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues
(Laughs) ...
What a magnificent work of motion picture art The Blues Brothers is! This fun-filled musical is truly a must-see. The screenplay was co-written by Saturday Night Live alum Dan Aykroyd, whom, by the way also stars in the effort as Elwood Blues, one half of the Chicago-based R&B/Blues band, The Blues Brothers. Native Chicagoan and Aykroyd's fellow SNL grad, John Belushi (The late, great), also stars in this zany opus as "Joliet" Jake, Elwood's biological other half. And with an all-star supporting cast that includes the likes of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab (Minnie the Moocher) Calloway, John Lee Hooker, and Carrie Fisher, among quite a few others, The Blues Brothers is one tremendous cinematic force - in both the Musical film and Action film genres, respectively.
John Landis, who co-wrote the screenplay with Aykroyd, also directs the high-leveled ensemble.
In this feel-good tale, the plot revolves around the threatened foreclosure of a Catholic orphanage in which the two brothers were raised. The city has placed an unlawful detainer on the orphanage, and if members of its clergy fail to raise $5,000, the amount needed to stay the pending foreclosure, then it's eviction time for all of those needy children who still call the institution home. But before "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues see that happen, they'll tear a whole lotta Chicago up!
With that, the crazy and over-the-top hilarious action begins ... And "laughing out loud" will truly be an understatement.
Set in the Windy City, The Blues Brothers is jam-packed with action, adventure, great music, comedy, and deep, heartstrings-tugging emotion. It does its part in helping to define what a genuinely great and entertaining movie should be. And it is a CLASSIC in every sense of the adjective.
My big brother (God love him) introduced me to this film, by way of a movie date, over three decades ago. And to this day, I continue to harbor for both him and it, a love beyond passion. Five stars!