LogFAQs > #934027996

2. The Blues Brothers

Inviso: 1
KBM: 2
Scarlet: 3
JONA: 5
Johnbobb: 10
Karo: 12
Genny: 19

Inviso - And to think this movie didnt even make the cut on the original list. Its just as much of a musical as plenty of the others on this list (if not moreso), and my GOD does this movie have everything. The Blues Brothers has a great selection of music (hence musical), but even though the blues are the focus, there are a few other genres interspersed throughout the movie to spice things up. Beyond that though, the music gets integrated well into what is an extremely FUN comedy. John Belushi and Dan Akroyds ability to remain so calm under pressure (while coming up with a variety of sleazy schemes) really heightens the laughter as theyre so well-suited (no pun intended) to con people AND to goof off and start dancing in the middle of impromptu musical numbers as well. To top it off, the movie is just so bizarre in its introduction of the Illinois Nazis, Carrie Fisher, John Candy, and the extreme amount of random mayhem that goes down. The mall scene, and the ending chase scene are both brilliant (particularly how the ending ramps up SO harshly, for unnecessary reasons.) This movie is great, and I love so much about it.

KBM - Why I Chose It: Written and directed by comedy legend John Landis, co-written by its star Dan Aykroyd, and based on Aykroyd and Belushi's band and recurring segment of the same name from Saturday Night Live, The Blues Brothers was a surprise box office hit in 1980 and remains a well-loved cult classic to this day. It received positive reviews, though some critics felt it was too long and over-the-top, and it didn't receive any major award nominations. The soundtrack album went platinum in seven countries including the United States, and the phrase We're on a mission from God has entered the popular lexicon.

My Thoughts: I really struggled between putting this and my #1 in first place. While my #1 is one of my favorite dramas of all time, this is one of my favorite comedies of all time. The Blues Brothers is just one hell of a movie a comedy-action-musical hybrid where the comedy virtually never misses the mark, where the action is always thrilling and often mind-blowingly well choreographed, and the musical numbers are sublime. It's almost impossible for me to pick a favorite song because they're all so great, and of the movies on this list, this is probably the soundtrack I've listened to the most over the course of my life (of course, this was also one of the first R-rated movies I was ever allowed to watch, so I've definitely had my fair share of time with it). The performances are also stellar, not only from the professional actors/comedians in the group (Belushi particularly excels in all his hyper-energetic, acrobatic, coke-fueled glory), but also from the likes of Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, James Brown, and Ray Charles in their musical cameos. It's all so well-executed that it's still genuinely shocking to me that it's a movie based on a series of SNL sketches. It's also worth noting that the difference in quality between this and its wretched sequel, Blues Brothers 2000, is night and day. I STILL have not gotten my boyfriend to watch this movie with me, but the fact that he's seen the sequel and not this makes me crazy. The only reason this wasn't on the first list, and then only made it onto this list as a last-minute replacement, is because I often don't readily even think of this as a musical, even though it clearly is. The musical numbers are just such a seamless part of the narrative, and it does so many other things so goddamn well, that it's sort of in a genre hybrid all its own. So, yeah, I love The Blues Brothers, and it's a movie everyone should watch, so I'm glad I ended up putting it on this list after all. Shit, maybe I SHOULD have made it my #1.

Favorite Song: Impossible to choose. Shake a Tail Feather, Think, Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, Minnie the Moocher, Sweet Home Chicago... this is just chock full of great songs.

Scarlet - Brilliant, hilarious, peak Belushi. An example of how Saturday Night Live is truly a training camp for the best and brightest of comedy. There is nothing else that needs to be said; this film was divinely mandated, after all.
Best Song: Everybody Needs Somebody to Love

JONA - The movie had some great over-the-top comedy and music numbers like I expected but I did not expect those amazing chase scenes. A really charming and fun movie.
Favorite Song: Minnie the Moocher

Johnbobb - This went way beyond the scale I was expecting from a movie based on an SNL sketch. That climactic scene alone is enough reason to see it; a movie that had already been packed full of insane chase sequences somehow managed to top itself (and honestly, most movie chase scenes prior). On top of that it has James Brown, Ray Charles and Arethra Franklin all in the same movie, all in significant roles. The songs are mostly incredible, though that's not exactly surprising. I expected a fairly simple blues-based comedy, but this was so much more.
Favorite song: Sweet Home Chicago

Karo - This story follows the many hijinks of two brothers who dress like FBI agents trying to put their jazz band back together with the help of some divine intervention and the most inept bit of policework ever put on film since the Keystone Cops.
They meet some famous music stars who give them some jukebox musical numbers, all while being chased by rednecks, nazis and this crazy girl who apparently raided an army depot somewhere.
It is a good bit of 1980s goofiness that never wears out its welcome even if it isnt the greatest movie in the world.

Score: 67/100

Best Song: 'Think'

Genny - I can't really find anything critical to say about The Blues Brothers. It is what it is, and what that is is a fun adventure I laughed out loud throughout. There's a similar film on this list that does a similar concept a little better however.