Retro-review: 'We're on a mission from God'

It's hard to label The Blues Brothers, which was filmed 20 years ago this summer. Do we call it a musical? Or just a band movie? Or do we lump it in with other Saturday Night Live movies? Any way you slice it, it's a classic. That's why guest-blogger Clark Brooks, a Tampa Bay writer who channels his "ridiculously inconsistent trickle of consciousness," chose it for today's retro-review.

TODAY'S RETRO-REVIEW: 1980's The Blues Brothers, starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. Directed by John Landis.

THE PLOT: Musicians of questionable repute get their old band back together to raise funds to save the orphanage where they were raised.

MAYBE YOU REMEMBER: Filmed on location in Chicago and surrounding areas, The Blues Brothers featured a chase scene that destroyed 13 Illinois state police cars, 17 Cook County sherriff cars, 27 Chicago Police cars and, eventually, one 1974 Dodge Monaco with "cop tires, cop suspension and cop motor - a 440 cubic-inch plant."

SURELY YOU CAN'T FORGET: Practically a cinematic encyclopedia of 20th century American music (well, before hip-hop), it featured performances by Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker among others, as well as cameo appearances by Frank Oz, Chaka Khan, Paul Reubens, Steve Lawrence, Joe Walsh and Steven Spielberg.

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID: "The Blues Brothers is the Sherman tank of musicals. When it was being filmed in Chicago in 1979 -- with dozens of cars piling up in intersections, caroming down Lake Shore Drive and crashing through the Daley Center -- it seemed less like a film than a war. The movie feels the same way. It's a big, raucous powerhouse that proves against all the odds that if you're loud enough, vulgar enough, and have enough raw energy, you can make a steamroller into a musical, and vise versa." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

WHY WE STILL LOVE IT: It’s still the gold standard of major motion pictures inspired directly by characters that started on Saturday Night Live … for what that’s worth. And because the only thing cooler than blues musicians on the run from the law is blues musicians on the run from the law, neo-Nazis, rednecks and psychotic, homicidal ex-fiancees.

TOP 5 MEMORABLE LINES FROM THE BLUES BROTHERS:

5. "Your women. I want to buy your women. The little girl, your daughters ... sell them to me. Sell me your children."

4. "I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD."

3. "What kind of music do you usually have here?" "Oh, we got both kinds. We got country and western."

2. "I hate Illinois Nazis."

1. "We’re on a mission from God."

Comments

[don in tulsa]

one of my all time faves. so many great lines in one movie and then you've got all of those great musical performances. too bad blues brother 2000 was such a turd.

[Steve]

Not to be a nitpicker, but it was actually 30 years ago... And this is my all-time favorite movie!

[Ares Vista]

I was never a big fan of the Blues Brothers as a kid, but now I realize how big and bad they really were! Plus, Belushi's work is classic, there will never be another.

[Blues Bros Fan]

True story:

After the big chase scene was filmed in the abandoned Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, IL, John went missing for hours. Nobody could find him. Finally, everybody on set combed the surrounding area looking for him. They came upon a farm house where he was sleeping. The farmer and his wife didn't even know who he was but took him in, fed him, and let him zonk out on their couch.

[Bassnote]

I have close ties with the Blues Brothers. I worked for a DJ company where we did Bluze Brothers shows (name changed for legal reasons), and I was Jake. I wasn't as acrobatic as Belushi (only a few cartwheels and dive rolls), but I could sing all the songs. My boss was a great Jake. He could do repeated cartwheels and walk on his hands, but he admitted I was a better singer. I'm no longer with that company, but I still have good ties with them. Needless to say, to do a Bluze Brothers show, you had to have a great knowledge of the movie. I had to know all the lines, and dance choreography. It was a fun job, but I was always wiped out after a show.

[CHAD]

the blues bros. is a very good movie. the chase at the end is worth the admission. has any movie destroyed that many cars? maybe smokey and the bandit comes close. the amount of people in that movie is staggering, spielberg, john candy, steve lawerence, all the musicians, etc. belushi and akyroyd are great together. it makes you imagine what ghostbusters would have been like if john did't die. one of the comic geniuses, john would have been huge. but at least you can still enjoy the few movies he did. i haven't seen the blues bros in a long time. it maybe time to pull out the ole' dvd and take a gander.

[Captain Fancypants from CDU the band]

I was thinking of reviewing this, as back in the late 80s, and MOST of the 90s., in Melbourne (AU not Florida) we went each Friday night and changed the words "Rocky Horror" Style. I saw it around 150 times over the years. Dressed as Jake,Elwood, Curtis, Cleophis James, Good Ole Boys, you name the character, and one of us mad folk down under will have dressed and danced as them. On my site I have a photo (under retro 80s memories) with the scale model of the "Bluesmobile" (1974 Dodge Sedan with Illinois Plates) and a badge I made for the 4th Birthday at the Valhalla Cinema (possibly 1987) But great music, great memories! Trivia note: I had long left being a regular, but the Melbourne regulars in 1998 were invited over by John Landis and are extras in Blues Brothers 2000 in the Southern Bluegrass scene "Riders of the Storm"
PS I will still review "Moving Violations" in the next few days!

[Marissa]

Most excellent, Clark! I remember being creeped out when they first visit "The Penguin" -- she scared the little Catholic girl in me.