It took me a while to figure this movie out.
I think this is mostly because Jake and Elwood Blues are very hard nuts to crack. With their omnipresent shades and immutable expressions, the brothers seem almost entirely oblivious to what’s going on around them. There are three separate occasions when they should have died by heavy explosives, yet they get back up and go about their day as if nothing happened. There’s another scene when Jake and Elwood are casually remarking about stores they pass while the police are chasing them — by car — through a mall. Seriously, there are times when they’re so far removed from reality, it’s like they’re living in a parallel dimension.
I also find their primary motivation to be rather strange. Yes, the Blueses have the self-appointed task of saving the orphanage in which they grew up, but the reasons for it are a touch unclear. It certainly isn’t out of respect for the nun who manages the orphanage and they don’t seem to show much concern for the orphans either. Hell, the Blues Brothers never bother to tell anyone that they’re putting their band back together to save an orphanage, just that it’s “a mission from God.” This implies that they’re raising the money for egotistical reasons, to establish themselves as God’s Chosen or something like that. Additionally, there are multiple times when the Blueses lie, cheat, steal and sabotage for their own benefit, frequently at the expense of others — including their friends! Yet when the climax rolls around, the Blues Brothers dutifully turn in the necessary money to save the orphanage, even though the National Guard and the entire city of Chicago is bent on stopping them.
Despite the uncertain nature of these characters, there’s no denying that they work. John Belushi and Dan Akroyd play off each other beautifully, creating an effective pair of brothers who could either be too cool for school or too crazy for psychiatric care.
Aside from Jake and Elwood themselves, the two main attractions of Blues Brothers are the comedy and the soundtrack. The music alone makes this movie worth the price of admission. It’s one thing to have a great score and it’s another thing to have a great soundtrack. But when you’ve got legends like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Cab Calloway onscreen doing what they do best, there’s nothing left to do but sit back and enjoy the awesomeness. Meanwhile, Akroyd and Belushi are responsible for anchoring a very large R&B group, complete with guitars, drums, keyboard and brass. They do the job admirably, both with vocals and with dance moves that double as physical comedy.
The comedy in this movie is all over the map and I mean that in the best way possible. If you like your jokes subtle and tongue-in-cheek, you’ll find it here. If broader jokes are more your cup of tea, you’ll find them here too. Physical comedy? You’ve got John Fucking Belushi. Cultural stereotypes? They’re here. Slapstick? Done quite literally. Wordplays, blunders, irony, satire… it’s all here. The only kind of joke you won’t find in this movie is a bad one.
Action-hungry viewers are in for a real treat as well. This movie has car chases that would make Michael Bay shit himself. I’m talking about car chases that go on for long stretches of time, wiping out half of Chicago and enough cars to fill a dozen junkyards, all without a single pixel of CGI. I can’t describe how effective they are, except to say that every second is totally gripping and funny as hell. You really have to see them to believe them.
Speaking of which, the cinematography in Blues Brothers kicks ass. Every shot is beautiful and the camera work is mind-boggling. The editing, however, could’ve used more work. I found the pacing to be very strange, particularly in the opening that drags on and on.
To sum up, The Blues Brothers is a jaw-droppingly beautiful movie with great jokes, huge action and amazing music, starring two wonderful comics and Carrie Fisher back when she was still hot. What more could anyone possibly want?