Why The Blues Brothers: Will They Failure?

‘It’s a hundred and six miles to Chicago. We’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarrettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.’
‘Hit it.’

One of the most beloved comedies of the eighties, The Blues Brothers (1980, John Landis) is a masterpiece of absurdist comedy packed with a staggering amount of musical and acting talent. The cinematography is unparalleled in any comedy of it’s era, and the camera work greatly enhances the impact of the many, many gags. From singing, dancing preachers to the Illinois Nazi Party, there is no shortage of foes to stand in the way of the Blues Brothers in their goal. Will they fail? Of course not - they’re on a Misson from God! The movie begins with Jake (John Belushi) getting out of prison, and going back to the orphanage where he was raised with his brother, Elwood (Dan Aykroyd). There they find out that the church, which has been paying the Orphanages’ dues, has decided to retire the place and not pay the yearly tax assessment, which will result in the orphanage being closed. After a little divine inspiration in the form of a singing, dancing preacher, Jake and Elwood decide that the only course of action is to get their old band, the Blues Brothers, back together so they can scrape
enough money together to save the orphanage. Along the way they run into trouble with the law, Nazis, and Jake’s homicidal ex-Fiance, who throughout the movie resorts to more and more drastic ways to kill him. Slowly gathering up their band members and trying to score their big gig - one big enough to net them $5,000, enough for the orphanage - is quite a task, and many of the former band don’t think they can do it in time. But if there’s one thing that remains clear, it’s that the Blues Brothers don’t give up very easily. But can they get the money in time? The Blues Brothers was in many ways a lightning in a bottle kind of movie. From classic blues icons and legends, such as Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, and James Brown to acting powerhouses like Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Carrie Fisher, there is a monumental amount of talent in this picture. This is evident in the many creative music numbers worked into the film suprisingly well. The quality of the directing of the dancers and the musicians is most evident during the number with Ray Charles - a whole street breaks out into sudden dance, with easily a hundred and fifty people doing a masterfully co-ordinated dance routine, while dancing out the many dance moves he calls out in his song, making a wonderful riot of dance in the middle of a brightly painted city street. The charachterization of the eponymous Blues Brothers only adds to the comedy.
Across this absurd adventure, where they face off against the Illinois state police, a homicidal country band, and even more strange foes, they maintain an impossibly straight poker face. In fact, there is only one scene in the entire movie where we see one of the Blues Brothers without their trademark sunglasses, so dedicated Landis is to building the charachter of two unflappable, impeccable brothers. Their relentlessness in playing it straight, even in the most mad situations, gives the already-hilarious gags a greater degree of entertainment through their nonchalance - playing it straight until that, too, becomes absurdist comedy in and of
itself. Finally, the well - done camerawork completes the picture. John Landis prefers longer, more steady shots to multiple short ones. The way the camera, like the brothers, seem nonplussed at the insane events surrounding the adventure seems to add to the play-it-straight comedy that pervades the entire movie. The many, many car chase scenes all use excellent camera work, as well. For example, when a police car is flipped upside down during an attempted arrest of the Blues Brothers, the camera doesn’t just show the unfortunate boys in blue filp over - it goes into the car itself, showing a nauseous, spinning merry - go - round of mayhem. Overall, the Blues Brothers is in many ways a once - in - a - generation movie. The titanic amount of talent, effort, and love poured into this one movie boggles the mind. Every gag is memorable, and there are countless, impossibly good quotes from the Brothers, as well. “This is glue. Strong stuff.” the non verbose Elwood explains to Jake. Several generations of actors and musicians - the old breed, the new blood, the contemporary - put immense effort into it, and that, for anything else, means that this movie ought to be remembered. But thankfully, that isn’t the case with the Blues Brothers - this is a masterful comedy, a rollicking, abusrd, slapstick adventure through the streets of Chicago with the most street smart cats in town -the wonderful, the fabulous, Blues Brothers!