Favourite Films #7: The Blues Brothers

I have a special understanding regarding musicals; they need good songs, but they also need something else to back that up. So far, the only musicals that fulfil this are Singing in the Rain and Cabaret, both of which provide interesting social commentaries and insights, and The Blues Brothers.

Based on an act from Saturday Night Live, we follow Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as the eponymous Blues Brothers, Elwood and 'Joliet' Jake - named because he is released from Joliet Prison at the beginning of the movie. Upon his release, he learns that the Catholic orphanage where both he and his brother were raised is facing closure. In order to legitimately raise the funds, the brothers embark on a "Mission from God" to resurrect their old rhythm and blues band. Unfortunately, their quest brings with it an increasing number of enemies - including the police, a neo-Nazi movement, a country/western bar owner, and a mystery woman played by Carrie Fisher.

The film has a great soundtrack, performed not just by the Blues Brothers Band themselves, but other R&B, soul, and blues musicians like Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin. So, we can check the box on good songs, but what else does it have? Destruction, and plenty of it. Two epic car chases (including one through a shopping mall), with additional property damage from Carrie Fisher's attempts on the brothers' lives. There's also some great chemistry between Elwood and Jake, with their bickering producing a ton of great lines.

Oh, and I did I mention that all the cars that were written off by this movie were real? No CGI here.