Sweet Home Chicago

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Rating: R

Runtime: 148 minutes

Box Office (in today’s dollars): 162 million (approximately)

Characters: Jake Blues, Elwood Blues, The Blues Brothers Band (The Colonel, Duck, Murph, Too Big, Bones, Blue Lou, Guitar, Mr. Fabulous), Reverend Cleophus James, Curtis, Ray, Mrs. Murphy, The Penguin, Mystery Woman

Cool Stuff: Black Suit/Tie/Hat/Sunglasses, Bluesmobile, Car Chases

Cool Music: “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love”

Cool Quote: “We’re on a mission from God.”

Before Da Bears and Da Bulls, there was Da Blues ... Brothers. This movie has so many characters/cameos, I don’t even have time to write about John Candy, Chaka Kahn, or Paul Reubens. What I do have time to say is that brothers Jake and Elwood do a hilarious job at getting the band back together, and along the way they have a crazy adventure and do lots of singing and dancing. Oh, and don’t let me forget, this movie also has lots of uses of the f-word and the s-word ... and car chases and car crashes.

I was only four when this movie came out and I don’t remember much from that time. I can only guess that, when Halloween rolled around, every guy from the ages of 16 to 25 probably went dressed in a black suit, drove a “Bluesmobile”, and said things like “It’s _____ miles to _____, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.” And they all probably thought it was easy to meet girls that looked like Twiggy and that you could convince them to hang out with you even if you charged them $94.00 at the gas pump.

When you have music legends like James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and John Lee Hooker in your movie, you can pretty much expect an awesome soundtrack. You can’t go wrong with a little “Minnie the Moocher”, but of course “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” is the signature song. You would think that with all the music, swear words, and car chases, you would have everything you need; and then the movie sprinkles in Nazis ... and Carrie Fisher!

Once this movie gets rolling, it is tough to stop. It’s almost as if it is on a mission or something ...

Next movie to review: Caddyshack