John Landis' spin-off from the Blues Brothers Band sketches of SNL starts with Jake (the wonderful John Belushi) coming out of prison to be met by brother Elwood (energetic Dan Aykroyd) in the new Bluesmobile - a high powered ex-cop car with special features, allowing it to leap across bridges and such. After a trip to see the scary 'penguin', their ex-matriarch (Kathleen Freeman) they decide to reform their band to raise cash for their old orphanage. Thing is, the members of their band are all doing other things like working in burger bars, as maitre d', and so on, and need to be persuaded.
The best thing about this movie is the music, and this isn't just provided by the boys and their band, but by a number of guest appearances such as those of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, and best of all, the great Cab Calloway. The car chase sequences where a whole shopping mall and loads of police cars are destroyed is also brilliantly done. There are lots of other goodies along the way, like the country club, the pseudo-Nazis, and of course, psychotic Carrie Fisher. The sequel wasn't bad but this is the real McCoy.
The best thing about this movie is the music, and this isn't just provided by the boys and their band, but by a number of guest appearances such as those of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, and best of all, the great Cab Calloway. The car chase sequences where a whole shopping mall and loads of police cars are destroyed is also brilliantly done. There are lots of other goodies along the way, like the country club, the pseudo-Nazis, and of course, psychotic Carrie Fisher. The sequel wasn't bad but this is the real McCoy.