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The Blues Brothers: Difference between revisions
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{{work|wppage=The Blues Brothers (film)}}
[[File:BluesBrothers_4443.jpg|frame|"They'll never catch us. We're on a [[Mission from God]]."]]
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Perhaps the greatest -- and certainly the most successful -- ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' act to spin off from the show into the realm of movies. Back when [[Dan Aykroyd]] wasn't fat and [[John Belushi]] wasn't dead, they starred together in an occasional sketch-cum-musical-act featuring the two of them in dark suits and [[Cool Shades|sunglasses]] as "The Blues Brothers"; Belushi was Jake Blues, and Aykroyd was Jake's silent brother Elwood. What made the skits good? The duo were skilled at both the comedy (obviously) and the music (which was surprising). Aykroyd and Belushi spun off their own band with established musicians (members of the SNL house band as well as experienced R&B musicians) and served as the frontmen, in character as Elwood and Jake.
In 1980, they got a musical-extravaganza feature film -- titled '''''The Blues Brothers''''' -- that quickly and deservedly became a [[Cult Classic]]. "Joliet" Jake Blues has [[Just Got Out of Jail|just been released from prison]], with Elwood there to pick him up in a battered piece of crap that used to be a police car. (Elwood is not silent in this film--he gives some serious lectures.) Fulfilling a promise, the Blues go to the Chicagoland orphanage where they grew up and visit "The Penguin", the nun who runs the place; it is during this meeting that the brothers learn that the orphanage is about to be closed down due to a tax bill that is unable to be paid.
Wondering what they could do to save the orphanage, Jake sees the light -- literally -- while listening to a sermon from [[James Brown]]. During the lively service, he has an epiphany and receives a [[Mission from God]]: the Blues Brothers must [[Putting the Band Back Together|get their band back together]] and raise the money to save their old orphanage ''no matter what''. Along the way, they meet up with [[Cab Calloway]], [[Carrie Fisher]], [[Aretha Franklin]], [[Ray Charles]], [[John Candy]], [[Twiggy]], [[
There was a sequel -- ''[[Blues Brothers]] 2000'' -- in 1998. This film didn't go over as well as the original, in part because some important players -- most notably [[John Belushi]] -- had died in the interim (the death [[Real Life Writes the Plot|was actually worked into]] [[Lampshade Hanging|the film's plot]], but it didn't really help
[[John Landis]] helmed the director's chair on both movies.
''The Blues Brothers'' was named to the National Film Registry in 2020.▼
▲''The Blues Brothers'' was named to the [[National Film Registry]] in 2020.
{{tropenamer}}
* [[Mission from God]]
{{tropelist}}
* [[A-Team Firing]]: Everyone's a crap shot, except when they're not aiming ''directly'' for the Blues Brothers. Vaguely justified with Holy Protection, but mostly played for [[Rule of Funny]].
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* [[Animated Adaptation]]: In 1997, 6 animated episodes were produced (with Peter Aykroyd and Jim Belushi) for the UPN network but were never aired.
* [[Backup Twin]]: Jim Belushi filled in for his late brother in a handful of live shows. Averted in the sequel, where he wasn't cast, due to scheduling and contract issues. [[What Could Have Been|It could have worked quite nicely]].
** Belushi and Aykroyd currently{{when}} perform in the [[Expy|Have Love Will Travel]] blues revue.
* [[Bash Brothers]]: They don't fight a lot, but when they do...
* [[Bavarian Fire Drill]]: Elwood's "puffball bacteria". John Goodman's [[Large Ham|intentional hamming it up]] and Evan Bonifant's over-the-top screaming is hilarious, but the rest of the band ''[[Crowning Moment of Funny|completely ignoring them]]'' is what sells it.
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* [[The Power of Rock]]: The original R&B in this case.
* [[Puppy Dog Eyes]]: Jake Blues make have executed the most epic use of this trope ever.
▲* [[Putting the Band Back Together]]: The [[Trope Namer]].
* [[Real Men Love Jesus]]: The boys are on a Mission from God, and would like to remind you that "the Lord works in mysterious ways."
* [[Real Place Background]]: "This is definitely Lower Wacker Drive."
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[[Category:Notable Quotables]]
[[Category:National Film Registry]]
[[Category:Cult Classic]]
[[Category:Pages with working Wikipedia tabs]]
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