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LowComDom Performances Presents
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LowComDom Performances Presents
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Film Review - Blues Brothers, The
They're on a mission from God. Unfortunately, the writer, director, stars, producer, clapper/loader and third assistant cameraman weren't.
The Blues Brothers should be a much funnier movie. It fails because it just meanders around the screen in search of a middle. The beginning and end are fine, it's just that part in the middle -- you know, the 75 minutes they have to stretch to make it a feature length? Yeah, that's the problem. It's a 10-minute Saturday Night Live skit crammed into 133 minutes. This thing gets so lost, you need a Global Positioning System to figure out where the bathroom is.
This could have been a better film. There are things to like here. You have two very offbeat fellas trying to save the orphanage they grew up in. All they know is theft and music. They decide on music. The music in the film is great, there's just way too little of the Blues Brothers performing. Then there's Carrie Fisher's role as the "Mystery Woman" as she's know in the credits. Jilted at the altar, she's out for revenge and she'll take out half of Chicago to do it. Expand this role. It was such a throwaway, they couldn't even think of a name. Oh, that would mean character development, just what this movie avoids at all costs.
This is a very loose movie with a few good gags, a lot of wrecked police cars, and a good premise. I know it made a lot of money, but it just needed to be a better picture.
Film Facts
Directed by John Landis
Released in 1980
MPAA Rating: R
Reviewed by Mongo
