Plenty of movies that have tried to juggle multiple different genres all at once have crashed and burned in spectacular fashion, but the only way in which that terminology applies to The Blues Brothers is when it comes to the legendary car chase.
The 1980 classic straddles a delicate tightrope that covers almost the entire tonal spectrum, and yet it manages to succeed in all of them. It’s the feature-length expansion of a Saturday Night Live skit, a song-and-dance spectacular, a riotous comedy, a crime caper, a star-studded procession line of cameos, and even an action flick for that unhinged cavalcade of destruction that saw director John Landis and his team annihilate over 100 cars.
What makes it even more incredible is the behind the scenes issues that threatened to derail the entire production, ranging from star John Belushi’s rampant substance abuse problems to The Blue Brothers exceeding its originally-agreed budget by an entire $10 million. And yet, the love for Jake and Elwood remains as strong as ever.
The Blues Brothers might not be one of the greatest films cinema has ever bestowed upon the world, but you can make an extremely well-founded argument that it’s one of the most entertaining. There are at least a couple of moments peppered throughout capable of coaxing a grin out of just about anyone, and watching it alongside a crowd in a packed theater is a joyous experience.
Let’s pretend the sequel never happened, then, because The Blues Brothers will live forever as an unadulterated rush of pure joy.