Hello, all.
From his supporting role in yesterday's flick recommendation to a starring role in today's, Dan Aykroyd is back in the spotlight... alas, for the last time in this series. But what a film on which to have one's coup de grace! You'd think he's on a mission from God or something. Indeed, today's film recommendation is quite obviously:
THE BLUES BROTHERS
From the IMDb, the plot is about how "Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts together his old band to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised."
Of all the feature films to come out of the world of SNL, this one is by far my favorite. Somehow, the absurdity of the whole thing just works, from people leaping twenty feet in the air at the church of "The Godfather of Soul," to the Illinois Nazis' car somehow managing to vault from a road halfway to the ionosphere. The whole thing is pretty ridiculous, really, but that's part of the film's charm... that and the music, of course, which probably deserves billing above even the titular "blues brothers," Jake and Elwood Blues [John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, respectively]. In case you're curious, I've embedded the trailer below.
I'm pretty sure that trailer is as long as the film.
Anyway, one cinematic pet peeve of mine is when the film features an actor who clearly isn't playing the instrument on-screen [MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD being a rare exception]. Here, you've got some truly iconic performers just knocking it out of the park over and over again. There's so much great music that even folks like John Lee Hooker and Ray Charles only manage a glorified cameo. The same goes for Cab Calloway, at least musically. I think I'd probably love this flick if it were just the musical bits... which in lots of ways it is, with a fairly thin plot just barely threading them all together.
But it's just so dang good. There haven't been an awful lot of musical comedies that really hit the mark, with the South Park duo of Trey Parker and Matt Stone coming the closest to managing it recently [and maybe O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?], but this one absolutely does. If you can laugh and tap your feet at the same time, it's a good thing.
Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - GROUNDHOG DAY, Day 2 - KINGPIN, Day 3 - TRADING PLACES, Day 4 - FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF; Day 5 - MODERN TIMES; Day 6 - AIRPLANE!; Day 7 - CHEECH AND CHONG'S NEXT MOVIE; Day 8 - STRIPES; Day 9 - I MARRIED A STRANGE PERSON!; Day 10 - STRANGE BREW; Day 11 - CLERKS; Day 12 - GHOSTBUSTERS; Day 13 - MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE; Day 14 - DUMB AND DUMBER; Day 15 - THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN; Day 16 - THE NAKED GUN: FROM THE FILES OF POLICE SQUAD!; Day 17 - VALLEY GIRL; Day 18 - THANK YOU FOR SMOKING; Day 19 - A FISH CALLED WANDA; Day 20 - THIS IS SPINAL TAP; Day 21 - REAL GENIUS; Day 22 - I LOVE YOU, MAN; Day 23 - TOMMY BOY; Day 24 - NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION; Day 25 - OFFICE SPACE; Day 26 - GROSSE POINTE BLANK]
From his supporting role in yesterday's flick recommendation to a starring role in today's, Dan Aykroyd is back in the spotlight... alas, for the last time in this series. But what a film on which to have one's coup de grace! You'd think he's on a mission from God or something. Indeed, today's film recommendation is quite obviously:
THE BLUES BROTHERS
From the IMDb, the plot is about how "Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts together his old band to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised."
Of all the feature films to come out of the world of SNL, this one is by far my favorite. Somehow, the absurdity of the whole thing just works, from people leaping twenty feet in the air at the church of "The Godfather of Soul," to the Illinois Nazis' car somehow managing to vault from a road halfway to the ionosphere. The whole thing is pretty ridiculous, really, but that's part of the film's charm... that and the music, of course, which probably deserves billing above even the titular "blues brothers," Jake and Elwood Blues [John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, respectively]. In case you're curious, I've embedded the trailer below.
I'm pretty sure that trailer is as long as the film.
Anyway, one cinematic pet peeve of mine is when the film features an actor who clearly isn't playing the instrument on-screen [MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD being a rare exception]. Here, you've got some truly iconic performers just knocking it out of the park over and over again. There's so much great music that even folks like John Lee Hooker and Ray Charles only manage a glorified cameo. The same goes for Cab Calloway, at least musically. I think I'd probably love this flick if it were just the musical bits... which in lots of ways it is, with a fairly thin plot just barely threading them all together.
But it's just so dang good. There haven't been an awful lot of musical comedies that really hit the mark, with the South Park duo of Trey Parker and Matt Stone coming the closest to managing it recently [and maybe O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?], but this one absolutely does. If you can laugh and tap your feet at the same time, it's a good thing.
Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - GROUNDHOG DAY, Day 2 - KINGPIN, Day 3 - TRADING PLACES, Day 4 - FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF; Day 5 - MODERN TIMES; Day 6 - AIRPLANE!; Day 7 - CHEECH AND CHONG'S NEXT MOVIE; Day 8 - STRIPES; Day 9 - I MARRIED A STRANGE PERSON!; Day 10 - STRANGE BREW; Day 11 - CLERKS; Day 12 - GHOSTBUSTERS; Day 13 - MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE; Day 14 - DUMB AND DUMBER; Day 15 - THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN; Day 16 - THE NAKED GUN: FROM THE FILES OF POLICE SQUAD!; Day 17 - VALLEY GIRL; Day 18 - THANK YOU FOR SMOKING; Day 19 - A FISH CALLED WANDA; Day 20 - THIS IS SPINAL TAP; Day 21 - REAL GENIUS; Day 22 - I LOVE YOU, MAN; Day 23 - TOMMY BOY; Day 24 - NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION; Day 25 - OFFICE SPACE; Day 26 - GROSSE POINTE BLANK]
