Runtime:
148 minutes (the Extended Edition, anyhow)
Directed
by: John Landis
Starring:
John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Henry Gibson, Cab Calloway, and many
others
From:
Universal
Here
is something that I found out about on Friday night; this weekend,
the theatres at Universal Studios Orlando was showing this film,
which I hadn't seen in many years. I decided to check it out as it
was only 5 bucks. Turns out, from now until October that place is
showing old films during the weekend to celebrate the 100th
aniversary of Universal Pictures. Thus, in the future there will be
shown 4 times during that particular weekend: Animal House, E.T.,
Back to the Future, Backdraft, Jaws, Jurassic Park, The Thing, and
Psycho. Pretty nice. Although, this screening was noticeably from a
DVD player and the sound seemed to come only from the front. It was
like a grindhouse screening. Despite that and the print not looking
so good (the Blu-Ray is a lot better, from what I've seen), it was
still a nice time. The small crowd there ended up being pretty cool
as they were into it, which was nice.
You
probably already know the plot: Jake and Elwood Blues get together
again after Jake gets out of jail. They find out the orphanage they
grew up in is having money problems so they decide to reform their
old band and perform in order to save their childhood home. Along the way a lot of craziness happens and you hear plenty of famous lines.
Sure,
the movie takes its time in them tracking down everyone, and it's
wacky and more absurdist than I had remembered. But, a lot of it
still is quite funny, which is why I was glad to watch it again. If
it hadn't had hold up... I'd be disappointed. Besides the goofy story
being quite entertaining, the big action scenes (through the mall and
then the wild finale that rises to preposterous heights) still work
32 years later and the musical numbers are still awesome, featuring
R&B, gospel, soul, and even some country. It could be argued but
I say the most memorable performance was from Cab Calloway and his
famous song Minnie the Moocher... and he was in his early 70's at the
time. Yet the performance of his famous tune knocked them dead.
The
other talent that was on display was sweet, from Ray Charles and
Aretha Franklin to James Brown and John Lee Hooker. It was real nice
to see them perform, not to mention the groovy soundtrack in general.
There are also famous actors that pop up in small roles, from Carrie
Fisher and Charles Napier to John Candy and Paul Reubens. I did not
remember all of those people being in there.
If
you enjoy loud and nutty and off-the-wall comedies that happen to be
about an awesome subject (African-American music), then this movie is
still quality in 2012.
I'll be back Tuesday night.
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