The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers combines the escapades of two second-rate mobsters--Joliet-Jake and Elwood Blues (a.k.a. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd)--with the music of several first-rate musicians. In addition to the Brothers themselves, the film spotlights Aretha Franklin; John Lee Hooker; Ray Charles; James Brown; old-time blues men “Pinetop” Perkins, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and others; and Cab Calloway, who re-creates his fabulous “Minnie the Moocher.” Unlike M*A*S*H, The Blues Brothers is not anti-everything; in fact, its story is downright corny, and it makes no bones about its love of the blues. But the plot does pit the Brothers against most of the sacred institutions in the greater Chicago area, providing one of the most satisfying treatments of The Shopping Mall ever filmed. The frenetic pace that builds up to a demolition derby on the streets of Chicago is aided by the Laugh-In-like cameo appearances of movie notables from Twiggy to Steven Spielberg; the effect is that of a Great American Pile-Up--of cars, buildings, and people.