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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
 Posted - 11/10/2006 : 11:02:54 PM
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Why is the Blues Brothers movie so entertaining?
The movie is patently ridiculous. Forget the impromptu singing/dance numbers. There are scenes like the [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uPP9A9o7dQ"]mall chase[/url], or Carrie Fischer's attempts to kill Jake with bazookas, flame throwers and M-16's, the police car pile ups, the flip made by the Bluesmobile to escape the Nazis, and the Nazi's becoming airbourne when they fly off the bridge(so high they nearly hit the Sears tower). Most of that in the [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNzDOA0y7C0&mode=related&search="]final chase[/url].
The movie almost takes on a Zucker like feel.
It should also be noted that these characters should not be likable. There antics put people in danger. They're lucky no one got hurt during that mall chase. Also, I think the Good Old Boys have a legitimate greivance against the Blues Brothers because they stole their gig and then tried to tell them they couldn't play because they didn't have union cards. Not to mention other characters, like Ray Charles shooting a gun at a child.
But for me, all of this works.
The question I have before the group is WHY does it work? Other movies had characters who acted like creeps and tried to get us to root for them. They also had ludicrious situations. But those movies tended to annoy me.
Can anyone think of any examples of movies that try to be Blues Brothers but are not?
And why did it's sequel fail? Other than the obvious, no John Belushi.
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"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
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jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2006 : 06:00:24 AM
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| I'm not sure why Blues Brothers worked. I think part of it is just how over the top it all is. Something outrageous happens and no one reacts as if it was outrageous. It was just a typical thing. I'm sure that's a big part of it. I can't name any off the top of my head, but other movies that tried to be outrageous like that were way too self-concious, like they were looking at the audiences and saying "See that? Isn't that funny?" after every single gag. |
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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2006 : 10:21:03 AM
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Well for sake of comparison, I would put on the table the Home Alone sequels. The gags in those were over the top and DIDN'T work.
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"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
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KurtVon
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
387 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2006 : 2:51:59 PM
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One of the ways BB gets away with the over the top-ness is that it eases into it so smoothly. At the beginning it's fairly serious. The first hint of oddness is the Mall chase scene, and even that is at least physically possible (though one would think after the first minute or so everyone would have already been out of the way).
From there is just eases into more and more until, at the end, when their car does a backflip, and the Nazis drive off a highway embankment elevated half a mile above downtown Chicago, you barely notice.
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2006 : 4:25:17 PM
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| I'd go with KurtVon here. John Landis was (at least back then) way more clever than he is credited for. At his best, he can uses absurdity and deadpan humour like noone else. At his worst, which is way too often, his movies just look retarded. |
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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2006 : 5:52:16 PM
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He also handled it was a bit of finesse.
Looking at the Bluesmobile backflip scene, I noticed some things.
I think it works for two reasons:
One, Landis keeps the camera low so that your looking up at the cars as they head out on the ramp. So when you look at the cars silohetted against the skyline, you can imagine they are high up.
Two, Landis doesn't show you the ground. The ramp looks like its pointed in to the horizon. Almost like it is on the edge of a cliff. So when the Nazis go over, you can believe their pinto launched itself from a high place.
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"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
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Altair IV
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
Japan
110 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2006 : 10:42:35 AM
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I think one of the biggest reasons it worked is that it was a work of passion. From the "making of" video you can get with the DVD, you learn that the real driving force behind this movie was Dan Akroyd's sheer passion for Blues music. He wanted everyone to experience his love of the genre, and he infected everyone involved with that same desire. Everyone wanted to make a movie that lived up to that love. And the way that The Blues Brothers re-jump-started the music careers of James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and the other singers who were involved shows how well they succeeded.
Of course it also helps to have a great script, great comic actors who have good chemistry together, and sheer good luck. Or maybe they had a magic talisman that kept Jabootu away?
The sequel failed for the inverse reason. I think really the only reason it was made was to cash in on the original's success. There was no deep-burning desire to tell a good story, just a half-hearted attempt to recapture the "formula" that the first one had. It has all the stench of a project pushed from above by a Hollywood suit who doesn't really understand what makes movies work, but thinks that what worked for one will certainly work for a sequel--even two decades later.
And of course without Belushi, I think it would have failed no matter what they did. |
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Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2006 : 8:33:09 PM
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Another reason The Blues Brothers movie worked could be that Jake and Elwood didn't try to be "designated heros" like in SOME movies. There was no attempt to convince the audience that they were "right" no matter WHAT they did. In The Sting and Paper Moon (For instance) there was the underlying suggestion that the people who were conned should THANK the "heros" or at least "be honored" that they lost their money to the stars.
An extreme example maybe, but that's all I have.
"The Queen is testing poisons." CLEOPATRA, 1935 |
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Citizen Carrier
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
322 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2006 : 9:43:46 PM
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I think "Blues Brothers" works because, well, how old were you when you first saw it?
Can you imagine your grandparents liking this movie if they saw it after they were 30 years old? Your youth made it work. That and an appreciation for the absurd that not everyone possesses. Your nostalgia for your youth sustains it. |
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Asta Kask
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Sweden
263 Posts |
Posted - 11/15/2006 : 06:28:33 AM
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They also get the timing of the comedy just right. That is maddeningly difficult, and the reason people say "Dying is easy, laughter is hard." You have to time it just correctly for it to work. Look at "Borat" for another movie which shouldn't work - but which does.
Perhaps the best reason is Schopenhauer's: "The talent hits the target other people miss. The genius hits the target the other people didn't see." Blues Brothers is a work of genius.
- Who is John Galt? -
P.S. Oh, and the BB themselves tap into the "lovable rogue" stereotype. From the beginning, when Jake is released from prison, the movie alerts us that these guys are rogues. And yeah, they do very bad things, but they have a good heart. They hate Nazis (and who doesn't). They are out to save their old orphanage. Etc. Also, the movie's ending is perfect. They DO get punished for their crimes. It doesn't end in a smoochie-everything-is-forgiven manner. So they may be "designated heroes", but the guy who wrote the script understood that even designated heroes go to jail when they do bad things. |
Edited by - Asta Kask on 11/15/2006 06:33:03 AM |
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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
Posted - 11/15/2006 : 10:43:41 AM
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Doubt I find it entertaining because of nostaligia.
Take the Che' Paul restaurant. They deliberately go in to that restaurant to be annoying. But its done in a fun way. Slurping Don Peireon and throwing shrimp cocktails in their mouths always gets me to giggle. And when he asks the guy behind him to "Sell me your children," I thought that was cute. It doesn't have any stomach turning moments(except for Pee Wee Herman as a effete waiter). It also doesn't make me feel embarrassed to be watching such garbage. Like Freddy Got Fingered or Dukes of Hazzard.
Imagine Adam Sandler and Rob Schieder doing the Che' Paul restaurant sequence. Or the prison discharge inventory scene, what do you think that "One soiled" would have morphed in to these days?
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"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
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