"Blues Brothers" Brings Back Belusi And Musical Friends
Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades
My photographer friend Ed studied at the Art Center in California where he claimed to have photographed lots of movie stars. The only portrait of an actress I saw was one of a bit player named Kathleen Freeman. She often played the grumpy neighbor or grumpy housekeeper.
In "Blues Brothers" -- the old John Belushi/Dan Aykroyd musical comedy that's being reprised at the Tropic Cinema as its Monday Night Classic -- she plays a grumpy nun named Sister Mary Stigmata, the Catholic School teacher who sends Jake and Elwood Blues on a "Mission from God."
Never mind what said mission is. It's a MacGuffin that gives the boys a chance to sing blues, meet famous musicians ranging from Aretha Franklin to Ray Charles, and wreck cars.
Very entertaining if you like Saturday Night Live sketches stretched to bunji-like limits.
We're reminded of the uninhibited energy that was funnyman John Belushi and the deadpan humor that marked this incarnation of Dan Aykroyd
A franchise cut short by Belushi's drug-induced death, "Blues Brothers" yielded one movie sequel and a chain of music clubs. Akyroyd was left partnerless and not quite as funny ever again.
September is Music Madness Month at the Tropic and this brief visit with those two soul men is a welcome addition for those of us who weren't too stoned to remember the heyday of SLM and it's alumni.
Srhoades@aol.com
[from Solares Hill]
Friday, September 9, 2011
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