The Blues Brother, a film I hadn’t seen before, stuck out to me in so many ways. As a jazz trombonist and enthusiast, I absolutely loved the film’s music. Encompassing a great assortment of bluesy tunes was a phenomenal supporting cast, with the likes of  Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Ray Charles. The film’s capacity to entertain, however, goes far beyond its great soundtrack. Although the plot seemed predictable at times, the comedy packed action scenes were vastly entertaining, and the directors struck a great balance between introducing new storylines and continuing/building upon previously introduced ones. An example of this is seen with the gas station scene, where Elwood Blues is chatting up Twiggy (a British culture icon in the late 20th century who made a cameo in the film). When Elwood is leaving, he tells Twiggy to show up to a particular hotel if her date doesn’t show up. The movie continued on with its plot, and during the falling action/end of the film, we get a short scene of Twiggy waiting outside that particular hotel — a short continuation of a plot line that I got a kick out of. The car chase scenes throughout the film were amongst the best I’ve ever seen — painted a nice color of action. In some scenes, the stunt crew destroyed as many as 70 cars in pile-ups!

Outside the cult-film status The Blues Brother has acclaimed in late nite cinema, it also presents a considerable amount of moral symbolisms and themes. If we take a step back and look at the grant goals of our dual protagonists, Elwood and Jake strive for something selfless, although the means through which arrive at such a goal may not be completely correct, with their quest of helping the orphanage. When Aretha Franklin sings to stop her husband from leaving the restaurant to go play in a band, we get a nod at how personal goals and goals of a relationship can often misalign. Altogether, it’s simply a great film. 10/10 would recommend.