Marleen Troutt
Daily Egyptian
Two brothers, both alike in dress.
In fair Chicagoland, where we lay our scene ...
The name of the man who stands before the release officer reclaiming his belongings is spelled out on tattooed fingers. J-A-K-E.
One Timex digital watch. Broken.
One used prophylactic.
One soiled.
A 1974 Mt. Prospect police car, a Dodge Sedan with Illinois plates, pulls up outside the castle turrets of Joliet Correctional Center. The fingers crunched around the steering wheel offer the next introduction. E-L-W-O-O-D.
One black suit jacket.
One pair black suit pants.
One hat. Black.
One pair sunglasses. Black.
Just after the marker that reads "Richard J. Dailey, Mayor," the bluesmobile rockets over the East 95th street bridge while it opens to let a boat pass. In the next 10 minutes, our newfound heroes will return to the orphanage of their youth in Calumet City. Their surrogate mother, "The Penguin," a white nun, will beat them with a ruler.
Curtis (the "King of Hi-De-Ho," Cab Calloway) will take a different approach. This elderly black janitor, who raised them by singing the blues, sends the pair to church. With James Brown as the preacher - and a dancing, singing and flipping congregation - you know somebody's gonna see the light.
But this is not a story about redemption, though the two are on a mission from Gaaad. The scenery is bleak. Nevertheless, it manages to be a homage to Chicago. It's not quite a musical, yet choreographed song and dance numbers starring legends such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and the Blues Brothers themselves are more prevalent than dialogue. It's not exactly about two wayward white boys who bust all class and color barriers just by the love of the blues, but the bluesmobile does plow through the American Socialist White People's rally.
"I hate Illinois Nazis," Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) explains in his Chee-caa-go-meets-Dragnet accent while he mows down the bigots.
It is unmistakably 1980, and they are the original men in black, the Blues Brothers. And what this movie definitely is? Fun.
And for us, the ties run deep.
As Illinoisans, "The Blues Brothers" is irresistible. And as SIU students, this movie is a must-brag. Yeah, most people know that John Belushi (Jake) made the original "COLLEGE" shirt for his other masterpiece of the era, "Animal House," here in Carbondale, and that his brother Jim is an alumnus. But an interesting side note is that one "Blues Brothers" producer, Robert K. Weiss, is an alum as well. Weiss is also the guy who helped to give us such unforgettable '80s classics as "Amazon Women on the Moon" and "Kentucky Fried Movie."
Let's face it. The legacy isn't exactly one you would find in a lit class. Though, I hear they're teaching Tupac's lyrics at Harvard these days, so anything's possible.
But even with the love of Chicago and the blues, the elements of this SNL-skit-made-movie normally wouldn't add up. The plot consists of two hoodlums trying to save an orphanage by reuniting their band to play one last gig before Illinois' blue line busts their cross-state, criminally divine mission. After all, this is a soul musical starring white guys with special effects that would make cinema and photography students cry. The costars include a crazed and murderous Princess Leia - uh, I mean Carrie Fisher - and a city-hall-fighting crime car.
Romeo and Juliet it ain't.
But somehow, some way, this goofy-plotted, R&B, '80s musical comedy is a classic all the same.
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
