Review of Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) by Jay D — 22 Apr 2009

After churning out work that could arguably be considered classic in the late 70s through the early 80s, John Landis and Dan Akroyd proved themselves to no longer "have it" by attaching themselves to such tripe as Nothing But Trouble and Celtic Pride in Akroyd's case and Oscar and The Stupids in Landis'.

So with the end of the century looming, they teamed together to make this film. Perhaps they thought that with nothing left to lose (including their shame), they could remember how to make good movies by retreading their own well-tread territory.

It didn't work. Blues Brothers 2000 is one of those movies that feels like it only happened because the cast and producers wanted so badly to be associated with the original. In all the excitement, they seem to have forgotten to make a film that makes any sense or has any redeaming comedic value.

A disjointed mess with a handful of mediocre songs thrown in wherever the filmmakers decided they wanted them, the movie is really a headache to watch. Going away from it, one feels embarrased for those on screen and mournful of the disrespect paid to the original Blues Brothers movie.