Blues Brothers 2000 Reviews

In the tradition of misbegotten sequels that stagger into theaters long after the original movie's release, this follow-up to 1980's BLUES BROTHERS may find a sympathetic berth with ardent fans. But newbies are warned to stay away, unless they feel compelled to experience endless scenes of pointless buffoonery and crashing cars. Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) is released from prison and sets out to assemble the Blues Brothers band. He also pays a visit to the orphanage where he and his late brother Jake (the late John Belushi) were raised. There, an orphan named Buster (J. Evan Bonifant) is foisted on him by mean old Mother Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman), who also shares some news about his deceased mentor Curtis (Cab Calloway): Curtis has a grown son named Cabel Chamberlain (Joe Morton), who turns out to be a humorless state police commander and all-around handy plot device, since the movie seems determined to recapture the glories of the SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT days. Suffice it to say that Elwood's quest leads him to a strip joint -- where he picks up an unlikely lead singer (John Goodman) -- a state fair and then it's on to New Orleans. Along the way, there are a multitude musty and curiously static song and dance numbers, run-ins with the Russian mob and white supremacists, and close encounters with a laundry list of blues greats, who are, presumably, being honored by the combined visual and verbal acuity of writer/director John Landis and co-scripter Aykroyd.