Main Cast: Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, Joe Morton, Evan Bonifant, Nia Peeples
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 150 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Dan Aykroyd and John Landis teamed to script this sequel to The Blues Brothers (1980), which they also co-scripted. With Landis once again at the helm as director, Aykroyd re-creates his role of rhythm-and-blues man Elwood Blues, and the film's numerous R&B performances and production numbers include Aretha Franklin singing her classic "Respect". Released from prison after serving 18 years for the havoc depicted in the first film, Elwood learns that while he was serving time, his pal Jake Blues (John Belushi) has died, as did their hi-de-ho music mentor Curtis (Cab Calloway). Times have changed, but the blues beat goes on. Elwood visits Mother Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman), who runs the orphanage where Elwood and Jake were raised, and she puts 10-year-old Buster (J. Evan Bonifant) in Elwood's care. Seeking a loan, Elwood visits Curtis' son, Cabel Chamberlain (Joe Morton), and Buster picks Cabel's pocket. Now, 18 years after the original "mission from God," Elwood attempts to reorganize the Blues Brothers Band, beginning with bartender Mighty Mack McTeer (John Goodman) as a replacement for Jake. With the Russian Mafia in hot pursuit, Elwood, Mack, and Buster head cross-country, locating band members as they travel pell-mell toward a scheduled battle of the bands in Louisiana where the Blues Brothers Band competes with the Lousiana Gator Boys Band (Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Dr. John, Travis Tritt, Steve Winwood, Clarence Clemmons, Isaac Hayes). Filmed in Toronto and Chicago, this movie reunited Aykroyd and Goodman, who were seen previously in the 1996 video, The Return of the Blues Brothers, a performance taped January 24, 1995 at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. Elsewhere, the Blues Brothers are kept alive in a half-dozen or so websites, such as the House of Blues, and live stage productions. In England, the stage show A Tribute to the Blues Brothers began in 1991. At the request of Aykroyd and Judy Belushi, the title of that production was changed to The Official Tribute to the Blues Brothers. With various cast members in the roles of Jake and Elwood (Con O'Neill, Warwick Evans, Brad Henshaw, Simon Foster), the show toured Britain throughout the 1990s. The "original Blues Brother" (who coached John Belushi and originated some of the blues raps used by Belushi) is Curtis Salgado (of the Robert Cray Band). One cast member of Blues Brothers 2000, bluesman Junior Wells, the last of the great Chicago harmonica players, died in January 1998, only days before the film was released. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Review
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. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Kathleen Freeman - Mother Mary Stigmata; Frank Oz - Prison Warden; Steve Lawrence - Maury Sline; Erykah Badu - Queen Mousette; Darrell Hammond - Robertson; Aretha Franklin - Mrs. Murphy; James Brown - Rev. Cleophus James; B.B. King - Malvern Gasperon; Steve Cropper - Himself; Donald "Duck" Dunn - Himself; Murphy Dunne - Himself; Willie "Too Big" Hall - Himself; Lou Marini - Himself; Tom Malone - Himself; Alan Rubin - Mr. Fabulous; Matt Murphy - Himself; Sam Moore - Reverend Morris; Wilson Pickett; Eddie Floyd; Jonny Lang - Janitor; Junior Wells - Himself; Lonnie Brooks - Himself; Eric Clapton; Clarence Clemons; Bo Diddley; Dr. John; Isaac Hayes; Billy Preston; Lou Rawls; Paul Shaffer - Marco; Koko Taylor; Travis Tritt; Steve Winwood; Jacob Adams
Credit
Dan Yarhi - Art Director, Grace Gilroy - Associate Producer, Ross Clydesdale - Casting, Joanna Colbert - Casting, Barry Lather - Choreography, Deborah Nadoolman - Costume Designer, Richard Cowan - First Assistant Director, John Landis - Director, Dale Beldin - Editor, Paul Shaffer - Composer (Music Score), Bill Brodie - Production Designer, David Herrington - Cinematographer, Dan Aykroyd - Producer, Leslie Belzberg - Producer, John Landis - Producer, Glen Gauthier - Sound/Sound Designer, Rick Avery - Stunts Coordinator, Dan Aykroyd - Screenwriter, John Landis - Screenwriter
Blues Brothers 2000 picks up 18 years after The Blues Brothers, with Elwood being released from prison, this time a rather high-tech private prison rather than the old Illinois state prison depicted in the first film. He learns that his brother, Jake (John Belushi) has died, along with their surrogate father figure Curtis (Cab Calloway), and that the orphanage the two had saved in the first film is no more; however he is told of his second brother (of sorts). The "brother" is the illegitimate son of Curtis, named Cabel "Cab" Chamberlain (Joe Morton), whom until Elwood entered his life had no knowledge of Curtis being his father. Cab is a Commander in the Illinois State Police and angrily refuses to support Elwood, a habitual criminal. Elwood takes a job as an announcer in a nightclub (A strip club owned by the drummer of the Blues Brothers band, Willie Hall), where he discovers that the bartender (played by John Goodman) has singing talent, while getting on the bad side of the Russian mafia who have been demanding payoffs from the nightclub.
After the Russian mafia burns down the club, Elwood resolves to put the band back together once again with John Goodman's character as his new partner and a 10-year old orphan named Buster (J. Evan Bonifant) also tagging along. The band travels to several locations shown in the first film with a depiction of how they have changed in the intervening years (Bob's Country Bunker for example is now Bob's Country Kitchen, a family restaurant). As well as upsetting the mafia, Elwood also falls foul of a "white power group" and the police force, headed by a zealous and ruthless Cab.
Finally, the band heads south to Louisiana with the intention of entering a battle of the bands held at the home of a voodoo practitioner named Queen Moussette, played by Erykah Badu. At the battle of the bands they compete against B. B. King's band. Ironically, B. B. King's character started the band only after Elwood bought a police car from him in the beginning of the film.
Following its predecessor, The Blues Brothers 2000 made a record in the Guinness Book of Records, for the biggest car pile up, a record previously held by the original film. Approximately 60 cars were used in the scene after Elwood says to the band "Don't look back." Inevitably, they look back and see the massive pile-up.
Casting
The film was originally intended to include Brother Zee Blues (James Belushi). But due to an already existing television deal, Belushi was unable to appear in the film and the script was altered to include Cab Blues (Joe Morton). This character was named Cabel such as homage to Cab Calloway, who died four years prior to the film's release (his character Curtis was revealed to have died in the film along with Jake.)
The band's original keyboardist, Paul Shaffer, was committed to Gilda Radner's one-woman show on Broadway and was unable to appear in the first film. He was replaced by actor-musician Murphy Dunne. However, Shaffer appears in Blues Brothers 2000. He took a week off from Late Show with David Letterman in order to film his role as Marco, Queen Moussette's aide (Warren Zevon took his place that week on the show). During the Funky Nassau number, Marco asks to cut in on keyboards, which Murph allows. This marks the first on-screen time that the Blues Brothers Band plays with their original keyboardist.
A Blues Brothers 2000 video game was released for the Nintendo 64 on November 17, 2000, almost two years after the film's release. The plot of the game involves Elwood as the main character going through different chapters and levels, while trying to save the kidnapped members of the band one by one.
