I want you to "shake a tailfeather" and do yourself a favor—if you haven't seen The Blues Brothers (1980), please do!
It took me a while to finally get around to watching it. I still have a LONG list of films to tackle, and some inevitably slip through the cracks. I'm so glad I finally crossed this one off my list because I had an absolute blast.
I found myself laughing and saying out loud, "What the hell?!" multiple times during the film. 😂 Just when I thought it couldn't get any crazier, it somehow did. The best way to describe it is like a live-action cartoon—endless chaos, thrilling car chases, outrageous humor, and fantastic music from start to finish.
Directed by John Landis and co-written by Landis and Dan Aykroyd, 1980s classic boasts an incredible cast. Alongside Aykroyd and John Belushi, the film features Carrie Fisher and several memorable cameo appearances. It serves as a true love letter to blues music, showcasing legendary performances by Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, and John Lee Hooker.
The car chases are absolutely bonkers. The Blues Brothers set a Guinness World Record at the time by wrecking 103 cars. Every crash was done practically—no CGI, just a whole lot of flying American steel. In one memorable scene, they even dropped a Ford Pinto from 1,200 feet out of a helicopter!
And then there's the iconic shopping mall chase. The filmmakers found the abandoned Dixie Square Mall outside Chicago and decided to use it. They spent weeks restoring it with lights, electricity, storefronts, and real merchandise... only to demolish it all again with speeding police cars crashing through actual glass and real stores.
I love discovering hidden gems like this. It's one of the best parts of watching films. There are so many classic movies that don't always get the recognition they deserve, and then one comes along that's just pure joy from start to finish. If you haven't seen The Blues Brothers, be sure to add it to your watchlist. It's one of those films that you won't want to miss!
