'Blues Brothers 2000' disheartening for fans

JAKARTA (JP): Fans of the 1980 cult classic The Blues Brothers will be disappointed at this one.

The plot of Blues Brothers 2000 is weak, the jokes bland and the gags prosaic.

One saving grace, however, is that the sequel retains the music from its predecessor. But how could it go wrong with legends -- B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett to name but a few -- making cameo appearances, not trying to act, but doing what they do best: sing.

So this one really isn't worth a night out. Catch it on video or buy the soundtrack.

The film picks up 18 years after the last one ended with Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues being released from prison only to find that his brother and soul mate Jake and surrogate father Curtis have died.

Unperturbed, Elwood decides to get his band, The Blues Brothers Band, back together.

Why you may ask? "To get the buzz that no pharmaceutical product could ever replace when the band hits that groove," Elwood says.

In the course of the film Elwood finds out that Curtis had a child whose has grown up to be Commander Cabel Chamberlain (Joe Morton), of the Illinois State Police.

Halfway through the film, during a tent revival meeting, Cabel realizes his mission in life is to join Elwood and sing the blues as he is illuminated in a soulful gospel number.

We all know Morton from his roles in Terminator 2 and Speed, but no one could have known that he could belt out a pretty good tune singing next to Sam Moore and James Brown.

From then on the story basically follows Elwood's attempts to find the old band members and travel to the ultimate gig of the battle of the bands at witch Queen Mozette's mansion in Louisiana.

Along the way he picks up a new sidekick in Mac McTeer, played by John Goodman and the young Buster, played by J. Evan Bonifant.

As they make their way down from Chicago to Louisiana they are chased by Russian mobsters, white supremacists and the police.

In between the film is filled with musical cameos, which is what really keeps it alive.

When he meets up with his old guitar player, Matt Murphy, he has to contend with Murphy's wife played by the irrepressible Aretha Franklin who reprises her role from the original Blues Brothers movie.

But this time they've moved uptown and now own a Mercedes Benz dealership.

The second Aretha comes on you just know what's coming next: Respect.

This movie is really for blues aficionados as it attempts to pay homage to blues and soul greats.

The pattern is set. Audiences are basically left waiting to guess who will be giving the next cameo experience.

There's Blues Traveler, and a great rendition of 634-5789 by Wilson Pickett and Eddie Floyd who own a phone sex service.

Unfortunately this great tune is slightly marred by Edward Lang, who is really not in the same class as Pickett and Floyd. He may be a promising guitarist, but his singing invokes images of a muppet trying to be a blues singer. He neither has the style, groove or feel.

Control

Aykroyd and director John Landis had complete domination over the film, sharing between them credits for writer, director, producer and actor.

Thus it is not surprising that the film tends to go a bit overboard sometimes, with a sense of dj vu of sequences from previous movies they did.

Despite several attempts -- Coming to America, Beverly Hills Cop 3 -- Landis has really not been able to capture the zany impulsive humor of the outrageous 1978 Animal House which included the late John Belushi.

One sequence emulated from previous movies that stands out on its own is a 90-second car pileup. Elwood also forever redefines the meaning of parallel parking as he perfectly skids to park his 1990 Ford black-and-white former police sedan.

Unfortunately totally absurd gags which do not work, such as driving underwater to escape a police blockade, are also included.

Goodman's performance as Aykroyd's sidekick is adequate, but he was in a no-win situation given the comparisons people would make with Belushi.

While Aykroyd's performance as the stiff Elwood blues is true to the original movie, one quickly realizes that the absence of Belushi in support makes the Elwood character lack the eccentricity which it aspires to deliver.

Aside from manifesting his love for the blues, it really makes the audience feel that it is just a midterm project until Aykroyd completes Ghostbusters 3.

Blues

Blues zealots though should find an affinity with this film.

As Elwood and his band make their way down south, the background music shifts from Chicago blues to Delta blues favorites.

Then there's a heavenly all-star band comprising of blues and soul living gods -- B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Eric Clapton, Jimmie Vaughn, Dr. John, Billy Preston, Lou Rawls and many others -- as the Louisiana Gator Boys.

References to great blues rap abound, inciting a kinship only loyal "blues brothers" can appreciate.

When Elwood is about to make a quick escape, Mac McTeer says to him: "Catch you down the road".

Elwood cries back, "Further on up the road!" referring to a standard blues classic.

Then, when his band appears to have given up and on the verge of quitting, Elwood gives a resounding oratory filled with blues- laden accents which blues fans should fine riveting.

It may not be Shakespearean prose, but the emotions invoked to blues lovers are comparable to Henry V's battle cry on St Crispin's Day.

It enunciates how all true bluesmen feel about their lives, history and the state of contemporary music. It is a mission statement:

"Walk away now and you walk away from your craft, your skills, your vocations. Leaving the next generation with nothing but recycled, digitally sampled techno grooves. quasi-synth rhythms, pseudo songs of violence laden gangster rap, acid pop and simpering soulless slush.

"Depart now and forever separate yourselves from the vital legacies of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed, Memphis Slim, Blind Boy Fuller, Louise Jordan, Little Walter, Big Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Elvis Presley, Leiber and Stoller.

"Turn your back now and you snuff out the fragile candles of blues, R & B, soul. And when those flames flicker and expire, the light of the world is extinguished!" (mds)