S4E43: The Blues Brothers

As one of the older kjb listeners who grew up with this film its fine that younger people do not get the things in this film or the context of why it was so important at the time to sustaining soul music. Im glad they have introduced it to a whole new group of younger people. Not everyone as to get everything.

My opinion of this movie is that I liked it a lot more before I knew more about the director.

"as a series of tiktoks and music videos you can watch on your phone" I am 2:30 into this episode and already I have popped ten veins in my forehead. I'm late to this but my god it does feel immediately like trashing a beloved thing just because it means you have a cool edgy opinion on it. Anyhow this movie rocks, it's all about love and doing what's right no matter what. It's crazy and ridiculous while being boldly pro black in an era of (even more) extreme racism than now, barely 15 years from when segregation ended. It isn't revolutionary nor is it perfect in any way but by god I would put it in my top ten of all time forever. It is a celebration of culture and beauty and life, comparing it to a tiktok music video is insane to me.

Not liking a movie is fine--in fact I have no strong opinions on The Blues Brothers. But Abi behaved like a petulant child on this episode and I hope her co-hosts had a sit-down with her and gave her an attitude adjustment. Extremely unpleasant to listen to.

i love you..

I have a feeling that Nova was desperately trying not to just say "skill issue" every time Abby said the movie didn't make her laugh

I think part of why Abby didn't like this movie is because it's meant to be a movie you share with people. Like at least one other person. Watching it by yourself doesn't hit. I watched it with my boomer dad who not only knew all the references, but loves blues and saw it when it came out in theaters. I had a great time.

This movie could not exist outside of a time rich with leaded gasoline and cocaine

From the states, but always been more of a Kids In The Hall(also a Lorne Micheals project) fan. Could do without the blackface, but the high level of cross dressing speaks to me. Plus there's a sprinkling of gay stuff, so yeah, good times.

This was the hardest listen so far, I didn't finish because the lack of context. its a fun ride with the biggest and most formative names in blues still alive at that time. I started playing blues because of this movie as a teen. It was a gateway into artist that had died far before I was born. I understand not knowing that but this is arrogance.

I think it's a funny bit on this comedy podcast that Abbie disliked the movie.

Cracking up at the number of times Abi says "...sure."

I think maybe all of the hosts and the audience would have had a better time if Abby had just taken a week off and Matty had subbed in

It sounds like Abi thinks more highly of Ghostbusters than Blues Brothers? That's depressing

I didn't like the film very much either.

Oof Abby chill

I feel about Blues Brothers the same way I feel about Baby Driver: There's a lot to love about it which gets better on a rewatch, and there are some bits that are seriously fucked and creepy or bad

This movie is the Odyssey. I will not elaborate.

Just rewatched it with my wife, confirmed the gang missed the mark here. The blues brothers fucks insano style

I disagree with Abby that scenes need to advance story and character. Scenes can just be vibes. I agree with Abby that the Blues Brothers isn't funny.

Gunsmith Cats! When?! All three episodes are <60mins, it's a Japanese interpretation of a u.s.ian city.. CHICAGO!! The IMFDB page alone should qualify it, and the big bad is an enigmatic KGB agent!! with a bulletproof cloak!!

KJB reaches the "sniffs their own farts" stage of podcasting

Abigail, stop watching TikTok and YouTube shorts, PLEASE.

I just wanna comment that even if you disagree/dislike/get profoundly annoyed by a movie, it still feels *very harsh* to reduce it to saying "watch it in tiktoks" I dunno, for a movie-centered podcast it felt like lashing out at it instead of, dunno something else.

Oof. This was a pretty rough listen, haha.

It is funny how Hollywood-brained Abi is. Movies are NARRATIVE and they are AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE and they ALWAYS SAVE THE CAT

Man, this comment section is mean. I am gonna say: I haven't seen the Blues Brothers, but Ghostbusters is mediocre at best. It isn't funny, it's deeply reactionary, and the protagonist is just a vile creep. It's a true SNL film, in that it's a genuinely great concept with miserable execution. (Also you should definitely do Blues Brothers 2000 because it would be hilarious.)

I hear your John Belushi "O.D." joke, November, I see you

The amount of vitriol towards abi not liking this movie is quite baffling. Bunch of facebook level angry dad comments. “Take a chill pill” - as they used to say

At some point it's not the movie's fault that Abi doesn't know who Twiggy is.

I'm suspecting this is Abi's revenge for Nova being cold on Top Secret.

Why wasn’t this introduced as part of the religion series??

I cannot believe Carrie Fisher did not merit a "woman I love to see" shout out. She certainly is that for me.

@Devon. Ref 43:18. For me it's not hate so much as its disappointment. I respect Abigails opinions of the film, as with everything personal experiences have a right to a voice, imo, but its how the conflicts of opinion were handled. I have no strong views of this film one way or another but this episode of the podcast has left a sour taste for me. Better luck next week.

Bit painful to listen to, it really needed someone to explain things, like the importance of Chicago to blues music, or why Cab Calloway singing Minnie the Moocher actually has some themeic resonance like Kobal Deux did in a earlier comment. Even moving the discussion at the end about the reception (not playing in theaters in white suburbs) to the beginning might have helped ground the discussion on the importance of the film. But without that it was just the frustrating experience of someone trying to share something they like with you, you not liking it, and them just not being willing to accept that their joy isn't something they can successfully share with you. No idea how they could have handled it in a podcast format

I would like to challenge Abby to bring us a movie where the characters don't evolve and things don't happen for a reason, but it's good. Because I refuse to believe those are prerequisites for a good movie. I watched The Florida Project recently and found it excruciating and pointless during, but I've been turning it over in my mind ever since, and it was a visual masterpiece as well.

The trio's reception of this film means we can safely assume Wayne's World will not be making an appearance

The lack of familiarity with Dan Aykroyd is unerstandable but has me desperately questioning which season will bring GhostBusters (which I contend to be a fascist film)

I want to watch Abi try to do a better job with the editing. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm saying she can't do it and it would be sufficiently obvious even she might be able to notice once she's done. You have to understand what's good about a movie before you can try to refine it. Like seemingly every movie, Abi thinks it goes in the square hole. Why isn't the cylinder filling out the entirety of the square hole? It's really doing a bad job of being a cube.

After reading the comments I was braced for an unpleasant listen, but honestly I was willing to hear Abi out until she said Ray FUCKING Charles was "completely pointless and should've been cut" at which point I had to get up and walk around the room for several minutes

There's no accounting for taste I guess but this movie had so much more fun and charm than Escape From New York and you three loved that one

I guess maximum overdrive isn't showing up for truck season, could we attest get tenacious d and the pick of destiny for the end of heist season?

Hey, I don't want to pile on, but all of the shutting down of jokes/enthusiasm that Abi did during the podcast made it really hard to finish, and kind of a bummer to listen to. I get not liking something, but it was like dealing with one person who doesn't want to be there and has decided to make it everyone else's problem. I barely watch movies (I've seen maybe 4 of the KJB covered films), but I'm subscribed to the patreon because I love hearing 3 people who are friends talk about them. Even if no one liked the movie, it's genuinely interesting to listen to KJB because they're engaged with each other about it. This one was missing that energy, and I hope that doesn't continue. Absolutely all my best, and if y'all ever come to Toronto Canada I will be there!

I'm American and grew up loving this movie but it was really interesting to hear what Abi had to say as someone who didn't grow up knowing these musicians and the cultural signifiers and stuff. It made me realize just how aggressively American the movie is and I appreciated hearing a new perspective on it

love this episode with November and Devon from Kill James Bond and Abigail from cinemasins

Would‘ve bet an arm and a leg Abigail knows who Twiggy is, glad i did not.

Me hearing about this upcoming episode: Oh boy, they're doing my favorite movie! Me five minutes into the episode: Oh...oh no.

Did Abby quit smoking in this episode or something

November kept me listening to this. Abby--who is normally full of great takes on everything from Foucault to farts--really needs to take a look at this one. I understand that there is a generational aspect to her attitude, and that there is no shortage of problematic aspects to this film, but gee whiz, what if you just enjoyed a whimsical and chaotic anti-racist film from 1981 with some of the best musicians of all time and a couple of white guys making fun of themselves? I mean, "Big Trouble in Little China" didn't get this treatment.

Considering how this episode went, I'd be curious to hear their thoughts on Across The Universe as a companion piece? It's all Beatles, so presumably more familiar than Cab Calloway, and if anything it suffers from having *too much* plot and character arc stuffed in between 30 different musical numbers.

I actually saw the Blues Brothers for the first time earlier this year after a lifetime of seeing it referenced in pop culture. My reaction wasnt quite as negative as Abby's, but I did find myself thinking "huh, they really hadnt figured out the whole SNL-skit-to-feature-film adapatation methodology yet" about 30 minutes in . And then continuously through the next two hours. Many great bits, but a bad movie as a whole.

Another world, a hotel being the cheapest option to live

The Blues Brothers is American Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Key texts for confusedly counterculture suburban dads

TWIGGY SANG THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. SHE KNOWS HER. WHO REPLACED ABBY WITH A DOUBLE?!

Abigail is now an enemy of the city of Chicago and possibly the American people as a whole I'm sorry

First time Ive ever been unable to finish an episode of KJB. This was the audio equivalent of showing a friend a funny YouTube video you like and having them stone-face the entire runtime.

Activity thinking less of Abigail rn 😔

It's crazy how the professional actor has the absolute WORST takes when it comes to stories and movies. This was fucking painful. Fundamental unwillingness to engage with the movie in good faith.

But... but... its the Hidey Ho man from Sesame Street!

Everyone else seems to have said my issues before me so I just wanna add I also was excited to hear this episode at the start of my shift and instead this really irritated me. To be fair it's my favorite movie but damb

This is a Religious Movie? Sanctimonious podcast behaves entirely unlike The Good Samaritan??

lol deeply despise this movie then and now. Carrie deserved better

I have never seen a movie "Miss" like this. But I realize - This is a VERY 1979 movie. And a very American 1979 Movie. The KJB crew is TOO YOUNG for it. The NEXT question is WHY is November inside the area of effect? The Pinto drop was done from a Helicopter. Cocaine is a hell of a drug.

let women dislike things. honestly watching a comedy that barely makes you laugh twice is absolute torture so Abby deserves to rag on it.

Since the Blues Brothers was an R rated film released in 1980, I did not get to see it in the theater, which was weird because my parents did let me watch Animal House, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein in the theater in the 1970s, so I was even younger. I finally got to see it a couple of years later when it dropped on cable. My mother and I were watching the movie for the umpteenth time when my uncle walked in, looked at the TV, and asked, "Why are they doing a Cab Calloway number?" My mother looked at her brother, pointed at the TV, and loudly proclaimed, "Because that's Cab Calloway." And that's how little tweenage me learned who Cab Calloway was.

(Seeing Carrie Fisher) YO IS THAT THE SCRIPT DOCTOR WHO TOOK ALL THE RACIAL SLURS OUT OF AUSTIN POWERS?

The buildup about their faces works better with the theatrical release, because then only time you see any of their eyes is when Jake takes off his glasses to disarm Carrie Fischer, which does hit.

The Blues Brothers confused me for the longest time because I couldn't figure out what the joke was. I finally came to the conclusion that they weren't a joke, I merely assumed they had to be a joke because they're from the joke show, but that's merely because it was the venue available to them to express their special interest. The movie has jokes, but the Blues Brothers themselves are a serious expression of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's love of blues music. (At least, this was the case when John Belushi was alive. We won't talk about Blues Brothers 2000.) I think a lot of the pacing is an artifact of their time on Saturday Night Live, which being a live show has to have a minimum length of the sketches so that they have time to set up the next sketch on the other stage, ending up with a lot of mildly amusing bits run into the ground to make up for the logistics. And I think they just didn't unlearn that in time to make this movie.

This was genuinely painful to listen to. Abby, I'm sorry, but you are so so wrong. November was a champion this episode for defending this, one of the best comedies ever made.

Can we fire Abby? I think it's time.

My favourite thing is the level of film making criticism and humour from the maker of Dracula’s ex-girlfriend

When the podcast doesn't once mention the dead mall where they filmed the mall chase scene that is your autistic hyperfixation 🥲

Koyaanisqatsi episode when?

Omg November's OD joke going unnoticed was sad.

Dang, Abby's a real grumpy gus for this one.

It’s not too late to go back to “Unprovoked”. This was the episode built up for a month as meant to sell us on “Unnecessary” so I thought there was going to BE unnecessary violence that explained changing the name, but it’s just a throwaway line :/

Alright my wish is for a day to sit down with Abigail Thorn and explain what a radical act it was for Landis and Akyroyd to not only spend so much of this movie showcasing these Black musicians — whose careers were essentially over and even headed towards financial ruin — even if it admittedly kills the pace of the piece, even as the studio BEGGED them not to. Golly it was really jarring to hear someone who is so good at empathizing with other perspectives in her work PhilosophyTube just not able to parse at all what this movie is doing and why. But hey, no one bats 100%

Abi said a lot of things that left me with a lot of questions, but I’ll just put forward this one; why would they buy the instruments before they get the guys? They’re no good without the guys to play them, so why promise to pay for them before you know you got a band that can make the money to do so?

Mike November = MN = Minnesota I think that would unlock heraldic loon flair including both the laser and rebel variety. Also, please tell me you're not going to skip Smokey and the Bandit for truck season. Smarmy Burt Reynolds driving a sports car to distract cops from a truck smuggling beer from Denver to Atlanta. Could also beg the question is smuggling heisting.

THE REASON CAB fucking CALLOWAY SINGS MINNIE THE MOOCHER IS BECAUSE THAT'S HIS SIGNATURE TUNE!!! He had a huge career that spanned decades, but that was the big one. Minnie the Moocher by Cab Calloway is a intergalactic gold disc level of song. This was my childhood favourite film. Watching it again as an adult, it did drag a bit now that I have places to be, but I still can't help but love it. It was my first exposure to every celebrity in it, so I didn't get the "oh shit, it's that guy" effect, but that also means it imprinted on me before I realised media could be bad, so I simply cannot be objective here. To me, everyone involved is [x character] from Blues Brothers. I think Abby's criticism of the technicalities of this movie is similar to when I point out poor intonation or bad voice leading or something like that and my friends simply don't give a shit. The music not advancing the plot being an issue is to me like like sex scenes not advancing the plot, except IDGAF about sex scenes. If I want a sex scene, porn is available (with a VPN). Yes, I know music is also available, but I never said I wasn't a hypocrite. A friend's very Catholic mum was once taking about a choir that sings religious music from around the world, so I naturally asked "which religions?" and she unironically said "both kinds, Catholic /and/ Protestant." She had not seen the Blues Brothers, lol. I get that there were so many cameos and it's easy to miss one, but that busker on the street was the legend John Lee Hooker. "There was a flood! FIRE! LOCUSTS!!" Became a vocal stim for me from the age of five until TBD. This movie is just good. Surprisingly little homophobia or transphobia for such an old movie. I do have to concede that if the resolution of the Matt "guitar" Murphy recruitment scene were that Aretha Franklyn came along as well would've made it a better movie and they could've added another song or two about how she's joining would've made it a better movie, and yes it did drag a lot, but I love this movie all the same.

Okay. I don't say this to be mean, or belittling, or even funny, but I think Abigail is too busy to be a podcaster at the moment. Obviously it's great that her career has taken off but I don't think I'm the only one to have noticed a lack of enthusiasm and engagement over the past few months. I don't know if this is a permanent drift or a brief burnout but either way some Double Dragons or even a temporary adjunct third host might be something to consider. Please don't take this too harshly or seriously, I am just an internet moron typing words at strangers at the end of the day. Sorry you didn't enjoy the film.

I've been thinking recently about what I'm calling "onboarding failures" and "buy in". I recently watched an Evasive react video on YouTube, it was "I made Trans men watch the Arnold Schwarzenegger mpreg movie" and the thing is they enjoyed it but they couldn't get over the scientific implausibly. I just kept thinking it's science fiction, if you watch a movie about Arnold Schwarzenegger getting pregnant and you can't get over the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger gets pregnant then you haven't bought into the premise of the movie and you're probably not going to have a good time. If the movie exists in a context that you don't have access to then that's an onboarding failure on the part of the movie. Abbie had an onboarding failure, she didn't understand the premise or the cultural context and therefore she couldn't buy into it and didn't have a good time. I think that's reasonable. To tie it back into the Blues Brothers apparently one thing that got cut from Aykroyd's treatment was an explanation of why the car can do such amazing things, Landis said they didn't need it "it's just a magic car" there's your implicit buy in. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go back to studying theoretical physics so that I can work out the exact mechanism for how the spaceship travels faster than light... Or I could call it an implicit buy in and just write the story?

I used to work at the aerosol factory that Elwood quit from in Westville, IL. It was CCL when they shot there, and KIK (custom products) when I worked there. It was a deleted scene, they then added it to the extended cut. Love this movie. Sry you didnt have a great time Abby.

Oof! Shan't be re-listening to this episode any time soon. That was a bit of a rough one. Looking forward to Sorcerer though!

Okay, genuine idea for Nova: make Abi watch some Bunuel, like The Discreet Charm of Bourgeoisie, or smth. That would show her that you don’t need story to tell something deep.

I remember my perants over hyping this film to me, and then we watched it.... I guess you had to be there when it came out? Car chases are awesom but nothing really happens in this movie. I don't gel with musicals anyway, the only thing more cringe then somebody suddenly bursting into cowardinated singing is how snobby people get about this and rocky horror.

I watched this movie for the first time in preparation for this episode. I knew that my dad quoted this movie a lot, but it turns out it was at least twice as often as I realized.

I also didn't laugh until 90 minutes into this movie, then laughed at like three or four scenes in a row, but I still think Abby is being a downer

It's cool to not like this, but damn Abby made this podcast episode not fun.

Did we . . . umm . . . did we miss an entire heated argument between Abi and Nova before the recording started? Nova made reference to yelling at Abi upon learning Abi did not love the movie as much as she did. Nova also made reference to enlisting a second person to join her in yelling at Abi for not loving the movie as much as they did. If I heard those off-hand comments correctly, Abi's demeanor throughout the recording, including detailed criticism of the movie, makes a lot of sense

If Abi watched the extended version her comments on the pacing are correct.

I don't particularly like Blues Brothers as a movie and I agree with Abby that it's a bunch of loosely connected skits, but they've been mentioning doing this for a while and this is just a very quiet and disappointing episode. It's funny that Devon brings it up so quickly that "We didn't bring in someone for China for Wandering Earth, we aren't bringing in a Yank for this". But not only is Blues Brothers quintessentially american in a way that Wandering Earth isn't about China at a specific time, both the movie and the making of it is part of a specific time in the US. I don't think you have to like it, but not engaging with the context of this particular movie makes the entire thing hollow. Like it's WILD to hear "This is a movie where you're supposed to be hearing Aretha Franklin for the first time". A lot of these singers were people who had been big in American music before the movie, and several had revivals because of the movie.

Abigail is on a mission from God to provide the most bad faith, aggressively negative reading of this movie possible to the point of deliberately seeking out an extra long cut of the movie so she can complain about the movie being too long. I have to respect the hater's spirit.

Listening to this just really reminded me that I'm from Chicago and have been watching this movie since I was born, and that is not the experience of everyone 😂

i have not watched this movie but i will say i immediately became abi-sympathetic when she brought up the runtime. 148 minutes is a *long* time for a movie based on sketch comedy; there’s a reason almost every marx brothers movie, for example, is 90 minutes or less. disagree that a musical number needs to progress the plot as such, either - it is enough for it to indicate the emotional state of a character, as in, e.g., the title number of singin’ in the rain. i do think that an hour between numbers is ridiculous.

Also the Illinois Nazi rally is a direct reference to something which would have been in recent national memory, the Nazis decided to hold a rally in near north Chicago suburb Skokie, a heavily Jewish suburb where a lot of holocaust survivors had settled. It was a massive battle in the courts, where the ACLU took the side of the Nazis and eventually they ended up holding their rally in a south side Chicago park. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Party_of_America_v._Village_of_Skokie

Probably biased because I bonded with my mum over this movie as a kid but like it feels so jarring and disheartening to hear someone who is a working actor and written a play to be so dismissive of a movie that is both an actors passion project as well as a love letter to a deeply cultural music and artistic scene. If your thought is "oh its better as a tiktok" really shows the lack of engagement and is frankly lazy

Okay, so I actually agree with Abigail 100%. Like, this is a movie my Dad likes but it feels like vapor - there's not a lot to it and its just not that funny. Genuinely surprised how many people defend this movie so dearly. Hats off to them, glad they like it! But its not my bag.

I'm ...somewhat older... than the average KJB fan, so I was bracing for a hiding on this one. I was pleasantly surprised in the end.

I love the movie except for the music. That sub-genre of blues really grates on me.

Folks it is OK if Abi dislikes the movie, she is not going to steal your Steelbook edition blu ray no matter how silly or wrong she is about the movie, it is fine. I will say I kind of admire the commitment to the bit, and I am not sure how much of a bit it is, because things like "why are there a lot of shots of chicago in the start of the movie" has the same answer as say, NYC getting the same treatment in Dog Day Afternoon and the idea of the city itself being an important factor in the film seems... obvious? Honestly it is more interesting to listen to someone buck wild like they are allergic to something than reflexively praising. I also have blind spots where my opinions are dumb and bad, so it goes. That said, the bit degenerating into "its not funny" and "no its bad actually" and just sort of gainsaying anything positive about it is more tiresome than angering. So it goes.

A KJB x WTYP crossover would be such a delight!!

This isn't long enough to get me to Hilo 🥲

Bloody hell that was a hard listen about a truly fantastic movie if you watch it on its own terms in good faith. I came in expecting a round of high fives and classic calls of "dudes rock" and "guys we love to see" (LEGENDS of music), but got the most bad faith engagement compared to far worse and more evil movies you have watched and treated better. 100% team Nova on this one. Surprised this didn't end up on the cutting room floor and either did a different movie or a re-record. We made it through the dregs of Eurospy season without things getting THIS bad.

We on a mission from God

As an Australian cis woman the same age as this movie watching it for the first time I put my phone down during the shopping centre scene and didn’t pick it up again. I had a thoroughly good time. I always thought I would hate this movie so never bothered watching, but I loved it. Thanks November :) My favourite visual gag was the row of good ole boys peering out of the little window over the cab of their Winnebago during the final chase

Abi, you right. FUCK JOHN LANDIS

Critical support to The Blues Brothers because I do not care for their movie but Abby's criticism is NONSENCE! Why do things have to Happen in movies? Can't they simply Be instead? Is there no pleasure in art for art's own sake, or whatever. P.S. Speaking of heist appropriate movies with lots of "superfluous" sequences I recommend the films of Seijun Suzuki. The guy hired to make generic Yakuza films and then fired because he did whatever he wanted with them instead. The big ones are "Tokyo Drifter" and "Branded to Kill".

You know when I woke up this morning I found myself wondering if anyone from the movie The Blues Brothers was currently working. I think I know now

I would like to see Abby's "afternoon with premiere pro" cut, or I am going to become Yankee-o Mishima

I‘m with Abi, SNL simply will never appeal to me and turning short comedy skits into a full movie is just never worth it to me. If you‘re making a film it does absolutely have to be About Something. Like what‘s the point otherwise.

So I looked through comments to check if anyone had mentioned that the nazis were actually a topical joke which our hosts probably aren't familiar with because it happened in 1977 in a completely different country from the one they weren't even born in yet so in '77, Skokie Illinois, a suburb of Chicago with something like 40,000 Jewish residents and specifically thousands of Holocaust survivors was chosen as a site for an American Nazi Party rally. They did this specifically because they wanted to march down the streets in front of holocaust survivors waving swastikas. The city banned them for obvious reasons and the fight went to the Supreme Court, and while the nazis eventually got their wish, the march was cancelled and moved to a different, all-white neighborhood in Chicago. So it's about on par with making a punchline villain in your movie a south african techbro who inherited his fortune and is also extremely stupid and racist

A couple of things: 1) I was 18 when this came out, so of course I imprinted on it. 2) Belushi was the great Gen-X antihero at this point; he could do no wrong. 3) I love this movie because it is a glorious goddamn train wreck (see also '1941' and the 1967 'Casino Royale'. 4) Oh Nova. That's not a giant megaphone on the Bluesmobile. It's a Cold War air raid siren.

I hope this doesn't prevent you from doing Wayne's World at some point. Because it's the one SNL movie I genuinely loved

Alright I said I wasn't gonna yell at anynody about this but I just have to share my perspective here: The characters in this movie don't meaningfully demonstrate growth or change. That is a failure of a movie if the purpose of a movie is to impress Robert McKee. There are stories where the most important characters are amoral and static -- trickster tales. And I think that's absolutely what this is. It's a different school of storytelling but I still think it deserves to be portrayed onscreen. Not only that, but it's an appropriate storytelling form to explore blues on screen, because early blues is deeply intertwined with the trickster tale. Similarly, movies like Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Airplane are complete failures if you define success as getting us to empathize with compelling characters and then showing us how they learn through hardship. But I don't think that's what this movie is trying to do. That said the editing is pretty bad and it's too long.

This is a wild listen. Fascinating to see how the trio dont really have the context for the significance of Jazz and the Blues specifically, and its role in American culture, specifically in poor and mostly black communities. Getting these musicians all together in one movie and celebrating not just their products but the musicians themselves and the role the music has in people's lives is fantastic imo. One of the jokes is that Jake and Elwood are taken seriously by some of THE GREATEST JAZZ/BLUES/FUNK musicians in the world, despite them being 1. Average musicians, and 2. Idiots. Don't get me wrong, there are issues, Jake and Elwood are two white guys taking center stage in a movie about Black Culture, but I sincerely think that soooo many people learned about Jazz and Blues through this movie and in my eyes that's a good thing. I also find the movie very funny, but I guess that's a taste thing so whatever haha.

Savages

My Ex Father in Law was a real Chicago guy, considered the suburbs a different country, and I spent 8 years of that marriage having this fight with me as Abi and him as Nova

1) I’m pretty sure that whenever the gang disagrees with each other, I’m on November’s side 2) A few times I feel like the critics didn’t understand why something was in the movie because they missed how they tied into the themes around race, class, and culture. Two prominent examples— opening shots of industrial southern Chicagoland, into Joliet prison, show some of the material hardships out of which the Blues mythically emerges. It’s a little opening reminder (bookended with the prison at the end) of the wider setting that the whimsical and beautiful parts of the movie (and Chicago, for that matter) take place in, which mirrors the way that Blues music itself often sublimates the social into personal and sometimes whimsical lyrics. The second example is a character driven demonstration of this — Cab Calloway’s character is (iirc) a janitor facing the possibility of unemployment. But music makes him feel like a million bucks. So while the lyrics of Minnie the Moocher aren’t explaining some part of his character, the performance still serves that purpose. I don’t think it’s an accident that this character, the literal source of the Blues for the white Blues Brothers, gets this scene. 3) Aside from the above it’s just a feast. It’s probably too slow and too long, but every scene and song is part of the fun. I think it’s probably fair to say that much of that isn’t greater than the sum of its parts, but is it really less? 4) Ok yeah the Aretha Franklin bit always makes me sad. I console myself with the little nod to her supporting the effort to promote the show (iirc…)

Devon, thank you for that trigger warning. It was like a big hug 🫂

I would pay vast sums of money to hear Abby's reactions to Blues Brothers 2000, which carries the grand 2000s tradition of being a cash in sequel that is the Exact Same Movie but Worse in Every Possible Way

It's fair that as brits there was a lot of context missed for this one, but that being said the context is extremely important to getting this movie. It's kind of heartbreaking to hear Abby shutdown every attempt at giving some reason to how this movie was written. If this was art from a time and perspective closer to her own I think she would expect other people to be more generous with accepting something done badly or weirdly but on purpose.

November "The Mic" Kelly

Jesus Christ the Chicago flag. Abby Thorn swinging the fastest and least comprehending glance in the west.

Abby's relentless complaints about films needing to always be about a story in which characters have a clear arc, hence Cab Calloway singing Minnie the Moocher is unneeded reminds me of 17th Century French playwrights dismissing Shakespeare as barbarism for failing to observe the Aristotelian unities. This is a mind that has confused medium for genre, and that insists on forcing all things into the rules of a genre the thing is NOT A PART OF. This is not a film about a tight story. It is not a film about character development. And while it is a film that serves as a delivery mechanism for some funny skits, it is also a film about just loving and enjoying Chicago and the Blues. It's like complaining that a wild life documentary has no character development, or a Noh play was lacking in naturalistic acting. Fundamental aesthetic barbarism, driven by a blinkered, parochial, and fucking basic ass sense of taste. I've never screamed at a podcast more in my life.

As someone who has been hit but a car I can confirm it’s not fun at all, this is something that must be changed.

Through all four years of college I had a full-sized Italian-language poster for the Blues Brothers on my wall, and nobody ever reacted to it at all. In retrospect, that means my college friends have poor taste. That poster fucks tremendously.

Choosing to live in the Abi dimension where Mr. Fabulous and Matt "Guitar" Murphy are Glup Shittos that only nerds recognize, and Sharako Lohar and Nimble Dick Crabb are household names.

As a suburban white Canadian I definitely used Blues Brothers as a "suggested summer reading list" of music i wanted to look into, lol I also 1000% agree with Abigail about the editing. Ironically the "watching it through tictoc" happened to me, through old YouTube rips of Caberet musical numbers.....the emotional whiplash when I finally saw the movie in its entirety!

It’s a shame none of them mentioned that Elwood is exactly the type of name a trans guy would decide to go by

only partially through this episode but suddenly have a desperate need for you to do an episode on The Producers (1968) in relation to this one… it works for heist szn too if you squint really hard

So… complaining about pacing after opting into watching an extended cut is a wild choice 🤯

I'm going to point out that the opening of the movie with the skyline shot starts in northwest indiana looking towards chicago over the oil refinery

On the topic of practical effects, my grandfather happened to be in Chicago the day they filmed the Nazi car falling. They dropped it onto a barge in the lake.

Watched this movie for the first time today, in preparation for this episode. I find myself agreeing with both Abby and November, 60/40 split. Its fine.. could have been so much better with some editing and some actual female characters.

As a former Chicago resident I can confirm that this is a highly accurate depiction of the city and especially it's police force.

Abby needed the subtitles from Convey and surrounded by 10 out 10 blond American women.

[context: i have not finished the episode yet] It’s probably just the way my autism manifests but it’s such a pet peeve of mine when someone doesn’t like something and decides that makes them an authority on why it’s bad

I am marching into these comments as a staunch defender of Abigail Thorn thought movies need to be about something and things need to happen for a reason otherwise it's just mush

For the record, I do have knuckle tattoos as an elementary teacher (HOME / WORK)

If Abi doesn't know who Dan Aykroyd is (has she not seen Ghostbusters???) then you should include Sneakers in heist season.

This is unfortunately my favorite movie of all time. I totally agree with the criticisms of the pacing and tone though, it really is a series of vignettes. My orthodontist can be seen right at the beginning of the first car chase. Also Wrigley Field is the Cubs' park (and the Bears for many years but not at the time of the movie)

The film is absolutely too long, agree, but imagine going "why did they have Cab Calloway sing Minnie the Moocher"

Back in Season 1 we had Top Secret which Abby loved, Devon thought was pretty good and November allowed had one or two jokes in it. Now after Blues Brothers to find balance we need a movie that has Dev shitting themselves laughing while Abby and Nova are just like "Not bad"

The thing I love about how the Blues Brothers walk everything off is that they are invincible because they are on a mission from God, and the MOMENT they succeed, they lose their protection and get arrested. In that sense, it's a religious movie. Abby not liking it is so perfectly Abby that I'm not even mad

Abigail Thorn has avenged Qasem Soleimani by assassinating the Blues Brothers. Justice for November.

Fucking hell I hope Abi is feeling better

Missed the name of Carrie Fishers hair dressers salon - Curl-up & Dye

ABIGAIL HIERONYMUS THORN. ASKING WHY CAB CALLOWAY IS SINGING MINNIE THE MOOCHER IS LIKE ASKING WHY DARTH VADER HAS THAT DAMN IMPERIAL MARCH BEHIND HIM.

Can't wait to hear three British take the Blues Brothers apart in the shed like they're James May

The best way to watch this movie is with a former or current active cocaine user who has such a genuine love for the music and will point out every single musician, how they changed their genre and what else the did.

The head of my sixth form (in leafy Cheshire) had LOVE and HATE tattoed on his knuckles in the 1990s.

Abby, I will sail on your big ship as it hits the other big ship, sinking it instantly

Have not been this uncomfortable with an episode since Cruising.

If you don't like the Blues Brothers you've no business talking about comedy and probably don't really like films.

Obviously his fan base is Generation X focused - but i feel so old hearing that Abi hasnt heard of Canada's Dan Aykroyd - Ghostbusters, Dragnet, Pearl Harbor, Chaplin? Usually plays cool nerdy / academic characters.

"we got both kinds of movies, 9/11 and transgender" Pretty sure the inventory cop guy is Frank Oz, AKA Yoda and Miss Piggy and the lawyer from Knives Out

It is very odd to see two men singing "Stand By Your Man"

Have to agree with Abby on this - pure boomerslop

British people trying to understand Saturday Night Live: Oh, so it's like Monty Python, is it?

Abby needs to chill

Also RELEASE THE ABBY CUT!

Petition to make Abbie watch ghostbusters at some point. Dan Aykroyd's even more neurodivergent, even more unfilmable treatment that got beaten with sticks until it formed a pretty much coherent movie.

Look, the important thing to know is that Dan Ackroyd is deeply autistic and The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters are both highly flawed exercises in some of the greatest comedians of all time hammering a somewhat functional comedy film out of his rambling explorations of his autistic special interests (blues music, the paranormal) resulting in beloved classics that aren't as good as their legacy/reputation suggests, but still worth watching at least once for some legit great moments. That said, having watched it 2 - 3 times over the past ~16 years, I'm far closer to Abbie on this; it's a pretty good comedy and a pretty good musical Tuvixed together and dragged out to the detriment to both. "500 miles to Chicago" and "We got both kinds, Country and Western" are immortal lines, but she's right about the whole being less than the sum of its parts.

I had a craving to watch this around 2020 because it uplifts black voices in America and tells fascists to get f**ked which I really needed at that time. It took me a couple more years to get around to it because I was in charge of fact checking news and political discussion for my group at the time and I was run off my feet for about 5 years. My key takeaway when I eventually got to it was: oh that's how Carrie Fisher got addicted to cocaine between the first two star wars movies!

Humour is a product of its time. As a guy who grew up with SCTV and Saturday Night Live Blues Brothers works for me.

I will say there is something to be said for a movie this long that greatly amused and held the interest of a elementary school child and introduced them to a lot of great music. I will always love this movie. And yes, maybe it was because I was at such an impressionable age and this movie was of a time and I grew up in a SNL house, in 90's USA, with former hippies for parents. Our hard headed cocker spaniel was even named Elwood, after Elwood blues.

Abbie doesn't like BB bc she's unfortunately too British for it.

I watched this movie last weekend after hearing nova's references to it on various podcasts and thought this morning 'I wonder if kjb will do an episode on it', so I choose to believe I willed this episode into existence (not really)

YESSSS FUCK YESSSSS YESSS AMOVIE A MOVIE THIS *IS A MOVIE* ***yESSSSSSSSSSUH***

I never thought about what it would be like to watch this movie as literally anything other than a 14 year old with a love of jazz music and sketch comedy, I'm realising that my extreme love of it might come from something other than its objective quality...

The original Driving Crooners...

I’am not gonna stop asking. Could you please do an episode on “Hell or High water”???