Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
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45% of critics liked it
(44 reviews) -
41% of users liked it
(58,592 ratings)
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… More 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, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Landis
- Written By
- Dan Aykroyd, John Landis
- Genres
- Musical & Performing Arts, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jun 1, 1997 Wide
- Studio
- Universal Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Joe Leydon, Variety
The sequel offers more of the same, only less.
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, Time Out
This isn't a sequel, it's a remake.
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Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Once upon a time, it was funny.
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Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times
Once the new sequel gets past its cumbersome plotting and gets down to its music, it overrides the temptation to suggest buying the soundtrack recording and forgetting the rest.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
'I always thought there was another story to be told,' Landis says in the film's notes. Fine; then tell one.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Dan Aykroyd
as Elwood Blues
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John Goodman
as Mighty Mack McTeer
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Joe Morton
as Cabel Chamberlain
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J. Evan Bonifant
as Buster
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Nia Peeples
as Lt. Elizondo
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Kathleen Freeman
as Mother Mary Stigmata
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Frank Oz
as Prison Warden
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Steve Lawrence
as Maury Sline
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Erykah Badu
as Queen Mousette
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Darrell Hammond
as Robertson
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Aretha Franklin
as Mrs. Murphy
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James Brown
as Rev. Cleophus James
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B.B. King
as Malvern Gasperon
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Steve Cropper
as Himself
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Donald "Duck" Dunn
as Himself
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Murphy Dunne
as Himself
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Willie "Too Big" Hall
as Himself
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Lou Marini
as Himself
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Tom Malone
as Himself
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Alan Rubin
as Mr. Fabulous
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Matt Murphy
as Himself
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Sam Moore
as Reverend Morris
- Wilson Pickett
- Eddie Floyd
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Jonny Lang
as Janitor
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Junior Wells
as Himself
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Lonnie Brooks
as Himself
- Eric Clapton
- Clarence Clemons
- Bo Diddley
- Dr. John
- Isaac Hayes
- Billy Preston
- Lou Rawls
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Paul Shaffer
as Marco
- Koko Taylor
- Travis Tritt
- Steve Winwood
- Tom Davis
- Jacob Adams

