The boys are back

THE BLUES BROTHERS

Directed by John Landis. Starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Carrie Fisher 15 cert, Cineworld/

IMC Dún Laoghaire/Movies@ Dundrum/Santry Omniplex/ Screen, Dublin; Galway Omniplex; SGC Dungarven, Waterford, 133 min

While selecting films for its admirable digital reissue project, Universal Pictures has, understandably enough, inclined towards cult smashes and midnight movies. The Blues Brothers (1980) fits into both categories quite snugly.

Rubbished on release in 1980, John Landis’s hugely expensive comedy was initially considered a financial catastrophe of Heavens Gate proportions. However, buoyed by a ribald double act from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, the film gathered a following in late-night screenings,

sold in bushels on video and eventually spawned a (useless) sequel. But is it any good? Well, it’s certainly fun.

As you will recall, the story finds the titular two-piece touring the country to raise funds for the orphanage in which they were raised. They encounter such stars as Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. They have many car crashes. They quip. In short it’s a clattering mess that somehow remains charming despite its astonishing disregard for structure or nuance. It’s nice to have it back in cinemas, anyway.