 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Blues Brothers
- Review Date: July 15, 2006
- R
- Genre: Comedy
- 1980
Common Sense Media says
A cult classic for adults and older teens.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that main characters Elwood and Jake Blues steal, destroy property, attempt to run people over, cheat people out of money, lie, drink, and smoke. In other words, kids -- especially teenage boys -- will find them irresistibly cool. There's lots of profanity and violence played for laughs.
What's the story?
After three years in prison for robbery, Jake Blues (John Belushi) is released with one thing on his mind: Getting the band back together. His brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) has something else on his mind -- getting right with God. The brothers discover that the orphanage where they grew up will be sold if they can't raise $5,000 to pay the tax assessor, and set out to raise the money by getting the band back together and holding a benefit concert. Along the way, they meet up with some of the great R&B musicians of all time: James Brown preaching in a Baptist church; Aretha Franklin belting out "Think!" in her soul food restaurant; Cab Calloway singing to a packed house; Ray Charles singing about doing the twist in a pawn shop. Along with great music, their quest is full of car chases, property destruction, and repeated explosions. Jake and Elwood are scamps, but they pay for the damage they do, and do good in the end.
Is it any good?
THE BLUES BROTHERS holds a special place in cult movie lovers' hearts for a reason. It's surreal, it's got style, and it has great music. Indeed, it's a cross between a Saturday Night Live skit and a really great musical. Even if you hate the flimsy plot, you're likely to be humming the songs days later.
Though teens may find parts of it slow and may need to be educated about old school R&B, the film is likely to become a favorite. Expect to hear them quoting lines ("Mom, we're on a mission from God," when you question where they're going) and to see them wearing their sunglasses all the time. In the end, you get the sense that this movie is the teenage boy's dream inside Dan Aykroyd and John Landis, the co-writers.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how Elwood and Jake's morals are -- or aren't --reflected in their behavior. For instance, they want to save the orphanage they grew up in, but they lie, cheat, and steal to raise the money. Is the damage they cause justified by their goal?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
Language is all, otherwise, enjoy! :)
My dad showed the to my ten year old sister and I and we loved it! Not any blood, and super funny! Great music legends like Cab Calloway and Ray Charles, so that makes it sort of educational. My dad would pause it and tell us about the musicians. Super fun!!! The only thing is language because ALL swear words (yes, including f***) are in this film. That's the only real reason this is rated R. There is an episode of Drake and Josh that has things based on this movie! They sing "Soul Man" and they play a brief clip. This movie is a-okay! Just make sure your kid KNOWS swear words are bad and is not young enough to not understand they're bad and start saying them. 10 should be fine (if you've got a good kid) ;)
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AGE
My all time favorite movie
When I first read Common Sense's review, I was shocked to find out that this movie was a CULT classic. It should be a classic peiord. I love this movie. This is my all time favorite. Now im not saying that it's the greatest movie ever made, because that title goes to "Forest Gump", but thats another story. Now This movie dose contain some strong language, but if you compare it to a movie like "Scarface" or "Stand By Me" or "Die hard" then it's not that bad. There is a very subtle sense of humor, and when it's not subtle, then it's distructive. Why is this my favorite movie? Well one reason is because of the Charecters of Jake and Elwood Blues, two of the greatest movie charecters of all time. But it's mainly because of all the things that this movie has to offer. Likeable charecters, great car chases that must have taken months and Thousands of dollars to pull off, spectactular music, and memborable moments and lines. There is honestly nothing that I can say bad about this movie. If you haven't seen this masterpeice then why are you still reading this review? Go get the movie and watch it now, because it truly is one of the greatest movies ever made.
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AGE
3rd favorite movie!
3r favorite movie, just barely passed R rating by saying F**K too much
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AGE
---SPOILER ALERT---
It's funny and has a good message as both brothers at the end save the day by doing a good dead for god.
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AGE
great for most ages
great movie for about any age if you're not concerned about some language and and reckless driving shouldn't even be
r rated i love this movie its funny and clever.
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AGE
"where on a mission from god" best line ever:)
Best movie ever! This funny sh*t! This movie has some stuff in it that's a little iffy but it's all done in a comedic way. Dan akaroid and Jon belushi are the kings of comedy! Anybody 14 and up would love this movie and should have no problems at all.
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AGE
Brilliant, funny musical.
I watched this movie as a kid, and it quickly became a firm favourite, although watching it now, I'm surprised my mum let me watch it, with the language content.
The language is crude, but witty. The action sequences are superb and hilarious. The real star of this movie, is the music, however - the movie features many r&b\soul legends (Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles ect) and the tunes are wonderfully worked into the script. All in all, a classic musical.
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AGE
Ok for everyone over 15
I personally think that it is fine, the cussing in front of the nun is comic....
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AGE
Without language would be PG-13
This is one of my favorite movies it's extremly funny. It's not very violent, there are a few scenes were someone tries to kill Jake an Elwood but those scenes are really not bad at all. The only problem with this movie is the frequent language, if the movie did not have so much profanity it would easily be either PG-13 or PG, so it really depends on what your view of profanity is, but most likely if your kid is in middle school they probaly hear words as bad or worse than those in the movie.
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| Studio: | Universal Pictures |
| Director: | John Landis |
| Cast: | Aretha Franklin, Dan Aykroyd, James Brown, John Belushi, Ray Charles |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 133 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | July 16, 1980 |
| DVD release date: | August 30, 2005 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | comic violence and language |
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