Family Movie Guide Why Every Family Should See The Blues Brothers

There are many people who look at The Blues Brothers movie as kind of a farce, a little bit campy, and sort of crude – too crude perhaps for family entertainment. But, over the years since its first theatrical release, the farcical quest of Jake and Elwood Blues to get their band back together after their release from prison is one of the few family entertainment movies that actually ages well.

As far as family entertainment goes, many (most, really) comedies from the 1970s and 1980s don’t hold up nearly as well as the Blues Brothers. But what was once considered a rather silly and uncouth film has several endearing qualities that have only improved with age.

For instance, who could really hate the prodigal quest for redemption by the Blues Brothers, trying to get their wayward blues band back together to perform a benefit concert to save an orphanage? That plot, in a nutshell, is entertainment. They’re doing it for the children, rather than for their own personal gain – a great message for children. Seen in this light, the Blues Brothers movie is classic entertainment with its quick one liners, funny car chases, and musical performances by some of the best and brightest lights of the blues and R&B music scene of the era, including John Lee Hooker, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown and, of course, the Blues Brothers themselves – which certainly qualifies as family entertainment by today’s standards.

Many people don’t realize that the Blues Brothers did not start out as a film, but as an actual, honest-to-God blues band. That band turned into a Saturday Night Live skit (late night television not being known for family entertainment), then, as all things in show business, it became a family entertainment feature film. If you’ve never seen this fun family comedy today, go out and rent it. You’ll be glad you did.