Blues Brothers 2000, a comedy with rhythm and blues, is director John
Landis' sequel to his 1980 hit, The Blues Brothers. Reprising his signature
role as Elwood Blues, the maverick musician with a briefcase full of soul,
is Dan Aykroyd, with John Goodman (ABC's Roseanne), Joe Morton (Speed, Terminator
2: Judgment Day) and J. Evan Bonifant (Three Ninjas Kick Back) heading the
cast. The screenplay for Blues Brothers 2000 was written by Aykroyd and
Landis, with Landis, Aykroyd and Leslie Belzberg serving as producers and
Grace Gilroy as associate producer.
Blues Brothers 2000 picks up 18 years after the brothers' original "mission
from God" left off, with Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) getting out of
prison and discovering that much has changed in the time he's been away.
His partner, Jake, is dead, his band is long gone and the orphanage where
he grew up has been demolished. Even Curtis, the orphanage custodian who
was the surrogate father to Jake and Elwood, has passed on, making Elwood's
only living relation Curtis' bastard son Cabel (Joe Morton) - his almost-step-brother.
Cabel, a straight-as-an-arrow, by-the-book cop, doesn't exactly acknowledge
any family ties; he's convinced that Elwood's still up to no good.
Seeking guidance from his former teacher, Sister Mary Stigmata, Elwood finds
her working as a hospital administrator with a problem of her own; she's
at the end of her rope with Buster (J. Evan Bonifant), a 10-year-old orphan
seriously in need of a "mentor."
Acknowledging that "the Lord works in mysterious ways," Elwood
soon realizes that he's embarked on a whole new mission - to reassemble
the old band, compete at Queen Mousette's Battle of the Bands in Louisiana
and set the wayward Buster on the path to redemption. With Elwood, that
path leads them right to a strip joint where they hook up with bartender
Mighty Mack McTeer (John Goodman), who knows a thing or two about the blues,
himself. The three then hit the road in order to reunite the band, trying
their best to stay ahead of Cabel and the cops, as well as the Chicago Chapter
of the Moscow Mafia and a rabidly right-wing militia group.
Blues Brothers 2000 features return engagements from many cast members of
the original film. Reprising their roles are James Brown, Aretha Franklin,
Steve Lawrence, Frank Oz, Kathleen Freeman, Jeff Morris and the original
Blues Brothers Band: Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, Donald "Duck"
Dunn, Murphy Dunne, Willie "Too Big" Hall, Tom "Bones"
Malone, Lou "Blue Lou" Marini, Matt "Guitar" Murphy
and Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin.
Also appearing in the film are B.B. King, Paul Shaffer, Erykah Badu, Nia
Peeples, Wilson Pickett, Jonny Lang, Eddie Floyd, Sam Moore, Taj Mahal,
Blues Traveler, Darrell Hammond, Shann Johnson, Junior Wells and Lonnie
Brooks as well as many other surprise performances.
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