Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ - A The Blues Brothers Retrospective

Please welcome on stage The Blues Brothers, a story about two musicians who want to save the orphanage which they grew up in. Along the way they have some laughs, eat a bit of toast, destroy some police cars, mess up some Nazis, and meet Twiggy (remember her?). Okay, they never laugh, heck, they rarely smile, but that's the only thing I was lying about.

I honestly don't remember when I first watched The Blues Brothers, but over the decades, I've watched it hundreds of times. It's probably my third most-watched movie, behind a Mel Brooks parody and an animated toy line.

However, I do know that I played the 1991 The Blues Brothers videogame on the Amiga before I ever saw the movie. It was a platformer and you played as your choice of one of the two titular brothers, evading police for some reason. Look, it was probably 1993 the last time I booted it up, the memory fades.

I went through a period of listening to a CD of Blues Brothers songs on my bus ride to college and later work, and would later belt out karaoke versions when the opportunity arose.

Yeah, that’s the thing, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi actually performed songs as Jake & Elwood Blues, AKA The Blues Brothers, for two years before the movie was released. They started on Saturday Night Live and things spiralled from there, resulting in a movie which cost $27.5 million ($107.3 million in 2025 money). At the time, that made it one of the most expensive comedies ever produced!

The cast was star-studded, with Carrie Fisher, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Candy, and the voice of Miss Piggy himself, Frank Oz. Each and every one of them brought their A-game — except for one of the stars whose reported drug use was the reason for many production delays. Since John Belushi died from an overdose, you can guess that it wasn’t Aykroyd. Even so, Belushi’s C-game was a match for most actors’ A, you have to admit.

The script was originally written by Aykroyd, but since that version would have run to well over three hours, director John Landis was asked to make it workable. And boy did he deliver, if you’ve never watched the movie (and have made it this far) let me try and summarise.

Elwood picks up Jake as he’s released from prison. They go to visit the nun in charge of the orphanage which they grew up in, and are told they will close without the overdue property taxes of $5,000. How’s an ex-con and a guy living in a flop house supposed to raise that kind of money legally? By getting the band back together — literally their band! The pair find each member of the group living their best lives, and convince each in turn to do this one last concert, which they manage to book in a hall which will seat 2,500 people. Charge them $2 per person, and that’s the money sorted! They get to the concert and perform, and deliver the money to the clerk’s office 106 miles away, the end.

Did I mention Nazis earlier? Yes, early on the brothers are delayed by Illinois Nazis, holding a legally sanctioned parade. So, they drive through them, causing them to all jump into the river. This doesn’t pay off until late in the movie, however.

What comes up several times are run-ins with law enforcement. After running a yellow light, the police chase their car through a mall in their own cars. Okay, it’s likely the suspended license and 116 parking tickets, but the light is why Elwood was pulled over. They track him to his flophouse, but can’t arrest him because it’s blown up with them all inside. Everyone is dustier, but unharmed, and honestly, it’s a surprise that only watches seem to die given the dozens of police cars which wind up crashing as they chase the Bluesmobile back to Chicago.

Yeah, the flophouse explosion didn’t even kill anyone. Who blew it up? Jake’s ex, angry about being stood up on their wedding day. But it wasn’t his fault! He ran out of gas, had a flat tire, didn’t have cab fare, his tux didn’t come back from the cleaners, an old friend came in from out of town, someone stole his car, there was an earthquake, a terrible flood, and locusts! So, he clearly had no choice in the matter.

I haven’t even mentioned how The Blues Brothers stole a gig from a Country & Western band in a Country & Western bar, and accidentally stole from said bar, resulting in the two teaming up to also try and kill the singers. The Blues Brothers takes place over a couple of days, and they anger so many people…

The title of this article, Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ, is a quote which I argued with my old school drama teacher, a film buff, about. I had the DVD, it had subtitles, I could hear that Jake Blues says “Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ, I have seen the light”! But he wasn’t having it, he didn’t know what was being said, but it wasn’t “tapdancing”... But why wouldn’t it be? Jake has just received a divine calling and backflipped along the length of the church and back while everyone else dances. What other kind of dance would suit?

So, if this appeals and you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend you check out The Blues Brothers. They’re on a mission from God.