Upon his release from prison, now-brotherless Blues Brother Jake Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) puts the band back together with the help of a golden-voiced strip joint bartender (John Goodman) and a precocious 10-year-old orphan (J. Evan Bonifant) on loan from the comically abusive Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman). This hysterical sequel to the original BLUE BROTHERS comedy/musical makes good use of its copious celebrity cameos, which include appearances from old schoolers James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Bo Diddley, and Isaac Hayes in addition to bits from blues phenom Jonny Lang, Erykah Badu, and John Popper.
The now-brotherless Ellwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) is finally out of prison, attempting to reunite the old band and find a few new partners in crime (John Goodman and J. Evan Bonifant). In this sequel to the original BLUE BROTHERS comedy/musical, Ellwood battles the Chicago police, sings and dances his way out of numerous sticky situations, and manages to get the old band on the road for a hair-raising adventure. With the police in hot pursuit, the Blues Brothers set off on a road trip to Kentucky for their first gig at a redneck fair where they have been billed as the Bluegrass Brothers, stopping to perform a thunderous rendition of "Riders on the Storm" and narrowly escaping the clutches of the police and a raving band of neo-Nazis, among other archenemies. With the help of gospel revivals and good disguises, Ellwood and the boys reach their final destination: the Plantation Club of Louisiana's Queen Mousette (Erykah Badu), where they must conquer the queen's powerful voodoo to win the battle of the bands. In this breathtaking finale the stage is packed with musical giants, including B. B. King, Lou Rawls, Bo Diddley, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Dr. John, and Screaming Jay Hawkins, among others.
Lead singer John Popper of the popular band Blues Traveler makes a cameo appearance as a Blues Bros. Band fan who invites Ellwood to hear his band perform.
Macaulay Culkin was originally considered for the role of Buster.
In Ellwood's motivational speech to his bandmates he lists American inspirations, such as Elvis, Otis Redding, and finally the name Robert K. Weiss. Donald "Duck" Dunn asks, "Who's Robert K. Weiss?" Robert K. Weiss was the producer of the original BLUES BROTHERS.
"We'll have to get off this road, they've called ahead by now and you can't outrun a Motorola."--Ellwood (Dan Aykroyd) to bandmates
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Single Side - Dual Layer
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
Additional Release Material:
Making-of
Production Interview - 1. John Landis - Director, Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, Joe Morton - Stars
Behind-The-Scenes Footage
Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical
Text/Photo Galleries:
Production Stills
Biographies - 1. Cast & Crew
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Cameo
B.B. King: Blues Guitar Icon
Cameo
Billy Preston: Singer/Composer/Keyboards
Cameo
Bo Diddley: American Singer/Songwriter
Cameo
Bobbie Sheehan:
Cameo
Brendan Hill:
Cameo
Chan Kinchla:
Cameo
Charlie Musselwhite:
Cameo
Clarence Clemons: E Street Band Saxophonist/The Big Man
Cameo
Darrell Hammond:
Cameo
Dr. John: Jazz Piano legend
Cameo
Eddie Floyd:
Cameo
Eric Clapton: British Songwriter/Musician, "Layla"
Cameo
Erykah Badu: Pop Singer
Cameo
Faith Chorale:
Cameo
Frank Oz: Director/Muppeteer
Cameo
Fred Keeler:
Cameo
Gary U.S. Bonds:
Cameo
Grover Washington, Jr.: Jazz Musician
Cameo
Isaac Hayes: American Singer/Songwriter
Cameo
Jacques de Johnette:
Cameo
Jeff Baxter:
Cameo
Jeff Morris:
Cameo
Jimmie Vaughan: Rock Guitarist, the Fabulous Thunderbirds
Cameo
John Faddis:
Cameo
John Popper: Harmonica-playing lead singer for Blues Traveler
Cameo
John T. Davis:
Cameo
Jonny Lang: Blues guitar prodigy
Cameo
Joshua Redman: Composer/"Vanya On 42nd"
Cameo
Junior Wells: American Blues Singer
Cameo
Koko Taylor: Blues Music Performer
Cameo
Lonnie Brooks:
Cameo
Lou Rawls: American Singer
Cameo
Nia Peeples: Actress/TV Host
Cameo
Paul Shaffer: Canadian Musician
Cameo
Prakash John:
Cameo
Sam Moore:
Cameo
Shannon Johnson:
Cameo
Sharon Riley:
Cameo
Shiraz Tayyeb:
Cameo
Steve Lawrence: American Television Actor
Cameo
Steve Winwood: British Musician/Songwriter
Cameo
Tommy McDonnell:
Cameo
Travis Tritt: C&W Music Performer
Cameo
Walter Levine:
Cameo
Wilson Pickett: R&B/Soul Singer
Cameo
Wylie Weeks:
Director of Photography
David Herrington:
Production Designer
Bill Brodie: Production designer
Costume Designer
Deborah Nadoolman: Costume Designer, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981)
Review 1:
"...The music is as brash and energetic as ever..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.36-7 07/1998
Review 2:
"...[A] foot-stomping, hand-clapping, ear-electrifying soundtrack..."
Source: USA Today
p.4D 02/06/1998
Review 3:
"...Big, colorful, high-energy, helium-humored production numbers featuring performers like Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, James Brown, Sam Moore, Erykah Badu, and a host of other big-name singers..."
Source: New York Times
p.E14 02/06/1998
Review 4:
"...BLUES BROTHERS 2000 is the best noise you're going to hear all year....Goodman and Morton can really sing the blues..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.C2 02/06/1998