John Belushi has been a subject of acting and comedic fascination since he first burst on the scene in 1975 as one of the not ready for prime time players of Saturday Night Live. It has been his talent and comedy that has made him a constant obsession more than his comedy and that is why there continue to be books and documentaries and compilation videos to this very day.
Belushi was nothing short of a genius. Having died before I was even two years old, I none the less knew his body of work as far back as I can remember. At a very early age I would watch old episodes of Saturday Night Live on Nickelodeon at night and can remember the characters he created being some of the most molding and ground breaking. The samurai and Greek cheeseburger order cook being just some of the many characters I imitated as a child.
As a kid I could see the effect he had and I desired to create that reaction in people around me so he quickly became part of my repertoire. I won’t say that he was my ultimate hero but he was on the top 5 list. When I discovered the Blues Brothers he became much bigger than I wouldn’t realize for years. I had the ray bans and the concert tapes and thought they were just pure gold.
This year R.J. Cutler made one of the latest documentaries on the legendary comedian and it is without a doubt one of the most definitive films about the great John Belushi. Cutler covers his entire career and only touches on his drug abuse when it becomes an obsessive point in his life.
With animated recreations and nothing but never before seen photos and videos that make the movie a perfect documentation of the life and budding career of John Belushi we can see how the world began to love him and how his began to spiral out of control.
As an alcoholic myself I can relate to many of his feelings that he wrote to his beloved wife Judy. He definitely hurt Judy too much with his addiction and actions and I was able to relate and feel connected to.
It was half way through the film that I realized how much I was connected to Belushi through his comedy and addiction. It was then the influence he had on my life came to the forefront.
I always considered Chris Farley and other members of the early 1990’s cast of Saturday Night Live to be the influences of my comedic taste and sense of humor but when I really look at it they just took the same influence of Belushi that I had and just obviously ran with it it a lot more than I did. He was my introduction to physical comedy and even great R&B Blues music but not until I watched this documentary did I realize how much so.
The film Belushi is a trip down memories for so many that will bring up barrels of laughter and even a bit of sadness when it is shown how much he wanted to be an actor and perform on all aspects and all stages but was genuinely cut down in his prime.
The interviews with Dan Akroyd prove to be the most pivotal in the film. But they just show how much he loved his craft and friends.
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