Putting anyone’s name next to John Belushi’s is kind of a risk since a lot of people still consider Belushi to be a genius. It’s true that he wasn’t for everyone, as some people didn’t care for his style of comedy or even for the man himself. But the truth of it is that he was hilarious in his time and he could do quite a bit with only a little. A facial expression, a twitch here and there, and various looks took the place of dialogue sometimes and left people rolling since Belushi was so good at what he did. Despite the credits to his name Alex Brightman has a heck of a project ahead of him if he’s going to be playing Belushi, and a lot of fans that are going to be watching him very closely as you can imagine. Jeremy Dick of MovieWeb reminds us of the time when Michael Chiklis took on the role of Belushi in a movie titled Wired. That movie was nearly roasted out of existence after turning in such a horrible performance, and since then no one has managed to come up with a worthy representation. How do you do this really? There was only one Belushi, and at this point even Alex Brightman doesn’t seem as though he’ll be able to fully capture the man’s energy and strange but undeniable charisma.
Nothing against the guy really, but Belushi is Belushi and there’s really no one that could match him, not even his brother James, who’s definitely funny but has never been seen as the same kind of talent that his brother was. In a big way though John was the kind of talent that might not have been seen as great today as he was back in his time. During movies such as the Blues Brothers, Animal House, and even on his old SNL skits he was a madman, someone that you might have felt would laugh with you one moment and be ready to tear you apart with comedy in the next. His humor was definitely something unique in his time and was something that may or may not have translated well if he was alive today. Of course if he was alive today he’d be in his 70s at this point and it’s hard to say what he’d really be like. Sometimes the best and brightest stars tend to burn out quickly and are remembered long after their passing. As far as Belushi goes however his comedy is something that helped SNL immensely back in the day since he wasn’t always the easiest person to work with according to some but he was one of the most popular comedians of his era and he did things in a way that inspired others as they came up through the ranks. Brian Boone of Looper has more to say on this, and a few things that people might not have known about Belushi.
The prospect of a movie about Belushi is something that a few people might have thought about quite a bit over the years but the subject matter is what a lot of folks are tripping on since there was a lot that went into Belushi’s life despite the fact that he didn’t make it out of his 30s. Anyone playing the part of John Belushi is going to have to bring more than their A game to the movie since this man is still and will probably always be considered a legend even when those that remember him are long gone. Some names just don’t die out that quickly and Belushi has been one that has endured for a long time now thanks to a couple of movies that have been watched over and over by one generation after another. As far as who he was as a person and the reality that Belushi was far from perfect, his on screen acts were enough to make him a character that isn’t to be taken lightly and isn’t someone that a lot of fans want to see besmirched in any way since the fallout would be, and has been, enough to elicit a big apology and has also made it impossible for many people even touch a movie about him for quite some time for fear that it might not go the way that it needs to. Hadley Freeman of The Guardian has more on this subject.
One could say that’s the kind of legacy that John left behind but they could also say that there’s enough about his character off screen and on screen that would need to be fully explored before deciding just which person was going to be presented. He wasn’t always the nicest guy according to some but he was one of the best comedians of his time according to many. Who we get to see when the movie comes around will be interesting to say the least.
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