The original theatrical cut of "The Blues Brothers" is a prime example of the Hollywood mind-set that if you sometimes throw enough money at a potentially dead-in-the-water project, you can shove it down the public's throat by bombarding them so much with over-the-top spectacle that they'll forgive the fact you never had much of a movie to begin with. I think even the staunchest "Blues Brothers" fan has to honestly admit the movie is way too long, is seldom gut-achingly funny, often substitutes rampant destruction, distracting cameos & clumsily-inserted fantasy elements to gloss over a story that has no business being padded out to a 128 minute movie. All of which makes "The Blues Brothers" an anomaly. By all rights, the movie should have suffered the same fate as countless other "Saturday Night Live" sketches adapted for the big screen, playing for a week or two in theaters before everyone caught on to the fact it's yet another expensive product made to cash-in on the public's familiarity with its characters. Instead, it's a modern classic every self-respecting guy knows by heart. Sure, the movie's an awkwardly-paced exercise in cinematic overkill, but just try to find somebody who can honest tell you they don't have a soft spot in their heart for it, or at least pause just a bit longer to catch a few minutes when it pops up while channel surfing. I'm still at a loss as to why it's so revered. Of more personal importance, I'M at a loss as to why I love this movie, for it still represents everything wrong with the movie business (even after 25 years). In all my years of movie-going, "The Blues Brothers" is the only film that I can honestly admit I can't effectively explain why it works...it just does. Despite its overlength, with scenes that could have easily been edited out without anyone missing them, I'd be hard-pressed to tell you which of those scenes I could live without.