Film Review: Belushi

R. J. Cutler’s documentary, Belushi, based on unheard recordings of interviews conducted by Tanner Colby, is a lot like John Belushi himself. The film, like the actor-musician-comedian-aspiring screenwriter/director, is a mish-mash of different styles that sometimes seem contrary to one another. The film attempts to fill a void, but, in so doing, finds itself sometimes skimming the surface of what can really be known. This is not, by any means, me saying that Belushi is a bad documentary: it just needs to be watched/appreciated with other works about Belushi (I see his wife Judy Belushi, who does provide commentary in the documentary, wrote a biography, for example) and comedy/fame in general.

Belushi highlights the key points of John Belushi’s all-too short life (he died at age 33, just before his friend, Dan Aykroyd, was finished co-writing Ghostbusters). Like many other comedians before and after him, his life was filled with great success, and rapidly, great sadness. Said to come to life on stage, he remarked to a friend that he was afraid of life off stage. Apparently friendly, vulnerable, and sweet, he would shortly do something crass and rude making you wonder which version was the real one. Wanting to dominate all projects he was involved in, he had a vision that he believed in – until, left alone, he wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. 

The love he shared with Judy Belushi, his high school sweetheart, should be fodder for a romantic drama – as they survived many trials and tribulations together. Only Judy (and probably best friend and [Blues] brother Dan) knew the real person behind the goofy persona John emulated. 

That brings us to one of the issues facing this documentary: what is its purpose? Is it a tell-all, and if so, why not tell us more about John’s relationship with his brother Jim, or John’s overall influence on comedy? Is the documentary intended to bring Tanner Colby’s recordings to life? Then, why not tell us more about Colby’s project, and embrace the shortcomings of having only voice recordings to work with? How do we know that R. J. Cutler’s vision matches Tanner Colby’s aspirations? What does Judy see that Dan doesn’t, and what about Harold Ramis and Carrie Fisher? 

But the question of purpose, interestingly, was also John’s question: what was his purpose? Especially once reaching the apex of being the star of a phenomenal TV show (Saturday Night Live), box office masterpiece (Animal House), and a hit record (Blues Brothers) all at the same time? There was nowhere for John to go, except to the basement.

When handling sensitive matter such as suicidal ideations and drug abuse, it is important to provide solutions and alternatives. Belushi does show that there were other routes John’s life could have taken, but it also engages in fatalistic thinking that sucks out all the comedy and light-hearted fare of Belushi’s work. Comedians don’t endure extreme pain for their comedy just to leave you holding an empty bag at the end. What does John’s life mean? 

The flash and style of the documentary, which includes some off-putting animated aspects (which are not badly animated, they just beg the question, “why”?) appear to be synonymous with the flash and style of John’s life. Images of John’s circle of friends (and some rivals) are not labelled, and context is not provided for important aspects, such as John’s imitations of Joe Cocker’s ‘spasmic’ performances. As a deaf viewer, I constantly had to look at the subtitles and then search out the name of the person who said the words I was reading (which were located somewhere else on the screen – and oh, the subtitles moved as well). More accessibility features, such as the silent film title cards that only appear when John and Judy attend the disastrous Neighbours premiere, and which describe what was happening then, would have been helpful throughout. 

Life is fleeting, but it doesn’t mean a documentary about someone’s life has to be. However, I greatly sympathize – we still have to figure out our purposes in 2020, and we have to live with a John Belushi-less Ghostbusters universe. He would have rocked it, but the question is, who would he have replaced? 

As far as I’m concerned, everyone on Saturday Night Live deserves a biopic, and then we could start putting the pieces of the whole human existence/comedy puzzle together. Pro tip: start with Lorne Michaels, please.

Belushi was released November 22, 2020 on Showtime.
Canadians can watch it on Crave.