Character page for The Blues Brothers and Blues Brothers 2000.
open/close all folders
The Blues Brothers
Both brothers
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Enough that they are mistaken for police at one point.
- Cool Shades: And they pretty much almost never take them off. Even during the night.
- Cultured Badass: They are musicians, and pull off everything they do in the movie.
- Fat and Skinny: Jake's fat and Elwood is tall and lean.
- Ham and Deadpan Duo: Jake is the hammy one; Elwood is more serious.
- Iconic Outfit: Black suits, ties, hats, shoes, socks (for Jake), and sunglasses. The only items they wear in any other color are their white shirts and Elwood's white socks.
- Knuckle Tattoos: They each have their first name tattooed across their knuckles, with Elwood's spanning both hands (six letters as opposed to Jake's four).
- Something Only They Would Say: Their restaurant orders (dry white toast for Elwood, four fried chickens and a Coke for Jake) immediately identify them to the restaurant's owner. Helps that the cook was an ex-bandmate.
- Sunglasses at Night: Lampshaded, not that it bothers them.
- Sworn Brothers: According to the liner notes on the The Blues Brothers album, Jake and Elwood swore an oath of Blood Brotherhood by cutting their fingers with an E-string allegedly from Elmore James's guitar, essentially adopting each other. The book Blues Brothers: Private reveals that they also had their names legally changed in 1962, taking the same last name and taking each other's first names as their middle names.
Jake
Jake Blues
Played by: John Belushi
Dubbed by: Jacques Dynam (European French)
- Acrofatic: Considering the multiple backwards jumps and cartwheels he does once he "sees the Light" at the Baptist Church.
- Big Eater: The man ordered four fried chickens.
- Bus Crash: After John Belushi died in 1982 the character was also killed off. Blues Brothers 2000 begins with Elwood being informed of Jake's passing.
- Heel–Faith Turn: Starts having just been released from prison. Cue Rays from Heaven and a new drive to save their orphanage.
- I Lied: Told the Penguin he'd seen her the day he got out of the joint, but he had no intention of actually keeping that promise.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Four whole fried chickens and a Coke.
Elwood
Elwood Blues
Played by: Dan Aykroyd
Dubbed by: Patrick Préjean (European French, first film), Richard Darbois (European French, 2000)
- Character Catchphrase: "We're on a Mission from God."
- Distinction Without a Difference: Not telling Jake about the band splitting up wasn't lies. It was just "bullshit".
- Drives Like Crazy: Driving through a mall certainly qualifies him. He's got so many violations on his driving record that the police have a standing order to arrest him and impound his car.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- He will lie, cheat, steal, recklessly endanger people with his driving, but he will not lie to a nun.
- Throws away the cigarette lighter when Buster gets it out.
- Played for laughs in the sequel when he apologizes to Buster before the "Puffball Bacteria" incident, saying he's about to see a bad side of him.
- Motormouth: Once he gets going.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Dry white toast, nothing on it.
The Rest of the Band
In general
- Cast the Expert: All the band members are legends in the music business, and several of them had played in the Saturday Night Live house band.
- The Danza: None of the band members appears under a fake name. Played with in the case of Alan Rubin, who is only addressed using his real-life nickname of "Mr. Fabulous" during the film, though his prison outfit gives his actual name.
Steve "The Colonel" Cropper
- Lounge Lizard: The guitarist for Murph and the Magictones.
Donald "Duck" Dunn
- Iconic Item: His pipe.
- Lounge Lizard: The bassist for Murph and the Magictones.
George "Murphy" Dunne
- Lounge Lizard: Formed a band of this type along with the Colonel, Duck, Too-Big, and Bones. Jake and Elwood find them performing at a nearly empty bar/lounge in a Holiday Inn.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: No-one ever refers to him as anything other than "Murph".
Willie "Too-Big" Hall
- Ascended Extra: Doesn't do much in the first film, but he's a major part in 2000, where he runs a bar and gives Elwood a job after his release from prison.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick:So, Jake! You're out! You're rehabilitated! Where are you going to go? What are you going to do? Do you have the money you owe us, motherfucker?
- The Gadfly: Will not pass up an opportunity to take the piss out of Jake and Elwood.Jake: Look at you guys in those candy-ass outfits. And I thought I had it bad in Joliet.
Willie: Least we got a change of clothes. You're still wearin' the same shit you had on three years ago, sucker! - Iconic Item: His sun visor.
- Lounge Lizard: The drummer for Murph and the Magictones.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In response to giving Elwood somewhere to get back on his feet, his bar gets burned to the ground by angry Russian mobsters.
Tom "Bones" Malone
- Lounge Lizard: Plays trombone in Murph and the Magictones.
"Blue" Lou Marini
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Is more-or-less joined at the hip with Matt "Guitar" Murphy.
Matt "Guitar" Murphy
- Henpecked Husband: Subverted. Aretha tries, but Matt's not having it.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Is never seen without "Blue" Lou.
Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Is only referred to as "Mr. Fabulous" during the film.
- Sour Supporter: Only agrees to rejoin the band after Elwood and Jake threaten to eat all their meals at the restaurant where he works and scare off the customers. He's a talented trumpeter, but he's not at all happy about being forced into going back on the road.
Others
Sister Mary Stigmata
Sister Mary "The Penguin" Stigmata
Played by: Kathleen Freeman
A nun in charge of the orphanage where Elwood and Jake Blues grew up. She sends them on their Mission from God to save the orphanage.
- Ascended Extra: In the first film, she only appears in one scene, where her role is mostly to give exposition. Her role is a bit larger in the second film, as she introduces Elwood to Buster and spends the rest of the film trying to track them down, either via the police or showing up at the final concert herself.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She runs an orphanage and is calm and pleasant when contented, but piss her off in any way, such as cursing in general and taking the Lord's name in vain in particular, and you will taste the wrath of her ruler.
- Creepy Good: Her office is preceded by an unnerving and gory depiction of the crucifixion of Christ, her door opens before Jake and Elwood can knock, and she manages to perform a Ghostly Glide.
- The Dreaded: Elwood is, not unreasonably, terrified at the thought of making her angry, especially at the climax of 2000 when she's caught up with him and looks prepared to beat him senseless for apparently abducting Buster.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Repeatedly slaps the Brothers when they keep swearing. They eventually bolt.
- Ms. Exposition. Her role in the film is to tell the Brothers the issue (The orphanage is $5,000 in the red, and the Church won't help). She otherwise doesn't have a role in the film.
- Stern Nun: She and the other nuns taught the boys and other orphans from a young age, and she's known for whacking both Jake and Elwood with her ruler (and later what looks like a metal switch) for swearing and otherwise misbehaving.
Curtis
Curtis
Played by: Cab Calloway
An old black man who works at the orphanage where the brothers grew up and a surrogate father to them who taught them all about the blues. He's the one who directs them to the Triple Rock Baptist Church to see Reverend James and get their inspiration for their mission, and shows up later to help with the concert.
- Cool Old Guy: He taught the brothers everything they know about music.
- N-Word Privileges: "Shit, what's one more old nigga to the Board of Education?"
- Still Got It: When the Blues Brothers are late to their performance at the climax of the film, old musician Curtis steps up to the microphone to buy time with a stirring rendition of Cab Calloway's classic "Minnie the Moocher" that brings the house down.
The Cheez Whiz
Played by: Shotgun Britton
A random guy from Elwood's apartment building, who apparently knows Elwood well enough to ask him to get Cheez Whiz for him.
- No Name Given: He's referred to in the credits only as "The Cheez Whiz".
-
One-Scene Wonder: His only line is to ask for Cheez Whiz. He gets it, goes back to playing cards and is never seen again for the rest of the film.
Reverend James
Reverend Cleophus James
"DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT?!"
Played by: James Brown
Dubbed by: Sady Rebbot (European French)
The pastor of Triple Rock Baptist Church. His sermon helps the Brothers "see the Light".
- Good Shepherd: Seems to be great at his job, and it's thanks to his sermon that the Blues Brothers (or at least Jake) "see the Light".
- Large Ham: Delivering his sermon in the form of a song certainly does it.
The Woman
The Woman
Played by: Carrie Fisher
A woman who spends the film pursuing the Blues Brothers with an intent to kill them.
- Actor Allusion: When she fires off her rocket-launcher, it makes the same noise as the blaster weapons in Star Wars, which of course her portrayer starred in.
- Ax-Crazy: A pretty legit beef with Jake, once she reveals it, but her method of getting him back is excessive and violent. Not to mention that she is also willing to kill Elwood despite him not having done anything to wrong her aside from being associated with Jake.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Funny, give who played her. Her aim is awful. She unloads an entire assault rifle clip at Jake and Elwood who have no cover and fails to hit them at all. But then, they are on a Mission from God, after all.
- Kill It with Fire: Attempt no. 3 is unleashing a flamethrower on Jake and Elwood. She blows up a nearby propane tank, launching them and the phone booth they're in, but they survive.
- Mafia Princess: Hinted at, given her Motive Rant mentions her father used up his last favors with someone who sounds an awful lot like a mob boss.
- No Name Given: Jake only addresses her as "honey", and the credits never give her a name, referring to her only as "Mystery Woman".
- To the Pain: Delivers such a speech to Jake on finally catching up to him.Woman: So for my father, for my mother, my grandmother and for the common good! ... I must now kill you, and your brother.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Her final attack makes it clear Jake and Elwood have actually noticed her attempts on their lives, but are at best puzzled by why she's doing so.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Last seen vainly firing at the brothers as they escape again, with no word what happens to her afterward.
- Woman Scorned: One of her motivations — Jake left her standing at the altar of an incredibly elaborate wedding ceremony, and she's dedicated herself to hunting him down and killing him.
