It’s extremely self-referential and post-modern. At one point the characters have to watch Spaceballs itself to find out what happens next.
The "story" is largely irrelevant. You just wait for the gags – some of them so basic and obvious that they can’t fail.
Brothers Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Ackroyd) need to raise money to save an orphanage, so they plan to get their old band together – the Blues Brothers – to play a fundraising gig. The problem is that they are being pursued by the police, a country band, a bunch of Nazis and Jake’s angry girlfriend (Carrie Fisher).
The action sequences are astonishing, with a huge number of police cars being trashed in the chase scenes.
It’s especially notable for the song performances by jazz, soul and blues stars James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker and Chaka Khan. There are also acting roles and brief cameos for John Candy, Frank Oz, Steven Spielberg and – bafflingly – Twiggy.
It’s so good-natured and silly that it quickly wins you over. You end up rooting for these two daft men “on a mission from God” despite the inevitability that they are heading for disaster.
Martin plays a tense marketing executive hoping to get home for Thanksgiving. He finds his efforts thwarted by severe weather, plane cancellations, traffic chaos and other frustrations. Candy, who travels with him, is a salesman who means well but has annoying habits. The film explores their strained relationship as Martin slowly becomes more tolerant and accepting of his companion. There’s also a class thing going on, with the well-to-do Martin sneering at someone who has less than him yet who is more in touch with his emotions.
There are some very funny moments, but other parts don’t work – such as an aggressive scene in which Martin swears at a woman in a car-rental company. This really jars and stands out as a misjudgement.
Kevin Bacon has a baffling cameo as a New Yorker running for a cab. Because he’s a famous actor I expected him to pop up again later, but he never did.
