A bio of John Belushi, based loosely on the book by Bob Woodward. Structurally it's a mess. It sometimes takes the approach of the deceased comedian guided through his life by a seraphic Puerto Rican cabbie; and sometimes it takes the approach of a suit-and-tie reporter (J.T. Walsh as Bob Woodward) nosing into the dead man's past as in Citizen Kane. Intermittent scenes are well done: the highlighted physical details in the police interrogation of Cathy Smith, Belushi's drug supplier. In fact the whole Cathy Smith character (Patti D'Arbanville) is well done. The more prominent characters, however, never materialize as characters but only as impersonations. Naturally, it's fitfully amusing to watch actors who look nothing like John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd (Michael Chiklis and Gary Groomes, respectively) talking, moving, and making faces like Belushi and Aykroyd. But surely this anti-drug jeremiad intended to be something more than fitfully amusing. Directed by Larry Peerce. (1989) — Duncan Shepherd
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