Fun fact: The guy playing Angel the cab driver, Ray Sharkey, is said to have been the guy who enabled John Belushi to get back on drugs and break his sobriety after he got sober to film CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, leading him to die the next year. And as Brad alluded to in the review, Ray Sharkey was deep into drugs himself, and even contracted HIV, but he convinced himself he had a strain of HIV that wouldn't become AIDS and gave it to a whole load of women, and one of those women even sued Sharkey before he died of AIDS in 1993. ...okay, maybe that wasn't necessarily a "fun" fact, but hey, the more you know.
To this day, I still remember the disturbing numbness and furious anger I felt leaving the theater after seeing this abomination. I loved the book, as sad as it was, and I thought maybe the movie would try to capture the tragedy of John's death. Instead, it was an infuriating mess for anyone who loved John's talent. It was bad enough that they wallow in tone-deaf comedy while John is dying, but to say he went to hell was beyond the pale. Just obscene.
So when are we gonna get Wired 2 where the Puerto Rican cab driving angel drives Chris Farley around and a guy who looks nothing like David Spade berates him for doing coke and heroin?
Hell,Oliver Stone should have made his movie about The Doors like this. You know,Jim Morrison being picked up by a Peutro Rican cabbie who happens to be driving cab in Paris
Meteorite Entertainment And then we get Wired 3, where the same cab driver accosts Phil Hartman for marrying that wife who killed him, and also there’s a guy that looks nothing like Jon Lovitz.
Honestly, that would be a really interesting idea. Wired is a bizarre movie, but its far from terrible. Non-Linear and in poor taste doesnt mean its terrible.
That trailer at the beginning makes the movie sound so much better than it really is... Hell, you'd think it's a moving story and a well-crafted biopic of John Belushi.
Funny thing is, Chiklis' performance was also criticized when this first came out. But, like Brad, I beg to differ. Extremely talented actor, and, although very successful, I still think he isn't given enough roles or variety worthy of his gifts.
@@ScratchthechalkBoard I wonder, sincerely, if anyone will ever try to make a film about Landis, The Twilight Zone, his son and or career. I've read a few books on the "event" and this movie, did leave me thinking, what a dramatic retelling could be like. Even a full-fledged documentry could be fascinating. Imagine for a horrifying second, the morgue scene from this movie, but done for the Twilight zone "accident." It's a sickening thought, but I normally have a sick sense of humor. But in this example....NO!! I don't think I could go any further but I do think Landis should have to live in a world, where more people are aware of his gross negligence, to say the least! Just my thoughts. What do you think?
Considering Landis acted terribly after that happened, even to the point where Spielberg abandoned him, that joke almost works, but it's still a little insensitive.
I vaguely remember seeing this on tv and the fart scene was the only part I remember. Mostly because I thought "how can you smell farts when you have the top down in a convertible? Wouldn't the wind blow them away from you?" For years I thought that scene was from some forgettable buddy comedy travel flick.
Rest In Peace, John Belushi. We will always remember your comedic excellence. I feel... physically ill... knowing that THIS is considered honoring the career of the deceased..! Yeah, lets talk about all the shit with brief moments of comedy while we play This Is Your Life with a ghost Belushi and the brother of the cab driver from Scrooged! BRILLIANT!!!! (Sarcasm) I love the Snob's review, he rips this "film" a new one.
In Spite Of How Ineffective This Movie Was Michael Chiklis Was Very Effective As John Belushi His First Role Only 25 Years Old According To Biography Michael Chiklis Research John Belushi To Portray Him As Convincingly As Possible
Belushi's body was literally strapped to the wing of the plane to get him to Martha's vineyard. So it was actually worse than what was portrayed in the movie. I really don't have a problem with it, he was dead after all, and having his body as soon as possible helped Judy to feel better, and that's what's important. People who aren't married, or have children, don't understand how much it helps to have the body close by.
The body bag on the wing of the plane is described on page 421 of the Woodward book. I located in via an interlibrary loan. Michael Klenfner said, "And we all had to see him out there on the wing, and the wind blew the cover off, and there his forehead was in the moonlight, shining off that clear white Albanian skin. It was so sad, so sad, so very, very sad."
This was the first Snob review I ever saw; by coincidence I had seen the movie a few days before it was uploaded. Really hilarious and insightful; I really appreciate your defense of Chiklis. Most critics unfairly bashed him along with the movie.
Agreed. The critics wanted to nuke this film into non-existence and rightly so but Michael was not one of the downsides. He played John as faithfully as possible, and did everything he was supposed to do. He was sadly collateral damage of the sheer amount of righteous fury aimed at this film.
@@agentleman4610 Also, Mike and John have quite a lot in common, mind you. Mike has long been a John Belushi fan, and at an early age was fond of imitating Joe Cocker, much like Belushi. Also, both of them were co-captain of their respective high school football teams, a teenage actor in summer stock, and a singer in a band. Quite a pity nobody told Dan about that back in the day, or since then. Similar to Dan, Mike also has a brother named Peter and has played cop characters (ex: "The Commish", "The Shield", and most recently "Gotham"), plus both of them are married to blondes and both of them are musically talented. Therefore, there should be no reason why Mike and Dan can't patch things up between them and become close pals.
@@agentleman4610 It's like the movie has it's high's and low's. Maybe it was meant to act as a parallel to the rollercoaster, that is heavy drug use? Not sure if I want to give the movie that much credit but, as an (occasional addict ;) , that was the first thought that jumped into my mind. Who knows, Maybe I'm just too high to process the film properly. Or maybe, not high enough. It's a viscous circle. I do know this; I could really go for a cheeseburger!
Man, this movie was so morbid in a wrong way. It's like all they could focus on was the fact he died of a drug overdose, he was not a drug addicted sad sack no matter what this movie tells you. I am sure if he could have, back then he would have gotten treatments at rehab. I mean imagine if someone did a biopic about John Candy where the whole message is 'this guy was overweight. Being overweight is evil and you will die if you are like that.' Or making a biopic about Robin Williams where Williams is constantly being depressed and not pleased with his life. It would just be Williams crying and nothing else. In addition to this, also it would be like doing a MJ biopic that pretty much just says 'he was a pedophile' based on the supposed accusations he got of child molestation. The Late Shift (while not a biopic) actually does a terrific job of adapting the book it is based on and the performances are pretty good,, Roebuck's Jay Leno isn't entirely spot on but Leno himself praised his performance and Kathy Bates pretty much steals the show as Helen. The point is, Wired is what you show people when you are doing a lecture on how NOT to make a biopic.
Awesome Comment right There buddy. This Film tries too hard to be shocking and it does in a disturbing and traumatic way and an Insult to SNL fans and John Belushi fans too because I'm not doing drugs and they are not that healthy, to begin with, but making him say that he did drugs even though he's not a drug addict in really makes me sad. because that's fictional and not true at all to this legendary man's life as an actor and comedian and blues rock star too. Love The Blues Brothers too. Wierd Sucks as a biopic movie nothing more.
"also it would be like doing a MJ biopic that pretty much just says 'he was a pedophile' based on the supposed accusations he got of child molestation." Leaving Neverland enters the chat. Okay, it's a documentary, not a biopic, but the point still stands.
Many years later, and not counting Old Fashioned, this is probably the most disturbing movie Ive seen reviewed on your show. And unlike Old Fashioned which merely gives the feeling of disgust and outrage, this movie leaves me with such a hollow acrid feeling in my gut that I can't quite describe and don't know how to channel to get the feeling out of my system. It's... it's just a bad time.
This movie is not being commended by me but I still find the Cannibal Holocaust review to be his best and most disturbing. He nails the emotion, tone, silliness, confusion and ennui of the viewing experience. Just my take :) Cheers from Canada
@@kenetickups6146 It was called The Muppet Man and the script was going around Hollywood, it apparently had scenes of a burned-out Kermit and Miss Piggy as an allegory for Jim and Jane Henson’s failing marriage? I guess?? I think it got bought by the Henson company so that the movie WOULDNT have been made.
@@oneinathousand2156 That's evil. Jim did NOTHING to deserve that. True, the marriage did fail, mainly because Jim was constantly working. Marriages fail for that. However, there was NO acrimony. In Muppets/ Jim Henson docs, Jane Henson does talk about him, with NO animosity.
Nearly 40 years after he died and 30 years after this abomination was released, nobody has attempted to make another biopic about John Belushi? Let alone make a GOOD biopic?
Have you seen John's documentary by R. J. Cutler? At least that was the closest thing to a biopic than this Reefer Madness/PSA ripoff. As a Biopic sucks and or as a fantasy- biopic (like this tries to be) fails miserably; because movies like Rocketman or Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, at least they were respectful with their story and lead than this.
IMO there hasn't been alot of GOOD biopics, cause most of them are the same! There is a reason why "Dewey Cox: Ride The Line" destroyed biopics for a while. IMO one of the best biopics, that wasn't the same cookie cutter BS "Love & Mercy", its about Brian Wilson when he was writing "Pet Sounds", going through his bad drug phase; and older Brian when he found his second wife, when he was being abuse by his stay-at home therapist.
I am no expert on grief, but i've heard some people begin to actually hate their deceased loved ones for bringing them so much joy, only to die. That's what this movie kinda feels like, this movie loves John Belushi so much that it hates him, loathes him. Another appropriate title for the movie would be: "Fuck you John Belushi! You Fucking Murdered John Belushi!!!"
It was a rehearsal. He was dressed as a Conehead because the sketches with heavy make up are usually 1st. They were going over a sketch that was going to happen later.
Tareltonlives knowing the internet, someone’s probably gonna use her life story to talk about how Disney hates white people and cares more about money than legacy
I always come back to this review, but mostly because I’m still shocked that a movie this tasteless, heartless, and disgusting got released. This movie does the opposite of what a biopic should, but it certainly did inspire me to track down Belushi’s movies and learn more about who he was before he died and it’s some interesting stuff. Certainly glad that Chiklis was able to get as much distance from this movie as possible because it would’ve been awful to see him put in this much effort into a sinking, burning ship and end up torpedoing his career before he even left the gate.
I hadn't actually seen any John Belushi movie when I first saw this review. I have since seen Blues Brothers and even gotten an autograph of John Landis. And I really want to see more of Belushi. That's what make reviewers like Jones so good, they can make you appreciate and want to see classics.
This seems like a biopic tailor made for upcoming child actors and actresses to warn them about the dangers of showbiz, fame, drugs, alcohol, toxic people and coworkers, and mental health (like a bit) rather than a John Belushi biopic.
If this movie was actually made with any ounce of respect towards Belushi outside of just Chiklis trying his hardest to make this work; I could've seen this as an Oscar contender for Best Actor at least.
I never saw this movie, but the scenes shown in this review gave me major Terry Gilliam vibes. Feels like Terry completely lifted the look of this movie for Fear and Loathing.
Brilliant. Simply brilliant. The review, I mean, as well as Michael Chiklis. Everything else hurts as much now as it did the first time I saw it, but again, still one of my favourite reviews.
My absolute favourite episode is The Babe Ruth Story, I hope it gets reuploaded here as a "Best of" since for the past couple years each time I've wanted to watch it I've had to go to the site.
What is even the point of the Angel character? What good does it do to berate someone who is already dead for the things they did that led to them dying? That's closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. At least in A Christmas Carol, the ghosts showed Scrooge what a horrible person he was BEFORE he died, so he had the opportunity to change.
This movie is like an over the top After School Special. That weird scene, with John impersonating Jimmy Stewart; it sounded more like Dana Carvey impersonating Jimmy Stewart.
I think there could be a decent remake where it’s about the life of the man himself both good and bad (although still somewhat Oscar baity)...and it still has Michael Chiklis somehow
I always remember seeing this movie sitting on the shelf of my local rental store, and a big display poster too. Never saw it though. The movie always stuck out to me on the shelf, maybe because of the big black cover with beluchi on the front in the BB suit.
31:29 thanks, Snob. Now I can't stop thinking about how awesome a Babe Ruth biopic done like Raging Bull would be. And now I'm mad that I can't have it.
I'm sorry. I thought the autopsy scene was funny. One of his most iconic characters made fun of Japanese culture and he ends up getting chopped up by a Japanese Pathologist.
He was also in 1995's "Get Shorty", 1996's "That Thing You Do!", 1998's "A Bug's Life", 1999's "Dudley Do-Right", 2001's "The Wedding Planner", 2002's "The Country Bears", and 2006's "Smokin' Aces". Unfortunately, he passed away in 2015. Overall, it seems as though Dan's "curse" on everyone involved in "Wired" was completely unsubstantiated.
Belushi isn't a movie. He's a series.(As Arnie) He was on top of TV, film, and music. He was a legendary stage performer at Second City and The Lemmings. AND, he was part of of the National Lampoon Comedy Hour on radio with a bunch of other future stars. You can't tell that story in 2 hours.
I like the synthesized music score at the end of the movie,almost reminds me of what Wendy Carlos did for A Clockwork Orange at the beginning when Alex and and the drools are sitting in the milkbar.
When you focus too much on the good stuff and not enough on the bad, you get The Babe Ruth Story When you focus too much on the bad stuff and not enough on the good, you get Wired When you find the right balance of both, you get Taylor Hackford’s Ray
Michael Chicklis signed on to the movie without reading the full script...... HE REGRETTED IT AND HATED IT SO MUCH HE APOLOGISED PROFUSELY TO THE RELATIVES OF BELUSHI.
You know, I can actually envision a movie like this working if it was made in the structure of Lenny or Citizen Kane, by that I mean an interviewer (Woodward in this case) gets well rounded info about him trying to find out something about him aside from one simple detail (the overdose in this case)
Emphasis on FICTION. Because whoever wrote this screenplay was NO Belushi fan. Scary thought.... the flashback story where that 'angel' is taking John around is like a uber BAD version of *It's a Wonderful Life* called, *"It's a Royally Botched Up Life"* . For all of Andy Kaufman's theatrical antics, MAN ON THE MOON at least showed the 'human' side of the actor/performance artist. .
Can I request the following for "Best Of"? Caligula I Spit On Your Grave Cannibal Holocaust Down and Dirty Duck (Yes, it's still up on Super Critics, I'd rather watch it here...) Super Hornio Bros Los Mutantes Tortugas Pinjas The Talking Vagina Trilogy Black Love The Beavis and Butthead Porno All of 80s Dan (If you can bear to see it again...) Too Smart For Strangers Mr. T's Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool Rock: It's Your Decision Dolemite (and the sequel with Bennett the Sage) Pretty much all of the rest of DVD-R Hell Mommie Dearest The Kung Tai Ted videos ... That's a lot, actually... But over time...
Someone should go and make a Spongebob parody of this firm or something: "Breathe for me, Squidward." (Considering that Nostalgia Critic just crapped on The Wall with Spongebob's theme song, it would be par for the course and all).
I only saw the finale as the shows only episode it was early in the morning I had a stomach bug that's why I watched it and it was cornier than a cornfield but within the context of the shows universe it would've been good as a twist for John winning his freedom and for Jim to remain in heaven.
I feel like there’s a really good, Citizen Kane style thing with Bob Woodward going around to people who knew him and writing his book, trapped in this movie.
The Blues Brothers (1980), 1941 (1979), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) where grand insane films that could never be made again, or made today. real film experiences.
There is no universe where Blues Brothers 2000 is worse than this. The one thing that movie got right was writing out Belushi so they didn't disrespect his memory. And this is an entire movie designed to disrespect his memory.
This movie is FAR more than a little tasteless, especially considering we now understand that people are suffering from the Disease of Addiction and aren’t just morally flawed.
The moral of this movie is,if you die from a speedball overdose then you spend eternity as a cabbie driving other souls of o.d.s around to show them their lives. Basically John Belushi,Jim Morrison,Jimi Hendrix,Janis Joplin,Chris Farley,River Pheonix and Heath Ledger are now cab drivers in the afterlife. Damn,I better not od on drugs. Oh wait,I forgot Sid Vicious and Dee Dee Ramone and Rick James are all now cab drivers,lol.
The worst thing you can do to a character is show the negative stuff about him/her without showing the positive side of the character. This movie fails because of this.
The guy who plays Dan Aykroyd may look like Kevin Nealon, but he sounds like Michael McKean (Who ironically joined the cast of SNL seven years later for 1994-95 season)
It makes it even worse that he's in this. He knew him but he was a drug addict and you need money for drugs. Like Belushi's other addict cousin who was blocked when he tried to take a picture of Belushis corpse for the inquirer for money who said john wouldn't care.sadly wen your an addict your "friends" you end up surrounded by are soulless creatures with zero morals
Watching the review of this... thing makes me wonder things like, if this movie is so anti drugs, then why does it feel like they did a fucking marathon of every drug they could get their hands on to write and film this? I mean, did they never think that this film was even a little insulting to Belushi's legacy, not to mention his friends and family who still mourned him? I think this might be the ultimate example of 'what were they thinking?' when it comes to a movie. Also, since so many people refused to have their names featured in the movie, how were they able to use Dan Aykroyd's name since he was so vocally against this movie? Did they just not call him Aykroid the entire time?
ChrisTheLovableJerk Well, most anti-drug PSAs are like that... They're all after thoughts of the execs/crew snorting a huge pile of cocaine and tying to make amends for it, and they used ideas from their bad trip! 😚
I worked on the film & recall that its director, Larry Peerce, had battled drug demons (along with many other Hollywood "survivors"). So it was skewed in terms of its narrative, and sadly didn't do justice to the good energy that Belushi provided. Gene Siskel commented on how good this film could have been if Bob Fosse had directed. And as far as names, I think Aykroyd had been considered public domain, whereas others were a bit more private. Landis, for instance, was just called "The Director." Bernie Brillstein somehow became "Arne Fromson." The whole movie was a bit of a mess, but interesting to watch decades after being on the set each day.
Fun fact: The guy playing Angel the cab driver, Ray Sharkey, is said to have been the guy who enabled John Belushi to get back on drugs and break his sobriety after he got sober to film CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, leading him to die the next year. And as Brad alluded to in the review, Ray Sharkey was deep into drugs himself, and even contracted HIV, but he convinced himself he had a strain of HIV that wouldn't become AIDS and gave it to a whole load of women, and one of those women even sued Sharkey before he died of AIDS in 1993.
...okay, maybe that wasn't necessarily a "fun" fact, but hey, the more you know.
Good riddance!
ugh!
karma much
god that is the worst did this guy muder puppies too what despicable , just just fill in the blank it's not worth it
Jesse Shade Wow... That's despicable.
"My friends call me angel."
My eyes rolled so far back in my head I could see my repressed memories.
The amazing thing is that when you look at the direction of that small scene, its intended to be haunting.
Michael Chiklis career is pretty remarkable knowing he was in this. Lucky him for more than salvaging it
the part with him and his wife on the beach was actually really touching
@PhilipBrocklehurst totally
To this day, I still remember the disturbing numbness and furious anger I felt leaving the theater after seeing this abomination. I loved the book, as sad as it was, and I thought maybe the movie would try to capture the tragedy of John's death. Instead, it was an infuriating mess for anyone who loved John's talent. It was bad enough that they wallow in tone-deaf comedy while John is dying, but to say he went to hell was beyond the pale. Just obscene.
So when are we gonna get Wired 2 where the Puerto Rican cab driving angel drives Chris Farley around and a guy who looks nothing like David Spade berates him for doing coke and heroin?
Meteorite Entertainment I mean if Kindergarten Cop And even Cop and a Half can get a sequel 20 years too late...
Thank you for that!!
Hell,Oliver Stone should have made his movie about The Doors like this. You know,Jim Morrison being picked up by a Peutro Rican cabbie who happens to be driving cab in Paris
Meteorite Entertainment And then we get Wired 3, where the same cab driver accosts Phil Hartman for marrying that wife who killed him, and also there’s a guy that looks nothing like Jon Lovitz.
Honestly, that would be a really interesting idea. Wired is a bizarre movie, but its far from terrible. Non-Linear and in poor taste doesnt mean its terrible.
That trailer at the beginning makes the movie sound so much better than it really is... Hell, you'd think it's a moving story and a well-crafted biopic of John Belushi.
Plus it gave away the ending of the movie so I think with that is enough of the movie rather than watch it in its entiretly.
Funny thing is, Chiklis' performance was also criticized when this first came out. But, like Brad, I beg to differ. Extremely talented actor, and, although very successful, I still think he isn't given enough roles or variety worthy of his gifts.
Chiklis's performance was also praised too.
"Animal house" song edits were amazingly fit
Ah, John Landis, the ultimate helicopter parent.
Too soon
@@ScratchthechalkBoard I wonder, sincerely, if anyone will ever try to make a film about Landis, The Twilight Zone, his son and or career.
I've read a few books on the "event" and this movie, did leave me thinking, what a dramatic retelling could be like. Even a full-fledged documentry could be fascinating.
Imagine for a horrifying second, the morgue scene from this movie, but done for the Twilight zone "accident." It's a sickening thought, but I normally have a sick sense of humor. But in this example....NO!! I don't think I could go any further but I do think Landis should have to live in a world, where more people are aware of his gross negligence, to say the least!
Just my thoughts.
What do you think?
Ohhhhhh.......
Considering Landis acted terribly after that happened, even to the point where Spielberg abandoned him, that joke almost works, but it's still a little insensitive.
@@ScratchthechalkBoardstill too soon. Check back in 2 more years
RIP Brad Jones hair.
RIP Mike Chiklis' hair!
RIP Doug Walker's hair. ...Maybe.
everybody's cutting their hair! this needs to be stopped or else everyone's gonna become that guy from My Cat from Hell.
Wait... Are we gonna see a biopic of Brad's hair getting cut up by a sushi chef ?!!
@@wizomcneil You're referring to cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy, aren't you?
I vaguely remember seeing this on tv and the fart scene was the only part I remember. Mostly because I thought "how can you smell farts when you have the top down in a convertible? Wouldn't the wind blow them away from you?" For years I thought that scene was from some forgettable buddy comedy travel flick.
Rest In Peace, John Belushi. We will always remember your comedic excellence.
I feel... physically ill... knowing that THIS is considered honoring the career of the deceased..! Yeah, lets talk about all the shit with brief moments of comedy while we play This Is Your Life with a ghost Belushi and the brother of the cab driver from Scrooged! BRILLIANT!!!! (Sarcasm)
I love the Snob's review, he rips this "film" a new one.
Such a tragic loss, I know. Also, don't you ever compare David Johansen's cabbie ghost to Sharkey's cabbie angel again!
Sean Ashmead I’m sorry, I promise I won’t do it again. :(
@@LchanOtakudom :(
In Spite Of How Ineffective This Movie Was Michael Chiklis Was Very Effective As John Belushi His First Role Only 25 Years Old According To Biography Michael Chiklis Research John Belushi To Portray Him As Convincingly As Possible
But It Did Move His Career Up A Notch Though It Could've Ruined Him Most Wouldn't Take On Risky Role
Belushi's body was literally strapped to the wing of the plane to get him to Martha's vineyard. So it was actually worse than what was portrayed in the movie. I really don't have a problem with it, he was dead after all, and having his body as soon as possible helped Judy to feel better, and that's what's important. People who aren't married, or have children, don't understand how much it helps to have the body close by.
You must be joking, they really did that? Whoever who came out with "solution" must have been out of his fucking mind!
Please provide a quote or a hint. So I can find confirmation of that info. Thanks.
The body bag on the wing of the plane is described on page 421 of the Woodward book. I located in via an interlibrary loan.
Michael Klenfner said, "And we all had to see him out there on the wing, and the wind blew the cover off, and there his forehead was in the moonlight, shining off that clear white Albanian skin. It was so sad, so sad, so very, very sad."
This was the first Snob review I ever saw; by coincidence I had seen the movie a few days before it was uploaded. Really hilarious and insightful; I really appreciate your defense of Chiklis. Most critics unfairly bashed him along with the movie.
Chiklis is a fantastic actor.
Agreed. The critics wanted to nuke this film into non-existence and rightly so but Michael was not one of the downsides. He played John as faithfully as possible, and did everything he was supposed to do. He was sadly collateral damage of the sheer amount of righteous fury aimed at this film.
@@agentleman4610 Also, Mike and John have quite a lot in common, mind you. Mike has long been a John Belushi fan, and at an early age was fond of imitating Joe Cocker, much like Belushi. Also, both of them were co-captain of their respective high school football teams, a teenage actor in summer stock, and a singer in a band. Quite a pity nobody told Dan about that back in the day, or since then.
Similar to Dan, Mike also has a brother named Peter and has played cop characters (ex: "The Commish", "The Shield", and most recently "Gotham"), plus both of them are married to blondes and both of them are musically talented. Therefore, there should be no reason why Mike and Dan can't patch things up between them and become close pals.
@@agentleman4610 It's like the movie has it's high's and low's. Maybe it was meant to act as a parallel to the rollercoaster, that is heavy drug use?
Not sure if I want to give the movie that much credit but, as an (occasional addict ;) , that was the first thought that jumped into my mind.
Who knows, Maybe I'm just too high to process the film properly. Or maybe, not high enough. It's a viscous circle.
I do know this; I could really go for a cheeseburger!
Man, this movie was so morbid in a wrong way. It's like all they could focus on was the fact he died of a drug overdose, he was not a drug addicted sad sack no matter what this movie tells you. I am sure if he could have, back then he would have gotten treatments at rehab. I mean imagine if someone did a biopic about John Candy where the whole message is 'this guy was overweight. Being overweight is evil and you will die if you are like that.' Or making a biopic about Robin Williams where Williams is constantly being depressed and not pleased with his life. It would just be Williams crying and nothing else. In addition to this, also it would be like doing a MJ biopic that pretty much just says 'he was a pedophile' based on the supposed accusations he got of child molestation. The Late Shift (while not a biopic) actually does a terrific job of adapting the book it is based on and the performances are pretty good,, Roebuck's Jay Leno isn't entirely spot on but Leno himself praised his performance and Kathy Bates pretty much steals the show as Helen. The point is, Wired is what you show people when you are doing a lecture on how NOT to make a biopic.
Awesome Comment right There buddy. This Film tries too hard to be shocking and it does in a disturbing and traumatic way and an Insult to SNL fans and John Belushi fans too because I'm not doing drugs and they are not that healthy, to begin with, but making him say that he did drugs even though he's not a drug addict in really makes me sad. because that's fictional and not true at all to this legendary man's life as an actor and comedian and blues rock star too. Love The Blues Brothers too. Wierd Sucks as a biopic movie nothing more.
"also it would be like doing a MJ biopic that pretty much just says 'he was a pedophile' based on the supposed accusations he got of child molestation."
Leaving Neverland enters the chat. Okay, it's a documentary, not a biopic, but the point still stands.
Many years later, and not counting Old Fashioned, this is probably the most disturbing movie Ive seen reviewed on your show. And unlike Old Fashioned which merely gives the feeling of disgust and outrage, this movie leaves me with such a hollow acrid feeling in my gut that I can't quite describe and don't know how to channel to get the feeling out of my system.
It's... it's just a bad time.
I felt that way about 'Unplanned', although this was plenty disturbing as well.
Guess you didn't watch Voiceless yet
@@ScratchthechalkBoard all of the anti abortion movies are equally disturbing
Bad time? Or bad trip?
This movie is not being commended by me but I still find the Cannibal Holocaust review to be his best and most disturbing. He nails the emotion, tone, silliness, confusion and ennui of the viewing experience. Just my take :)
Cheers from Canada
"I'LL GET YOU WOODWARD IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO"
*Declaration made by a ghost*
It’s a good thing that we never got that Jim Henson biopic where he hallucinates the Muppets before his death, I can see that being just as bad.
please tell me you're joking
@@kenetickups6146 It was called The Muppet Man and the script was going around Hollywood, it apparently had scenes of a burned-out Kermit and Miss Piggy as an allegory for Jim and Jane Henson’s failing marriage? I guess?? I think it got bought by the Henson company so that the movie WOULDNT have been made.
@@oneinathousand2156 That's evil. Jim did NOTHING to deserve that.
True, the marriage did fail, mainly because Jim was constantly working. Marriages fail for that. However, there was NO acrimony. In Muppets/ Jim Henson docs, Jane Henson does talk about him, with NO animosity.
it's like the people that made "Plumbers don't wear ties" made a Jon Belushi biopic.
@@redcomet_622 But Plumbers has BOOBS!
Well Said
Nearly 40 years after he died and 30 years after this abomination was released, nobody has attempted to make another biopic about John Belushi? Let alone make a GOOD biopic?
They have attempted, a few times, but so far it's always fallen through.
Have you seen John's documentary by R. J. Cutler? At least that was the closest thing to a biopic than this Reefer Madness/PSA ripoff. As a Biopic sucks and or as a fantasy- biopic (like this tries to be) fails miserably; because movies like Rocketman or Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, at least they were respectful with their story and lead than this.
IMO there hasn't been alot of GOOD biopics, cause most of them are the same! There is a reason why "Dewey Cox: Ride The Line" destroyed biopics for a while. IMO one of the best biopics, that wasn't the same cookie cutter BS "Love & Mercy", its about Brian Wilson when he was writing "Pet Sounds", going through his bad drug phase; and older Brian when he found his second wife, when he was being abuse by his stay-at home therapist.
I am no expert on grief, but i've heard some people begin to actually hate their deceased loved ones for bringing them so much joy, only to die. That's what this movie kinda feels like, this movie loves John Belushi so much that it hates him, loathes him. Another appropriate title for the movie would be: "Fuck you John Belushi! You Fucking Murdered John Belushi!!!"
This movie is the anger stage of grief.
a Conehead doing an impression of Nixon performing Hamlet... what the hell?
It was a rehearsal. He was dressed as a Conehead because the sketches with heavy make up are usually 1st. They were going over a sketch that was going to happen later.
Out of this movie, I honestly would love to see that :3
The let’s dance song fits so well with him running around tinge morgue I was totally fooled.
Amazing review. INSULTING movie.
Oh shit, they're going to do this to Carrie Fisher aren't they?
Wow! that would be very sad. Greedy people sometimes.
I might, but only if I can make it a parody of Wired. I have no morals!
Tareltonlives I’m just shocked they didn’t do this to John Candy, Chris Farley or Robin Williams
Tareltonlives knowing the internet, someone’s probably gonna use her life story to talk about how Disney hates white people and cares more about money than legacy
I guess with celebrity ods Wired episodes 1,2,3,4,5 they should make prequels you know for Jimi Hendrix,Janis Joplin,Jim Morrison,
I just read Dan Akroyd 's response to this movie on Wikipedia... It's much more hilarious than anything in this movie!
Dude legitimately claimed he hired witches to cast curses upon the film. Wild as hell!
I always come back to this review, but mostly because I’m still shocked that a movie this tasteless, heartless, and disgusting got released. This movie does the opposite of what a biopic should, but it certainly did inspire me to track down Belushi’s movies and learn more about who he was before he died and it’s some interesting stuff. Certainly glad that Chiklis was able to get as much distance from this movie as possible because it would’ve been awful to see him put in this much effort into a sinking, burning ship and end up torpedoing his career before he even left the gate.
All of his movies were great; in replacement of this garbage I recommend you the R.J Cutler documentary of John which came out 2 years ago.
You know... I don’t think these Anti-Drug PSA conversations actually happened.
So I've been wondering since this was originally posted: did the guy playing Dan Akroyd think he was doing Chevy Chase?
though to be fair, Akroyd and Chase were in Spies Like Us together
@@awesomereesee7841 They were also in 1991's "Nothing but Trouble", Dan's sole directorial effort.
And was his manager actually Alex Baldwin?
I remember when this review first came out, how time flies.
Yeah, 2014 does feel like it it happened last week.
Now this is a movie that deserves a remake! For Johns sake if anything.
This movie needs to be on an episode of Matt McMuscles' "Wha Happun?"
Dude, I would pay to see this movie on that show!
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: The Movie is coming to Blu-Ray this fall! Now would be a great time to re-upload that Snob episode!
I hadn't actually seen any John Belushi movie when I first saw this review. I have since seen Blues Brothers and even gotten an autograph of John Landis. And I really want to see more of Belushi.
That's what make reviewers like Jones so good, they can make you appreciate and want to see classics.
I watched that disgraceful god-awful Marilyn Monroe movie on Netflix this week and more than once I was reminded of Wired.
This seems like a biopic tailor made for upcoming child actors and actresses to warn them about the dangers of showbiz, fame, drugs, alcohol, toxic people and coworkers, and mental health (like a bit) rather than a John Belushi biopic.
If this movie was actually made with any ounce of respect towards Belushi outside of just Chiklis trying his hardest to make this work; I could've seen this as an Oscar contender for Best Actor at least.
I never saw this movie, but the scenes shown in this review gave me major Terry Gilliam vibes. Feels like Terry completely lifted the look of this movie for Fear and Loathing.
You added that song into the morgue scene😂 Watching it for the first time. I just assumed it was really in the movie. I
You know what could really use a re-upload? The Violent Shit saga.
This review is 3 years old? Damn, feels like I first watched it a few months ago, still remember most of it.
I feel the same way.
Brilliant. Simply brilliant. The review, I mean, as well as Michael Chiklis. Everything else hurts as much now as it did the first time I saw it, but again, still one of my favourite reviews.
My absolute favourite episode is The Babe Ruth Story, I hope it gets reuploaded here as a "Best of" since for the past couple years each time I've wanted to watch it I've had to go to the site.
I'd never heard of this movie and I think I was better for it.
What is even the point of the Angel character? What good does it do to berate someone who is already dead for the things they did that led to them dying? That's closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. At least in A Christmas Carol, the ghosts showed Scrooge what a horrible person he was BEFORE he died, so he had the opportunity to change.
This movie is like an over the top After School Special.
That weird scene, with John impersonating Jimmy Stewart; it sounded more like Dana Carvey impersonating Jimmy Stewart.
Can't wait for the Emoji move review.
I think there could be a decent remake where it’s about the life of the man himself both good and bad (although still somewhat Oscar baity)...and it still has Michael Chiklis somehow
Imagine making a Tupac Shakur biopic and two thirds of the movie is about how he died.... stupid
Re-watching this in time for Saturday Night (2024).
I refuse to believe Aykroyd would talk someone down off drugs; he was probably too busy dropping acid and chasing paranormal things.
I always remember seeing this movie sitting on the shelf of my local rental store, and a big display poster too. Never saw it though. The movie always stuck out to me on the shelf, maybe because of the big black cover with beluchi on the front in the BB suit.
Re-up Mommie Dearest?
Done
31:29 thanks, Snob. Now I can't stop thinking about how awesome a Babe Ruth biopic done like Raging Bull would be. And now I'm mad that I can't have it.
Sooooo the premise of this film is the live action Mario Bros message? "If you do drugs, you go to hell before you die"?
Only difference being that the Super Mario PSA was a lot more earnest in my genuine opinion.
@@splinky9226 True, very true.
The League of Super Critics needs to fade away and classify itself as obsolete.
Dan M. I see what you did there
OBSOLETE
And I thought Jacob's Ladder had a disturbing autopsy scene.
I'm sorry. I thought the autopsy scene was funny. One of his most iconic characters made fun of Japanese culture and he ends up getting chopped up by a Japanese Pathologist.
i love this review, but this movie makes me so angry.
Alex Rocco was in this? At least he had a quicker comeback than Chiklis thanks to the Simpsons
He was also in 1995's "Get Shorty", 1996's "That Thing You Do!", 1998's "A Bug's Life", 1999's "Dudley Do-Right", 2001's "The Wedding Planner", 2002's "The Country Bears", and 2006's "Smokin' Aces". Unfortunately, he passed away in 2015.
Overall, it seems as though Dan's "curse" on everyone involved in "Wired" was completely unsubstantiated.
Belushi isn't a movie. He's a series.(As Arnie) He was on top of TV, film, and music. He was a legendary stage performer at Second City and The Lemmings. AND, he was part of of the National Lampoon Comedy Hour on radio with a bunch of other future stars. You can't tell that story in 2 hours.
Sensei-tional. I have to admit I got a chuckle out of that one.
I like the synthesized music score at the end of the movie,almost reminds me of what Wendy Carlos did for A Clockwork Orange at the beginning when Alex and and the drools are sitting in the milkbar.
When you focus too much on the good stuff and not enough on the bad, you get The Babe Ruth Story
When you focus too much on the bad stuff and not enough on the good, you get Wired
When you find the right balance of both, you get Taylor Hackford’s Ray
This is the one episode Brad is pretty much out of character
I’m surprised you haven’t done a Blues Brothers 2000 review.
Love the review but the film is an insult to someone who's dead.
SHSL Yuki Skywalker It basically is a complete insult to the dead.
Mega props for the Sgt. Peppers poster!
You're spoiling us Brad
I only know Michael Chiklis from the English dub of "Spitied Away" (He was Chihiro's dad).
Well I learned something today
Michael Chicklis signed on to the movie without reading the full script...... HE REGRETTED IT AND HATED IT SO MUCH HE APOLOGISED PROFUSELY TO THE RELATIVES OF BELUSHI.
5:42 - "I'm Angel, your fairly drunk driver!"
Never get tired of this review
Thanks for posting this Brad, you could only find this review on the channel that shall not be named (hint, it rhymes with Smeague of Dooper Rittics)
Morgue of the arthritic
I bet the guardian angel works for the same celestial cab firm that the Ghost of Christmas Past from Scrooged works for
Mathieu Leader Except this cabbie isn't played by a punk legend... So it's obviously just a failing rival company
I wish this movie WAS Scrooged. That movie is funny, and it has a hilarious Trump Tower joke.
no your not
I see being in the soul searching buisness is a tough game
maybe in the reviews that your yet to come
I have to say of all the movies the Snob has reviewed this is the one that genuinely offends me.
A little trivia. The VHS of "Wired" is actually part of Seinfeld's movie collection.
The music score towards the end reminds me of Wendy Carlos' A Clockwork Orange music score
You know, I can actually envision a movie like this working if it was made in the structure of Lenny or Citizen Kane, by that I mean an interviewer (Woodward in this case) gets well rounded info about him trying to find out something about him aside from one simple detail (the overdose in this case)
I have I no idea what the Genre was for this late 80's movie... Was it supposed to be Biopic with Dark Comedy elements?
fanfiction biopic
Tommy Deonauth's Archives Good question. Its the second time that I watched this review and I'm still unsure what to call it...
Emphasis on FICTION. Because whoever wrote this screenplay was NO Belushi fan.
Scary thought.... the flashback story where that 'angel' is taking John around is like a uber BAD version of *It's a Wonderful Life* called, *"It's a Royally Botched Up Life"* .
For all of Andy Kaufman's theatrical antics, MAN ON THE MOON at least showed the 'human' side of the actor/performance artist. .
Smear
Can I request the following for "Best Of"?
Caligula
I Spit On Your Grave
Cannibal Holocaust
Down and Dirty Duck (Yes, it's still up on Super Critics, I'd rather watch it here...)
Super Hornio Bros
Los Mutantes Tortugas Pinjas
The Talking Vagina Trilogy
Black Love
The Beavis and Butthead Porno
All of 80s Dan (If you can bear to see it again...)
Too Smart For Strangers
Mr. T's Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool
Rock: It's Your Decision
Dolemite (and the sequel with Bennett the Sage)
Pretty much all of the rest of DVD-R Hell
Mommie Dearest
The Kung Tai Ted videos
...
That's a lot, actually...
But over time...
Davethe3rd no super critics dead snob was able to pull the videos
Someone should go and make a Spongebob parody of this firm or something:
"Breathe for me, Squidward."
(Considering that Nostalgia Critic just crapped on The Wall with Spongebob's theme song, it would be par for the course and all).
Why did John Belushi not defend his brother in court during the finale of According to Jim
I only saw the finale as the shows only episode it was early in the morning I had a stomach bug that's why I watched it and it was cornier than a cornfield but within the context of the shows universe it would've been good as a twist for John winning his freedom and for Jim to remain in heaven.
I think its cause Jim was still mad at John for being in this movie? Lol
I'll never forget how 4:07 got me the first time I watched this.
Kinda wish this would be remade but more accurate
well the duo were once slightly scheduled to portray thompson and his attorney, so maybe THATS the connection?? i dunno just a guess
Thanks for starting to re-upload old episodes.
I feel like there’s a really good, Citizen Kane style thing with Bob Woodward going around to people who knew him and writing his book, trapped in this movie.
The Blues Brothers (1980), 1941 (1979), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
where grand insane films that could never be made again, or made today.
real film experiences.
By today's standards SNL in the beginning in our cancel culture the show would never air at all.
There is no universe where Blues Brothers 2000 is worse than this. The one thing that movie got right was writing out Belushi so they didn't disrespect his memory. And this is an entire movie designed to disrespect his memory.
I can’t decide on my favourite Cinema Snob word. It’s between “Snook” and “Pah-tay-dah”
This movie is FAR more than a little tasteless, especially considering we now understand that people are suffering from the Disease of Addiction and aren’t just morally flawed.
But there's a ton of terrible movies Hollywood wants me to see
Yeah, like The Emoji Movie. =P
Just don't watch An Alan Smithee Film Burn Hollywood Burn. Now THIS is the one they don't want you too see (but because it's a piece of shit)
@@phantomzone2725 well the book itself was an expose of Hollywood,a prime example of the rotten decay of Tinseltown
I know more about John Belushi in the documentary Belushi than I know him in this film
The moral of this movie is,if you die from a speedball overdose then you spend eternity as a cabbie driving other souls of o.d.s around to show them their lives. Basically John Belushi,Jim Morrison,Jimi Hendrix,Janis Joplin,Chris Farley,River Pheonix and Heath Ledger are now cab drivers in the afterlife. Damn,I better not od on drugs. Oh wait,I forgot Sid Vicious and Dee Dee Ramone and Rick James are all now cab drivers,lol.
This movie could have worked if it was a biopic instead of... this.
The worst thing you can do to a character is show the negative stuff about him/her without showing the positive side of the character. This movie fails because of this.
The guy who plays Dan Aykroyd may look like Kevin Nealon, but he sounds like Michael McKean (Who ironically joined the cast of SNL seven years later for 1994-95 season)
22:47
But it IS sucky enough for a season 6 SNL sketch!
Fun fact: Ray Sharkey, the guy who played Angel, was actually a one-time host during season 6.
It makes it even worse that he's in this. He knew him but he was a drug addict and you need money for drugs. Like Belushi's other addict cousin who was blocked when he tried to take a picture of Belushis corpse for the inquirer for money who said john wouldn't care.sadly wen your an addict your "friends" you end up surrounded by are soulless creatures with zero morals
At least this film made me want to watch Animal House.
Watching the review of this... thing makes me wonder things like, if this movie is so anti drugs, then why does it feel like they did a fucking marathon of every drug they could get their hands on to write and film this? I mean, did they never think that this film was even a little insulting to Belushi's legacy, not to mention his friends and family who still mourned him? I think this might be the ultimate example of 'what were they thinking?' when it comes to a movie.
Also, since so many people refused to have their names featured in the movie, how were they able to use Dan Aykroyd's name since he was so vocally against this movie? Did they just not call him Aykroid the entire time?
ChrisTheLovableJerk Well, most anti-drug PSAs are like that... They're all after thoughts of the execs/crew snorting a huge pile of cocaine and tying to make amends for it, and they used ideas from their bad trip! 😚
I worked on the film & recall that its director, Larry Peerce, had battled drug demons (along with many other Hollywood "survivors"). So it was skewed in terms of its narrative, and sadly didn't do justice to the good energy that Belushi provided. Gene Siskel commented on how good this film could have been if Bob Fosse had directed. And as far as names, I think Aykroyd had been considered public domain, whereas others were a bit more private. Landis, for instance, was just called "The Director." Bernie Brillstein somehow became "Arne Fromson." The whole movie was a bit of a mess, but interesting to watch decades after being on the set each day.
@@thomtaylor5495 Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's an interesting movie for all its faults. Definitely a one of a kind.