 Today I want to spend a minute taking a look at the works of John Belushi. There's a lot that can be said about his style and the impact that he had on pop culture. During his four-season run John Belushi defined Saturday Night Live. He set the standard and continued to raise it year after year. In 1978 he was looking to expand. He led the second highest grossing film of the year, released a blues album that topped Billboard's Hot 200, released a comedy album with National Ampune. An average of 14 million people watch him every Saturday night. He was never defined by one medium. Instead he looks solely to entertain. I always hated school and college and fraternities but ended up doing this movie. I did it for the money. Perhaps Belushi is most associated with his improvisation. In 1971 he joined Chicago's second city improv comedy group and immediately rose to the top. He was the first actor I ever auditioned who went right from the audition to the main stage. His improvisation carried over into every project he worked on and set him apart from many of his contemporaries. He was never restricted to words on a page. If he thought something was funny he either said it or he did it. Some of the most memorable moments from Animal House came from the film's director John Landis pointing the camera at Belushi and letting him go wild. But that doesn't necessarily work for every project. In fact a big reason why the movie works so well was the less than conventional screenplay. Written over a two-and-a-half-year period by Harold Ramis, Doug Kenny, and Chris Miller, the script was more or less a collection of ideas instead of a refined and careful screenplay. They focus more on developing characters than telling a story. There's a narrative in the pages but that exists as a catalyst for comedy more than anything else. Because of that it gave Belushi free reign on set to just try and be as funny as possible which is something that he exceeds that. It's easy to pick scenes from his best movies to look at what he does right. But to understand what makes him so great I think it's important to look at his performances from his other movies. 1941 is a movie that should have been a hit. It was written by Bob Gil and Robert Zemeckis the team who would go on to write the Back to the Future trilogy. These story was by John Milius who also wrote Apocalypse Now. Steven Spielberg was behind the camera and in front of the camera was Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Christopher Lee, Toshiro Maifune, and John Candy. Yet the film fell short to the very high expectations that audiences had. Chalk it up to Spielberg's forte being very hard-hitting human moments rather than comedic ones or on the flip side of script that put too much emphasis on spectacle and set pieces but the film flopped and was met with almost universal disapproval. Despite the film being flawed, Belushi's performance is the diamond in the rough. The movie followed the script very closely and because of this Belushi's improvisation was restricted. The very few moments of improv aren't dialogue based instead moments of physical comedy. Like this scene where Wild Bill falls off the plane was inspired by Belushi falling off the plane in between takes. This movie shows off the power of non-verbal comedy. Belushi may be best at the small thing. Some of his best tools are his hands, his mouth, and perhaps what he is best known for, the eyebrow rigs. These subtleties are just as effective as the big and over-the-top movements that he is frequently associated with. Things that nobody would ever do in real life but Belushi plays up for comedic effect. The smaller movements humanize his characters and make them seem real. You're not watching somebody phone in a performance for a paycheck, you're watching someone doing what he loves. John Belushi became his characters with only seven film credits to his name. He was never able to explore a real range but what he was able to do was show a real depth to the one character archetype that he mastered. His characters were often a reflection of himself, a blues musician, a wild college student, or someone who is happily married. Pluto isn't Jake who isn't Wild Bill. There are significant character differences between these three. These are differences brought by Belushi. He makes his characters feel like real people and that can only be achieved because he is a face that everybody knows. He often drew attention to this and his work with a willingness to break the fourth wall and interact with the audience. The Blues Brothers is a movie about getting the real band the Blues Brothers back together by making a movie about the fictionalized Blues Brothers getting their band back together. He wasn't a stuck-up artist. He was a regular guy who liked to entertain and people like to be entertained by. Unfortunately John passed away on March 5th, 1982. However in his 33 years he achieved something that will last forever. He left behind hours and hours of some of the best comedy ever. But more importantly he changed the modern scene of comedy. His dry and deadpan humor has influenced Joel and Ethan Coe and Wes Anderson and Edgar Wright. Even though we'll never see another Animal House or a sequel to the Blues Brothers, I'm sorry I meant a real sequel to the Blues Brothers, we'll always have the legacy of John Belushi as one of the greatest comedians to ever make the world laugh. Hey everyone I hope you enjoyed. I wanted to let you know that this video is being brought to you by Dollar Shave Club. DollarShaveClub.com has simplified my life. They deliver amazing razors right to my door for a fraction of the price that I used to pay. And right now they have a great offer. If you have ever to DollarShaveClub.com slash JMR or click the link in the description you can get your first month's membership of any razor for just one dollar. Free shipping, no commitments and you can cancel anytime. I've been using Dollar Shave Club for a few weeks now and I love it. And if you want to have a great shave for a great price and help support the channel head over to DollarShaveClub.com slash JMR or click the link in the description now and start your membership for just one dollar. If you haven't already be sure to check out my last video where we looked at what guns can say about characters. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next week.