Just what I expected

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Blistering performances.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I disagree 100% with the previous review of this film. I saw this movie when It came out and it was not only an incredible film, but also an incredible acting debut from the soon to be famous "Shield" star Michael Chiklis. Rumour has it that he was said to be blackballed by the "Belushi" camp for doing this film because of the too true for comfort portrayal of Mr. Belushi. I don't know if there is any truth too that, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if it were true.Calling this an anti-drug propaganda movie like it's a bad thing is absurd! I would define it as a true to life view of the rise and fall of a entertainment icon due to addiction. Not that unbelievable of a storyline now is it?If you like good movies that deal with real subjects, you will like this film. If you are a die-hard John Belushi fan who can't face a glimpse of a highly probable truth about the man, go ahead and watch "Animal House" again.

Someone once said that John Belushi was a combination of Lou Costello and Vlad the Impaler! He wanted to grab the whole world and snort it. This was Michael Chiklis's first big part (he's now the rogue cop on The Shield). He does a convincing job bringing Belushi to life in all his madness. They do a good recreation of him and Dan Aykroyd doing their Blues Brothers routine. Did Belushi have a sub-conscious death wish? It would seem he did. Like the phantom cabbie tells him "Life is not for everyone". The whole "angel" thing is original but it does make the movie confusing and hard to follow. Belushi wanted it all but it was too much. Like Elvis, Belushi was a case of too much and too fast.

This could have been a good biopic, but what a mess! I had this film when I was a theater manager. When I put the film together, and watched it, I thought I had some reels out of order. As it turned out I didn't, and if I did, nobody would have noticed. I couldn't figure out what's going on! Everybody who walked out pretty much felt the same way!

I like this movie, because I am essentially a HUGE fan of John Belushi. But this film lacked many things that could make this a great movie. First of all, Michael Chiklis HAS NO CREDIBILITY in the role of John Belushi. He doesn't look like him, and every moves he did was a pale copy of the great Belushi ! But, in all, I loved this movie because every biography of great actors or movie legends fascinates me. I found the feedbacks from his death to some parts of his life annoying, but I learned some things about him that I didn't know.With JAMES BELUSHI to play the part of his own brother could've made this movie A GREAT AUTOBIOGRAPHY.