James Brown is an effective screen performer when the part makes use of his singing. The Blues Brothers finds the right role in Reverend Cleophus James, giving his gospel-rooted delivery a purpose within the comedy.
Fi1m perspective
In The Blues Brothers (1980), James Brown's Reverend Cleophus James has a sermon to deliver and a song to sing. His performance of “The Old Landmark” helps set the story moving, so the appearance has a job beyond supplying a familiar face. John Landis gives the musical performances room, and Brown benefits from that patience. We enjoyed Brown's number because Landis gives him time to perform, rather than making recognition the whole point of his appearance.
Brown came to these parts with a performing style already well established on stage. His stage act combined gospel-rooted singing, high-energy dancing and call-and-response; a preacher was a sensible part to give him. The live album Live at the Apollo (1963) is the useful reference here, capturing the intensity that the films could draw upon. Screen appearances remained an occasional sideline: Rocky IV (1985) used him as a performer before a fight, while Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) brought him back as Cleophus James.
The Blues Brothers also puts Brown among musicians whose individual performing styles are allowed to shape their scenes. Aretha Franklin gives Mrs Murphy's “Think” an impatience that is funny in itself, while Brown's preaching delivery has an immediate use in the sermon. Cab Calloway and Ray Charles likewise receive more than a respectful introduction. The comic destruction goes on too long; the musical performances are the reason we forgive the indulgence.
These are small, carefully matched parts, and they set a limit on what we can claim for Brown's acting. We have little evidence here of how he might carry a long dramatic scene or develop a character across a film. His Cleophus James works without giving us an answer to either question. Choose The Blues Brothers for the music; patience with the comedy will help.
Biography
James Brown (1933–2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician and record producer. He began his professional career in the mid-1950s as the lead singer of the Famous Flames and became a central figure in the development of funk and soul music.
Brown appeared in several films, including as Reverend Cleophus James in The Blues Brothers (1980) and its sequel Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), as well as in Rocky IV (1985) and The Tuxedo (2002). He was known by nicknames including "The Godfather of Soul", "The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business", "Mr. Dynamite" and "Soul Brother No. 1".
