Wired was so reviled by the few groups who saw it before it's initial release that it had already become panned goods before its brief stint in the theaters. Having been seen by a few members of John Belushi's circle, Dan Akroyd included, those few maligned this film for the misguided and bizarre camp that it was. And rightfully so. Dan Akroyd, Belushi's closest friend and cohort urged the public not to see this film due to its offensive nature and its lack of realistic content. Who can blame them? On what should have been a sentimental portrait and funny recount of the actor's life turns out to be the most unflattering, tasteless, nearly repulsive and weirdly conceived idea of presenting a Biopic.
Apparently, Wired, based loosely on the Bob Woodward biography of the late John Belushi, had problems from the very beginning. I never read the book, but I heard some bad things about it. And after seeing this excruciatingly unwatchable film I'm lead to skepticism on whether some of the content is even factual. Regardless if you were an SNL or Belushi fan there is no question that this nauseating snoozefest will put off nearly any viewer. Bob Woodward served as a consultant and main promoter to this film and was invariably met with rejection from many distributors who wanted nothing to do with this project. It took nearly three years to get this project into full swing, because they couldn't find an actor to play the lead role. So, they cast their hopes on a complete unknown and newcomer named Michael Chiklis. This naïve young actor, although a good and respectable actor, has the impossible task of recreating the legend along with trudging through this sordid material.
As for the movie? What can I say? It's a bleak attempt to serve as an allegory on Drug abuse whilst using the "Christmas Carol" theme with some bizarre dreamlike sequences and frenetic usage of flashbacks combined with hallucinatory scenes. This non-linear approach to storytelling has been done effectively with other films. But here it looks absurd and inappropriate. Michael Chiklis is a capable actor today and has proven his value as a performer, but here he falls short. We can see he's trying very hard and he does put much effort into the role. Unfortunately, he doesn't capture the mannerisms, explosive humor or impeccable timing that Belushi possessed. Impersonating a legend can be difficult, especially if you are going to attempt to do someone as wild and unpredictable as Belushi. The film shows a few reenactments of the famous JB sketches from The Blues Brothers, The Samurai baseball scene, and a couple of others. But it's like he's just going through the motions and can't quite nail the comedic timing of the moment which Belushi was so good at. Therefore, these few unfunny sketch reenactments just drag and are used as markers in an obligatory fashion to remind us of what JB did in his outrageous and relatively brief career. But aside from his lackluster performance, the movie doesn't reveal Belushi's innate charisma and likability. Instead he's portrayed as a childish, boorish and unstable drug addled misfit who's unable to deal with life. One would question how this guy was able to become a worldwide comedic heavyweight.
This movie has many weirdly conceived ideas that just don't blend together nor do they go anywhere such as the Guardian Angel Velasquez, who acts more like a nemesis than a Spirit guide. And by the end we are still not sure what his purpose was. Bob Woodward's character, played very dryly by J.T. Walsh, is shown as a key character in the movie. This was an audacious attempt to present him as a key person in Belushi's death investigation, but it ends up being an inexcusably vain attempt to present him as a saintly figure watching over John's demise.
So much is wrong that the movie doesn't have any inspiring highpoints. We only get artistically unbalanced scenes that appear contrived, surreal or completely implausible. It tries to be Avant Garde so much that we can't really connect with it.
If you want to see a really good movie about a Comedic talent, I suggest you watch Man on the Moon starring Jim Carey. That is how a biopic should be made.
Apparently, Wired, based loosely on the Bob Woodward biography of the late John Belushi, had problems from the very beginning. I never read the book, but I heard some bad things about it. And after seeing this excruciatingly unwatchable film I'm lead to skepticism on whether some of the content is even factual. Regardless if you were an SNL or Belushi fan there is no question that this nauseating snoozefest will put off nearly any viewer. Bob Woodward served as a consultant and main promoter to this film and was invariably met with rejection from many distributors who wanted nothing to do with this project. It took nearly three years to get this project into full swing, because they couldn't find an actor to play the lead role. So, they cast their hopes on a complete unknown and newcomer named Michael Chiklis. This naïve young actor, although a good and respectable actor, has the impossible task of recreating the legend along with trudging through this sordid material.
As for the movie? What can I say? It's a bleak attempt to serve as an allegory on Drug abuse whilst using the "Christmas Carol" theme with some bizarre dreamlike sequences and frenetic usage of flashbacks combined with hallucinatory scenes. This non-linear approach to storytelling has been done effectively with other films. But here it looks absurd and inappropriate. Michael Chiklis is a capable actor today and has proven his value as a performer, but here he falls short. We can see he's trying very hard and he does put much effort into the role. Unfortunately, he doesn't capture the mannerisms, explosive humor or impeccable timing that Belushi possessed. Impersonating a legend can be difficult, especially if you are going to attempt to do someone as wild and unpredictable as Belushi. The film shows a few reenactments of the famous JB sketches from The Blues Brothers, The Samurai baseball scene, and a couple of others. But it's like he's just going through the motions and can't quite nail the comedic timing of the moment which Belushi was so good at. Therefore, these few unfunny sketch reenactments just drag and are used as markers in an obligatory fashion to remind us of what JB did in his outrageous and relatively brief career. But aside from his lackluster performance, the movie doesn't reveal Belushi's innate charisma and likability. Instead he's portrayed as a childish, boorish and unstable drug addled misfit who's unable to deal with life. One would question how this guy was able to become a worldwide comedic heavyweight.
This movie has many weirdly conceived ideas that just don't blend together nor do they go anywhere such as the Guardian Angel Velasquez, who acts more like a nemesis than a Spirit guide. And by the end we are still not sure what his purpose was. Bob Woodward's character, played very dryly by J.T. Walsh, is shown as a key character in the movie. This was an audacious attempt to present him as a key person in Belushi's death investigation, but it ends up being an inexcusably vain attempt to present him as a saintly figure watching over John's demise.
So much is wrong that the movie doesn't have any inspiring highpoints. We only get artistically unbalanced scenes that appear contrived, surreal or completely implausible. It tries to be Avant Garde so much that we can't really connect with it.
If you want to see a really good movie about a Comedic talent, I suggest you watch Man on the Moon starring Jim Carey. That is how a biopic should be made.