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"Blues Brothers 2000" (1998)

Why a sequel? "The Blues Brothers," released in 1980, was a transcendent comedy hit, fusing great musical numbers with crazed slapstick as Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) Blues reunited their band to save the orphanage where they grew ... moreup. Eighteen years later, Belushi was dead, but director John Landis and Aykroyd needed a hit.

Plot: Elwood gets the band back together. And mentors an orphan boy. And hires a new singer (John Goodman). And ropes an Illinois cop (Joe Morton) into the group for a "Battle of the Bands." And there's a lot of singing and some great musical performances surrounded by a few jokes and some overdone crashes.

Why it sucks: Never mind the fact that, technically, with Belushi dead, any follow-up film is by definition "Blues Brother"; "Blues Brothers 2000" is an overstuffed cash grab full of extraneous characters (like the plucky orphan and Morton's cop) that bloat the movie until it bursts in a great demonstration that more isn't always better. Also, with an 18-year gap between original and sequel, the audience that roared for "Blues Brothers" had grown up and moved on, while their kids had no idea what the fuss was about.

(Universal Pictures)