In the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, the 1980 comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, The Blues Brothers, has been declared “a Catholic classic†alongside The Ten Commandments and The Passion of the Christ. L’Osservatore editor Gian Maria Vian, who doubles as its film critic, apparently, cited the film’s plot, in which two brothers battle “cops, neo-Nazis and crazed country fans in a bid to save the Catholic orphanage where they were raised,†as his explanation. The Vatican’s official reading of the film is that, “For [the Blues brothers] this Catholic institution is their only family. And they decide to save it at any cost.†Aykroyd told the New York Post: “As a former altar boy from age 6 … but a somewhat lapsed Catholic, I was delighted with the endorsement.†Official Catholic ruling on Caddyshack II is still pending.
’Mission accomplished: Vatican blesses Blues Brothers’ [NYP]