Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786301576161
Format: Color
ISBN: 6301576160
Label: Lions Gate/Live Home Video
Manufacturer: Lions Gate/Live Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Lions Gate/Live Home Video
Release Date: 1990-02-15
Running Time: 112
Studio: Lions Gate/Live Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1989-08-25

Customer Rating:
Summary: Disjointed, inaccurate and unsatisfying
Comment: The lopsided nature of the book Wired is amplified in the movie version. While the book focused very heavily on Belushi's drug addictions, there were references to his work and other facets of his personality outside of the cocaine-addled, binging monster; there was at least an attempt to provide a rounded portrait of Belushi as a human being (admittedly a weak attempt, but one nonetheless). With Wired the movie, one gets little sense of Belushi as being anything other than an obnoxious celebrity who took drugs. In addition, the movie has Belushi acting in SNL skits that never existed, singing Blues Brothers songs that the band never sung, and many of the persons in Belushi's real life have different names in the film (as the production was threatened with many lawsuits even before filming began). The filmic convention of having the recently deceased Belushi's ghost viewing various drug binges he undertook while alive is poorly executed, and the final scenes of Belushi's ghost playing a pinball game with his guardian angel in exchange for his life back if he wins are in the poorest taste (as is the vivid implication that Belushi went to hell because of the way he died). The narrative is all over the place in terms of chronology, with too many fast-forwards and flashbacks - unless one has read the book very carefully, one would be excused for being confused many times during the film as to when what is happening onscreen was supposed to have taken place. About the only parts of the film that work well and ring slightly true are the scenes lifted verbatim from Woodward's book, along with an energetic performance by Michael Chiklis as Belushi. Those two elements, along with a strong (if misguided) sense of courage on the part of the producers for making the film at all (considering the pressure they were under not to) give this a two-star rating.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: really good movie
Comment: I read the book by the same name before watching the movie. The film has some scenes that are word for word from the book, which are basically word for word in which they were said in real life. THere are some things 9in the film that are not in the book, such as the gaurdian angel and Bob Woodward never met Belushi. But overall I liked the film. Chicklis did an incredible Belushi down to the voice and the movement. I'd say if you are a fan of either see it. Other reviews scared me but the movie was great for any real John Belushi fan.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time or money
Comment: If you are a John Belushi fan or Michael Chiklis fan do yourself a favor... DON'T BUY THIS TAPE! This movie stinks! I am a huge Belushi fan and I like Chiklis in The Shield, but watching this movie just made me feel sorry for both of them. It has a rotten plot, premise and script. Please, for the love of humanity, stay away from this movie. Don't say I didn't warn you.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Pretty strange for a Biopic
Comment: Not much could be said about John Belushi's life. He lived it way too fast and that was what killed him. I've only recently heard from a friend that they actually made a movie about Belushi, much like they did to other SNL stars who have passed on, like Andy Kaufman and Gilda Radner. It was then did I hear the film was blasted by numerous critics and fans at the box office, calling it a piece of garbage that would make John spin in his grave. I figured it was worth seeing, becaue I was a big fan of his, so I managed to buy a copy (for only $0.98, when about a week later, it went up to about $70!) from Ebay. Not expecting much, I tuned in and became wired (no pun intended). Essentially, the whole film is like Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" with a nasty twist in the end.

Most importantly, the film is played out like A JOHN BELUSHI FILM, not a film about john belushi. No, that's not supposed to be Michael Chiklis playing John...that's actually John! Ah, forget it.

Well, how do we start? We open up on the evening of March 5, 1982, with the dead body of Belushi being reeled into a morgue. Hey awakens, suddenly, as if nothing had happened to him recently. Frightened and confused, John attempts to escape the morgue dressed only in a blanket. He's then picked up by a cab driver, named "Angel"...oh, geez, I guess you know where this is going. Angel is John's Puerto Rican Guardian Angel ("Well you sure f**cked up, pal!") and his job is to take John back into the past and show him basically where he screwed up. Meanwhile, after hearing about John's death, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward jumps on the topic, wondering about whether or not he should investigate. During this time, we are shown SNL skits that have never existed (Samurai baseball?!?), songs that the Blues Brothers never have sung (634-5789) and an ending that may prove John attempted to save his life from the speedball his took by playing a game of pinball with Angel!

It's very pathectic, yes, but then again, no one else would do a Belushi biopic. The cast is very weird. Chiklis however is very, very good with Belushi and gets his voice, look and style down good, while the others need some practice. Larry Grooms, who plays Dan Aykroyd, looks more like Kevin Nelon and sounds more like Jimmy Stuwart. Don't even get me started on the guy who played John Landis. Geez, he didn't even look like the guy! Much less, sound like him! J.T. Walsh is basically the only celebrity in the film and he was pretty good playing straight as an arrow Bob Woodward. Some scene were quite odd, like the confrontation between Woodward and Belushi (WTF?) in what the director was trying to say was "Purgatory". The ending kinda hints that Belushi went to Hell, which upsetted many fans (including me). The budget supposively was so shoe-string, that they couldn't get the rights to several of the SNL skits, (which is the reason for the random and lame skits that they show instead). I suggest that WIRED should be redone into a better movie! Period!

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Even if this movie were better, it would still be awful
Comment: As others have mentioned, if this movie had been filmed in the book's style (worth reading, by the way), it could have been terrific. Instead, they messed up the movie with some really dumb fiction that ruins everything else. The movie starts out with John Belushi's body being wheeled into the morgue, and his ghost gets up off the table and does the whole "looking back on my life" bit. This is annoyingly unbearable! Even the most diehard Belushi fan will find this to be a frustrating waste of time. I was incredibly disappointed. Most definitely this is a "walk out" movie where most people would prefer to be doing anything but watching it! Save your money and get the Woodward book, "Wired." You'll enjoy the book far more.

---